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comparison / Checked 2026-10-18

Cloudflare Browser Run vs Tilion

Cloudflare Browser Run and Tilion compared on browser sessions, deployed code, authentication, performance and costs.

The decision

Start with the product contracts for browser control, saved browser state, credential handling, code execution. Different labels do not establish different functionality; compare the implementation and conditions behind each one.

Cloudflare Browser Run provides headless browser sessions through CDP and browser code deployed in Workers. This comparison concerns sessions and their execution model, rather than the separate Quick Actions APIs.

Tilion appears in BrowserArena's browser infrastructure cohort. Its reviewed public homepage currently offers a waitlist and a contact path; that establishes less implementation detail than a public session API guide.

At a glance

RequirementCloudflare Browser RunTilion
Browser controlDocumentedArena integration
Saved browser stateSession reuse / custom stateNot established
Credential handlingApplication-ownedNot established
Website sign-inNot establishedNot established
Code executionWorkers compositionNot established
Scheduled executionWorkers trigger compositionNot established
Live viewBetaNot established
Recordings / replayBetaNot established
Deployment choiceCloudflare serviceNot established

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

What survives a session

Cloudflare Browser Run: Cloudflare documents reuse of browser sessions and a Durable Objects integration. Keeping a session alive is different from exporting a portable authenticated profile; design the required state store explicitly.

Tilion: The reviewed public homepage does not establish profile save/restore behavior. Ask for a documented state contract and test the same signed-in workflow across two separate sessions before relying on persistence.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

Website login

Cloudflare Browser Run: Use browser code to implement the website's sign-in flow and retain the necessary session state. The reviewed overview does not establish a managed website connection that checks sign-in readiness before a workflow starts.

Tilion: The reviewed public material does not establish managed website authentication, credential fill or verification handling. Treat those as open requirements to validate with the provider, not as absent features.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

Where the code runs

Cloudflare Browser Run: Deploy browser automation within a Cloudflare Worker or connect to Browser Run from an external process over CDP. Workers provide the execution layer; compare their runtime and deployment model separately from browser access.

Tilion: Public documentation reviewed for this comparison does not establish a deployable Function or app-action contract. Confirm where your automation code runs and how invocation, versioning and logs work before choosing the execution path.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

Published browser measurements

These are the latest provider runs in the saved BrowserArena snapshot checked on October 18, 2026. Dates and runner environments can differ. A lifecycle test opens, connects, navigates and releases a browser; the throughput test runs a separate browser action sequence. Neither measures managed authentication or deployed Function reliability.

Use these observations to choose what to test in your application. An account-configuration failure, an incompatible page action and a timed-out navigation require different interpretations. BrowserArena is maintained by Notte and publishes its source and methodology.

ProviderLifecycle medianLifecycle P95Actions / secondRun dates
Cloudflare Browser Run769 ms1339 ms2.732026-10-18 / 2026-10-17
Tilion124 ms292 ms5.492026-10-18 / 2026-10-17

Sources: browserarena.ai [1] ↗browserarena.ai [2] ↗github.com [3] ↗

Pricing model

Cloudflare Browser Run: Price browser usage and the Worker execution components required by the workload. The Browser Run pricing page, rather than a single browser-hour estimate, defines included allowances and applicable limits.

Tilion: Arena provides an estimated usage rate for its test. The reviewed public homepage does not establish a self-serve production plan, allowances or overage terms. Obtain those terms before quoting a monthly bill.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

Capacity and limits

Cloudflare Browser Run: Browser Run has its own limits and pricing alongside Workers. Account browser capacity, session creation limits and the Worker execution budget constrain different parts of a workflow.

Tilion: Arena's observed test concurrency is a test configuration, not an account entitlement. Obtain the production concurrency and session creation limits for your access tier before sizing a fleet.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

Which approach fits?

Choose Cloudflare Browser Run when you already deploy Workers and want browser automation within that application's execution and scheduling model.

Cloudflare Browser Run tradeoff: A Worker and a browser session have separate resource and lifecycle constraints. Confirm the chosen browser library and binding path instead of assuming an unchanged local browser script will deploy directly.

Choose Tilion when you can obtain access and test the product directly, with its current API and commercial terms in hand.

Tilion tradeoff: Arena measurements do not establish public availability or feature completeness. Confirm access, API details and plan terms before planning a production migration.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗

Check the browser connection

Install playwright-core in your application and provision a session through the provider's documented creation flow. Run this smoke test from the intended controller region with the returned CDP endpoint. It checks connection and navigation, not login, rendering parity or a complete business workflow.

Keep browser connection URLs on your backend. After the test, release the owned session through the provider's API. Product-specific lifecycle APIs and profile identifiers are not portable between providers.

typescript Connection smoke test
import { chromium } from "playwright-core";

// Provision the owned browser using the provider's documented session API.
// Keep the connection URL in your backend's secret environment.
const endpoint = process.env.BROWSER_CDP_URL;
if (!endpoint) throw new Error("Set BROWSER_CDP_URL for an owned session");

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(endpoint);
try {
  const context = browser.contexts()[0] ?? await browser.newContext();
  const page = context.pages()[0] ?? await context.newPage();
  await page.goto("https://example.com", { waitUntil: "domcontentloaded" });
  if ((await page.title()) !== "Example Domain") {
    throw new Error("The browser did not reach the expected page");
  }
  console.log({ connected: true, expectedPage: true });
} finally {
  await browser.close();
  // Release the owned session with the provider's documented API as well.
  // A disconnected socket alone is not a portable session-cleanup contract.
}

Sources: playwright.dev ↗

Before you switch

Keep the same target workflow when evaluating both products. Separate infrastructure facts from measurements and test the required account state, action sequence and artifacts. A successful connection test does not establish that a long or authenticated task will complete.

Use the focused guides for Cloudflare Browser Run and Tilion below when the deciding requirement is pricing, persistence or code execution. Provider-owned resources such as session IDs, profiles and managed connections need a new mapping during migration.

When Notte belongs on this shortlist

Cloudflare can be an economical architectural choice when Workers and the surrounding scheduling already exist in your application. Notte is worth evaluating when a browser, deployed Python handler and authentication workflow should share a product rather than a Workers composition.

The reviewed Tilion homepage offers a waitlist and contact route. Arena's tested integration is useful evidence about a run, but a purchasing or migration decision still needs a documented access, state and execution contract; those unknowns must remain visible beside Notte's public docs.

Notte: Create an owned browser session, connect Playwright or Puppeteer over CDP, and stop the session when the work finishes. Browser lifecycle management remains necessary even when the control socket disconnects.

Consider this third option when its documented mechanism addresses a requirement left open by the two providers above. A working configuration on either original provider can still be the better choice; compare the task and ownership cost before switching.

Sources: developers.cloudflare.com [1] ↗tilion.com [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗

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