The decision
Start with the product contracts for credential handling, website sign-in, code execution, scheduled execution. Different labels do not establish different functionality; compare the implementation and conditions behind each one.
Kernel provides cloud browsers and an app platform for TypeScript or Python code. App actions run alongside Kernel browsers, while profiles and Managed Auth handle retained state and sign-in connections.
Browser Use has separate hosted-browser and hosted-agent paths. For browser infrastructure, create a browser and connect your own code over CDP. Profiles and secret bindings handle different parts of authenticated work.
At a glance
| Requirement | Kernel | Browser Use |
|---|---|---|
| Browser control | Documented | Documented |
| Saved browser state | Documented | Documented |
| Credential handling | Vaults (preview) | V4 secret bindings |
| Website sign-in | Documented | Profile / 2FA flows |
| Code execution | TypeScript / Python Apps | External worker or hosted agent |
| Scheduled execution | App invocation path | Check execution setup |
| Live view | Documented | Documented |
| Recordings / replay | Documented | Recording option |
| Deployment choice | Check deployment offering | Local framework available |
Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗kernel.sh [2] ↗kernel.sh [3] ↗kernel.sh [4] ↗kernel.sh [5] ↗kernel.sh [6] ↗docs.browser-use.com [7] ↗docs.browser-use.com [8] ↗docs.browser-use.com [9] ↗docs.browser-use.com [10] ↗
What survives a session
Kernel: Profiles preserve browser user-data-directory state, including cookies, site data, tabs and preferences. Profile sharing and save behavior need explicit treatment when parallel workers use seeded state.
Browser Use: Profiles persist cookies, local storage and login state between browsers. Browser settings select a profile for a run. A session's conversation history and a profile's browser state are different resources.
Website login
Kernel: Managed Auth handles website login and eligible connection recovery. Vault fill is a separate flow for applications that control navigation and form submission; the reviewed vault documentation labels that surface as preview.
Browser Use: V4 secret bindings give credentials aliases and allowed hostnames for use in a run. Profiles reuse existing state; the separate 2FA guide addresses verification during authenticated work.
Where the code runs
Kernel: Deploy a TypeScript or Python App and expose Actions that callers invoke. Kernel co-locates code with the browser environments the app creates. An Action invocation is the execution unit rather than a bare CDP connection.
Browser Use: The cloud offers hosted-agent runs and separately created browsers. The reviewed browser documentation does not establish a deploy-your-own Python Function equivalent. Keep an external script runner separate from a hosted agent when comparing execution ownership.
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.
| Provider | Lifecycle median | Lifecycle P95 | Actions / second | Run dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kernel | 334 ms | 700 ms | 3.32 | 2026-10-18 / 2026-10-17 |
| Browser Use | 442 ms | 620 ms | 4 | 2026-10-18 / 2026-10-17 |
Sources: browserarena.ai [1] ↗browserarena.ai [2] ↗github.com [3] ↗
Pricing model
Kernel: Use the plan and browser configuration in Kernel's pricing documentation. Managed networking, account allowances and app execution make a browser-hour comparison only one part of the decision.
Browser Use: Browser time and hosted-agent/model usage are separate pricing questions. Select the infrastructure path before comparing rates, and account for retained idle browser time and network usage where applicable.
Capacity and limits
Kernel: Kernel documents concurrent browsers, browser creation rate and per-browser resources separately. Standby browsers can still consume concurrency. Pools change how browsers are acquired; they do not erase account limits.
Browser Use: The concurrency guide distinguishes concurrent browser capacity from the HTTP request budget. Keys in a project share capacity and credits. Polling frequency can exhaust request capacity even when there are free browser slots.
Which approach fits?
Choose Kernel when your code makes many browser calls and you want to deploy it beside the browser, or you need Kernel's managed sign-in flow.
Kernel tradeoff: Browser-local code changes the deployment model. Check app action behavior, account limits and persistent-state ownership before moving an external worker into it.
Choose Browser Use when you use Browser Use's framework or want its hosted browsers while retaining the option of a hosted browser agent.
Browser Use tradeoff: A hosted-agent run is a different execution unit from your deployed browser script. Keep comparisons focused on the browser path when measuring session speed and price.
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.
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 Kernel and Browser Use 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
Kernel's browser-local Apps make execution placement part of the decision. Compare the repeated action path with the proposed Notte controller or Function deployment before concluding that a lifecycle or hourly-rate difference decides the workflow.
Browser Use's hosted-agent offering and standalone browser infrastructure are separate options. Keep the comparison at the browser layer when your application already owns its controller; compare execution ownership separately if the hosted agent is part of the requirement.
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: kernel.sh [1] ↗docs.browser-use.com [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗