Price the work, not just the hour.

What the comparison covers

Sessions cover browser control, lifecycle, state, live view, recording and capacity. Functions cover where browser code runs and how it is deployed, invoked, scheduled and monitored. Auth covers website account state, credential handling and connection readiness.

Each provider's product surfaces stay separate. A hosted agent is not a deployed Function, an API key is not a website login, and a persisted profile is not a guarantee of authentication. The directory links focused comparisons when those differences determine the choice.

Notte

The public usage rates are $0.01 per browser-hour, $0.05 per Function-hour and $10 per GB of managed proxy traffic. Paid plans return their price as usage credits. Price the relevant meters and plan eligibility for the workload.

Sources: notte.cc ↗

Browserbase

Compare the public plan's included browser allowance and overage with the workflow's duration. Include proxy traffic and any separately priced services; an Arena browser-hour estimate does not describe the whole Browserbase bill.

Sources: browserbase.com ↗

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.

Sources: kernel.sh ↗

Steel

Hosted browser plans and a self-hosted browser have different cost structures. For self-hosting, include the worker, compute, networking, storage and operations rather than assigning the open-source code a zero operating cost.

Sources: docs.steel.dev ↗

Choose a practical evaluation

A useful cost comparison gives both a usage estimate and the eligible monthly plan. Keep an unsupported workload out of the price ranking even if a rate can be multiplied into an attractive number.

For 10,000 runs lasting three minutes, browser time is 500 hours before rounding, setup and retries. At Notte's published $0.01 browser-hour rate, that meter is $5. Paid-plan eligibility and any proxy or Function usage still determine the total bill.

• Count attempted runs as well as successful runs.
• Apply the provider's rounding rule to each session before adding usage.
• Separate browser time, function compute, proxy traffic and identity services.
• Apply included credits once; do not add the same subscription fee again.
• Mark an ineligible plan as a capacity mismatch rather than a cheap option.

From a comparison to a working workflow

Start with a short browser task and a pass/fail result. Add the necessary account state, then exercise the production shape: concurrency, duration, triggers and retained artifacts. Keep the provider's documented cleanup flow in place from the first test.

The full directory includes provider comparisons, focused buying questions, workload shortlists, competitor buying guides and migrations to Notte. Use it to resolve a specific implementation decision rather than assuming the most feature-rich or fastest-starting product will fit every job.