Firecrawl vs Browserbase: scraping credits vs cloud browsers
Updated 2026-11-06 · listed A to Z, not ranked
Firecrawl and Browserbase both get web pages into AI apps, from different ends. Firecrawl is a scraping API that returns clean markdown or JSON and bills credits per page. Browserbase rents headless cloud browsers by the hour and adds Search and Fetch APIs.
Listed A to Z, quoted from browserbase.com/pricing and firecrawl.dev/pricing on Nov 6, 2026. Not a ranking.
- Free tier
- $0: 3 concurrent browsers, 1 browser hour, 1,000 Search and 1,000 Fetch calls
- Entry paid plan
- Developer $20/mo: 25 concurrent, 100 hours then $0.12/hr
- Higher plans
- Startup $99/mo: 100 concurrent, 500 hours then $0.10/hr; Scale custom
- Billing unit
- Browser hours; Fetch $1 per 1k calls after included (Developer)
- Pay per call in USDC
- Yes, separate x402 Payment Gateway (listed $0.01–$0.06 per call)
- Free tier
- 1,000 credits/month, no card, 2 concurrent requests
- Entry paid plan
- Hobby $19/mo ($16 yearly): 5,000 credits
- Higher plans
- Standard $99 ($83 yearly) 100k; Growth $399 ($333) 500k; Scale $749 ($599) 1M
- Billing unit
- 1 credit per page scraped; Search 2 credits per 10 results
- Pay per call in USDC
- Not listed on the pricing page
How we checked: Quoted from each official pricing page on Nov 6, 2026 (monthly price, with annual where listed). The billing units differ (Browserbase: browser hours and API calls; Firecrawl: credits per page), so rows are not like for like.
Measured by us: the x402 endpoints
We call these x402 endpoints daily without paying and read the HTTP 402 reply. Not a ranking.
- Browserbase Payment Gateway: Up · $0.01 per call on base · checked Nov 9, 2026, 11:40 AM ET · status
When each fits
- Firecrawl fits when you want page content back as markdown or JSON and do not need to click or log in. Credits cover Scrape, Crawl, Map and Search; extra credits are sold in $5 packs.
- Browserbase fits when an agent has to drive a real browser (forms, logins, JavaScript-heavy pages). Its Fetch API also returns page content per call without a browser session.
More options: best web scraping APIs, Firecrawl alternatives, Browserbase pricing.
FAQ
Is Firecrawl or Browserbase cheaper?
We do not pick a winner; they bill different units. On Nov 6, 2026 Firecrawl Hobby was $19/month for 5,000 credits (about 5,000 pages) and Browserbase Developer was $20/month for 100 browser hours plus 1,000 Fetch calls.
Do Firecrawl and Browserbase have free plans?
Yes. Firecrawl gives 1,000 credits a month with no card; Browserbase Free is $0 with 1 browser hour and 1,000 Search and Fetch calls.
Sources (official pages, read 2026-11-06)
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