Rendershot vs Browserless
Both render web pages with real Chromium — but one is a browser you script, and the other is an API that just returns the file. Here's which fits your job.
Heads up: we build Rendershot, so we're biased. We've kept the Browserless details factual and called out where it's the better fit. Pricing changes — check Browserless's own site for the latest numbers.
| Attribute | Rendershot | Browserless |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One-call screenshot & PDF API | Hosted headless browser you script |
| How you use it | POST a URL or HTML, get a file back | Write Playwright / Puppeteer / BrowserQL |
| Browser code to maintain | None | Yes — your automation scripts |
| Free tier | 200 renders/mo, no card | 1,000 units/mo, no card |
| Paid from | $9/mo (2,000 renders) | $25/mo (20,000 units) |
| Billing model | Per render | Per browser-time unit (~30s each) |
| Output | PNG, JPEG, PDF | Anything you script (incl. screenshots, PDFs) |
| AI cleanup (banners, popups) | Built in | Do it yourself in your script |
| Async, bulk & scheduled | Built in | Do it yourself |
| Best for | Screenshots & PDFs at scale | Automation, scraping, testing, AI agents |
Browserless figures reflect its public pricing at the time of writing and may have changed.
What is Browserless?
Browserless is hosted headless browser infrastructure. You connect with Playwright, Puppeteer, or its BrowserQL language and drive a real Chrome, Firefox, or WebKit instance — clicking, scrolling, scraping, running tests, and yes, taking screenshots and PDFs along the way. It bills by browser time (units of roughly 30 seconds) and is built for general automation at scale, not capture specifically. The free tier is 1,000 units/month and paid plans start at $25/month for 20,000 units. It's also open-source and self-hostable if you want to run the fleet yourself.
Choose Browserless when
- →You need to click, type, log in, scrape, or run multi-step flows — not just capture a page
- →You already have Playwright or Puppeteer scripts and want them hosted
- →You want one platform for automation, testing, and AI-agent browsing
- →You want to self-host an open-source browser fleet
Choose Rendershot when
- ✓You just need screenshots or PDFs of URLs or HTML
- ✓You'd rather not write or maintain any browser automation code
- ✓You prefer per-render pricing and a bigger free tier for capture workloads
- ✓You want built-in AI cleanup, scheduled captures, webhooks, or an MCP server
Rendershot vs Browserless FAQ
Is Rendershot a Browserless alternative?
For screenshots and PDFs, yes. Browserless is general browser infrastructure you script with Playwright or Puppeteer; Rendershot returns a screenshot or PDF from a single request with no browser code to write. If capture is all you need, Rendershot is simpler and usually cheaper for that workload.
How does the pricing compare?
Browserless bills per unit of browser time (about 30 seconds each); Rendershot bills per render. For capture workloads, per-render pricing is more predictable because you pay per output, not per second of browser uptime. Rendershot's free tier is 200 renders/month; Browserless offers 1,000 units/month.
Is there a free or open-source Browserless alternative?
Browserless itself is open-source and self-hostable, and you can always run Playwright or Puppeteer on your own infrastructure. The trade-off is that you operate, scale, and patch the browser fleet yourself. Rendershot is the managed option if you'd rather send a request and get a file back.
Can Rendershot scrape or automate pages like Browserless?
No — Rendershot is capture-only by design: URL or HTML in, image or PDF out. If you need clicks, form fills, or data extraction, use Browserless or run Playwright yourself. Plenty of teams use both: Browserless for automation, Rendershot for finished renders.
Try Rendershot free
200 renders/month, screenshots and PDFs, no credit card required.