rasterly vs Browserless — render layer vs headless-browser platform

Browserless is the deeper browser-automation platform, rasterly is the leaner render layer. If you need to drive a full remote browser, connect Puppeteer or Playwright over WebSocket, log in, click and type through a multi-step flow, keep a session alive, or run your own automation script, Browserless is built for exactly that and rasterly does not do it. rasterly is stateless: one GET or POST turns a URL into an artifact, screenshot or PDF (screenshot), clean Markdown (read), structured JSON (extract), same-origin Markdown for RAG (crawl), or an animated GIF or MP4, from $0.90 per 1,000 renders. There is no session to open and close, an MCP server for agents, and per-call USDC on Base. Pick Browserless when you need a programmable browser. Pick rasterly when you just need the artifact.

If you're building on Browserless

Three things tend to matter once a render or read is in the hot path of a paid product:

No session to manage. Browserless gives you a full browser, which means you open it, script it, and tear it down, and you pay for the browser time in between. When the job is only "URL in, artifact out," rasterly skips all of that: one stateless call returns the screenshot, PDF, Markdown or JSON, so there is no connection lifecycle to run and no idle browser time on the bill.
One key across more output types. rasterly folds screenshot (png, jpeg, pdf, gif, mp4), read, extract, crawl, batch, async jobs with a signed webhook, monitors for change detection and verify for signed provenance onto a single key. Extract is included at the flat render price, not a separate line.
Zero-signup on-ramp via x402. Beyond an API key, rasterly exposes a pay-per-call endpoint over x402 on Base, so an agent can hit a billed endpoint with no dashboard or signup. The request shape is a drop-in for Urlbox and ScreenshotOne, and there is an MCP server via npx -y rasterly-mcp.

The real difference

	rasterly	Browserless
URL → screenshot / PDF in one call	Yes, one GET	Yes, via its REST API
Drive a full remote browser (Puppeteer / Playwright)	No	Yes, its core
Multi-step flows, sessions, click and type	No	Yes
URL → clean Markdown (read) and JSON (extract)	Yes, included	Via /content and /scrape actions
Same-origin crawl → Markdown for RAG	Yes, crawl	Script it yourself
Animated capture (GIF / MP4 of a URL)	Yes, gif / mp4	Script it yourself
Self-hostable (run in your own infra)	No, hosted only	Yes, Docker image
MCP server for agents	Yes, npx rasterly-mcp	Not first-party
SSRF protection out of the box	Enforced	Your responsibility when you script it
Pricing model	Flat, from $0.90 / 1,000	Usage / unit based

Honest line: if your job involves logging in, clicking through steps, scraping behind interaction, or keeping a browser session alive, rasterly cannot do that and Browserless is built exactly for it. rasterly wins on the common stateless case: a screenshot, PDF, Markdown read, JSON extract, GIF or MP4 of a URL, done in one cheap call with no session to run.

On price

These do not line up tier for tier, so a fabricated table would mislead. Browserless prices on usage, metering units of browser time across its whole platform, because a unit buys a full programmable browser rather than a single artifact. rasterly prices per render at a flat rate, with reads and screenshots carrying no per-session cost and deterministic extract included.

Tier	rasterly	Browserless
Free	100 renders, no card	Free trial credits, see their site
Entry paid	$9 (Starter, 10k renders)	Usage / unit based
Flat rate	$0.90 per 1,000 renders	Metered browser units
Extract	Included, no multiplier	Counts as browser time

Rule of thumb: if all you ever wanted was the artifact, a metered browser unit overstates what you need and rasterly's flat render price is cheaper and easier to forecast, roughly 70% under Urlbox on the render side. If you need a real programmable browser, that unit buys genuine capability that rasterly does not offer, and Browserless is the right place to pay for it.

The simple case, in code

If your only need is a screenshot of a URL, the difference is a JSON POST against a browser platform versus a single GET.

Browserless — REST screenshot

curl -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://stripe.com","options":{"fullPage":true,"type":"png"}}'

rasterly — one GET

curl "https://api.rasterly.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com&full_page=true" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: sk_live_..." -o shot.png

PDF is format=pdf; an animation frame settles with settle; a GIF or MP4 is format=gif or format=mp4 with fps and duration_ms; clean Markdown is /v1/read?url=; JSON is /v1/extract?url=; a same-origin crawl is /v1/crawl?url=, all under one X-Api-Key. For scripting the page, sessions, or multi-step automation, that stays Browserless territory, not rasterly's.

FAQ

Is rasterly a replacement for Browserless?

Not a full one. Browserless is a headless-browser platform: you drive Puppeteer or Playwright against their remote Chrome, keep a session, and run your own automation scripts. rasterly is a stateless render layer that turns a URL into a screenshot, PDF, Markdown, JSON, GIF or MP4 over one call. If you need to drive a programmable browser, Browserless is the stronger tool. If you just need the artifact, rasterly is simpler and cheaper.

Where is Browserless more capable than rasterly?

Anywhere you need to control a full browser session. Browserless lets you connect Puppeteer or Playwright over WebSocket, log in, click through steps, keep state across pages, and run your own script, and it also exposes REST endpoints for /screenshot, /pdf, /content and /scrape. It is the deeper automation platform and can be self-hosted. rasterly cannot drive a session and does not try to.

What does rasterly give you that a raw browser platform does not?

A finished artifact from one request, with no session to open, script or close. read returns clean Markdown, extract returns JSON, crawl returns same-origin Markdown for RAG, and screenshot returns png, jpeg, pdf, gif or mp4. There is a flat price of $0.90 per 1,000 renders, an MCP server via npx -y rasterly-mcp, and a pay-per-call USDC endpoint over x402 on Base.

Can I self-host rasterly the way I can self-host Browserless?

No. Browserless ships a Docker image you can run in your own infrastructure, which is a real advantage for private or air-gapped setups. rasterly is a hosted API only. If self-hosting is a requirement, Browserless is the right tool.

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Browserless pricing and features observed August 2026, shown for comparison only; check browserless.io for current details. Browserless meters usage in units of browser time rather than per artifact, so the tables above are for rough orientation, not a per-render equivalence. rasterly is an independent product, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Browserless.