Bright Data Browser API vs chromedp
Bright Data Browser API
brightdata.comchromedp
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Bright Data Browser API | chromedp |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Browser Automation Tools | 8.4 (#15) | 8.6 (#12) |
| Security | Bright Data’s data security page says it encrypts traffic using TLS 1.3 with TLS 1.2 minimum and encrypts user data at rest using AES-256 or better. | By default, chromedp starts Chrome with remote-debugging pipes, so Chrome opens no debugging port. |
| Support | The free, pay-as-you-go and Scale plans include expert support; Enterprise includes priority support and a premium SLA. | The project directs questions and feature suggestions to GitHub Discussions and Discord, and reserves the issue tracker for bugs. |
| What it does | Browser API runs browser-based data collection workflows on fully managed cloud browsers, with full page rendering, user-like interactions and advanced unblocking. | chromedp is a Go package for driving browsers that support the Chrome DevTools Protocol, without an external driver. |
Plans
Bright Data Browser API
- Free TierFree
- Pay as you go$8 a month
- Scale$499 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Bright Data Browser API
Bright Data Browser API runs browser-based data collection workflows in fully managed cloud browsers. It renders complete pages, supports user-like interactions and handles unblocking for JavaScript-heavy sites, dynamic content and multi-step workflows. Puppeteer, Playwright and Selenium can connect through a single endpoint change. Bright Data says the service manages CAPTCHA solving, browser fingerprinting, automatic retries, headers, cookies and JavaScript rendering. Cloud browsers auto-scale and include built-in proxy rotation plus real-time Chrome DevTools monitoring. Worldwide geographic and ASN targeting are listed. The API executes in the cloud and has no self-hosted option. The Free Tier costs nothing and includes 5K credits and 1GB per month with no credit card required. Pay as you go costs $8 a month, billed $8 /GB. Scale costs $499 a month with 71 GB and unlimited concurrent browsers. Enterprise pricing is custom. Expert support covers the first three plans; Enterprise adds priority support and a premium SLA.
chromedp
chromedp is a Go package for driving browsers that support the Chrome DevTools Protocol without an external driver. It runs Chrome headlessly by default and supports actions such as navigating, clicking, reading page text, running JavaScript, filling forms, and waiting for elements. Its examples also cover cookies, HTTP headers, proxy authentication, request interception, session restoration, and HAR recording. For output, it can capture screenshots, print pages to PDF, and save screencast frames as JPEG files. Separate browser contexts can support parallel work, but sharing one context between goroutines can cause races. A separate remote module connects to an already-running browser over WebSocket, and the project provides a headless-shell Docker image. By default, Chrome communicates over remote-debugging pipes and does not open a debugging port; switching to WebSocket uses one. The package is available under the MIT license at free. The README requires Go 1.27 or newer.