# Run a browser or computer-use agent

> I want an agent that opens websites, clicks and fills in forms, or uses a whole desktop.

Browser agents drive a real Chromium, or a whole desktop with a mouse and keyboard. Memory is the constraint, not CPU, and logins are the thing people forget to keep.

Guide page: https://botperch.com/use-cases/browser-agent/

**Short answer:** The cheapest machine that runs it as described is Agent 37 at $36.30 a month, then Lizard ($85.79) and Boat ($90.00). 16 of 16 providers run it without a catch. Any AI model is billed separately and not priced here. List prices checked 29 October 2026.

A browser agent reads pages as text or screenshots and clicks, types and scrolls like a person. A computer-use agent does the same with a full desktop. Both need a machine with a display and enough memory for Chromium.
Sessions are usually short and thrown away. If the agent must stay logged in to sites, keep its browser profile, which means keeping the disk or saving a snapshot.

## What it needs

- **Machine size:** 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 10 GiB for a browser; Browserless gives the same minimum. A full desktop is more comfortable at 4 vCPU / 8 GiB / 20 GiB. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)
- **Does it stay on?:** No. Typical sessions are minutes long. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)
- **What must survive a restart:** Nothing, unless logins must survive: then the browser profile and cookies. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)
- **How busy it is:** About 3% CPU on average; Chromium's memory is what fills the machine. [source](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)

## Picks

- **InstaBox**, A desktop you can watch: The agent-browser image comes with a desktop and Chromium you can open from the dashboard, and an idle machine pauses itself and wakes when its preview link is used. Watch: The free plan is one 4 vCPU / 8 GiB machine that pauses after 30 idle minutes. https://instabox.sh/docs/desktop
- **Boat**, Full VMs at a flat rate: A full Ubuntu VM with room for a browser, at a flat hourly price per size. Watch: At thousands of sessions a month, the plan's start limits apply, and paid starts come out of the wallet. https://docs.boat.dev/pricing
- **Daytona**, Computer use from code: Documents computer use, with sandboxes started from an SDK and per-second billing. Watch: Each sandbox's disk is capped at 10 GiB. https://www.daytona.io/docs/en/

## How to run it on each provider

- **Tensorlake** (guide; no terminal: no): Boot `tensorlake/ubuntu-vnc`, which ships XFCE, TigerVNC, Firefox and Chrome, then either drive the desktop through `connectDesktop()` for screenshots, clicks and typing, or start Chrome with `--remote-debugging-port=9222` and tunnel it to localhost so Playwright, Puppeteer or `chrome-devtools-mcp` drive it as if it were local. Snapshot a warmed profile so parallel agents start with cookies already in place. [Tensorlake: computer use](https://docs.tensorlake.ai/sandboxes/computer-use)

## Monthly machine cost (preset `browser`)

30,000 ten-minute browser sessions a month on 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 10 GiB machines, thrown away after each. Chromium needs memory more than CPU: about 3% CPU on average.

- Agent 37: $36.30
- Lizard: $85.79
- Boat: $90.00
- InstaBox: $90.50
- Sandboxer: $100.00
- Runtime: $157.50
- Tensorlake: $331.00
- Morph: $375.00
- Cloudflare Sandbox: $406.03
- Vercel Sandbox: $462.40
- Sprites: $485.03
- boxd: $754.80
- Blaxel: $828.00
- E2B: $828.00
- Daytona: $830.70
- Modal: $1,159.80

## Outside a sandbox

Browser services such as Browser Use Cloud sell hosted browser time (from $0.02 per browser-hour) without a machine to manage.

## Sources

- [Battleships: browser and computer-use workloads (built by the Boat team)](https://battleships.dev/data/presets.json)
- [Browser Use pricing](https://browser-use.com/pricing)