MetaDock vs The Alternatives
Cloud browser services charge by the hour. Data extraction APIs charge per page. MetaDock runs locally, costs a flat rate, and lets you see everything.
The Core Difference
Visual + Local
Real browsers you can see, running on your machine. Debug visually. Flat monthly pricing. 92 MCP tools.
Cloud Browser API
Serverless cloud browsers. Pay per browser-hour. Session recordings for debugging. 8 MCP tools.
Cloud/Self-host Browser API
Containerized cloud browsers. Pay per unit (30s). Self-hosting option. Community MCP support.
Data Extraction API
Converts websites to LLM-ready markdown. Pay per page crawled. Official MCP server. No browser control.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | MetaDock | Browserbase | Browserless | Firecrawl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||||
| Pricing Model | Flat monthly | Per browser-hour | Per unit (30s) | Per page crawled |
| Starting Price | From $29/mo (flat) | $20/mo (100 hrs) | $25/mo (20k units) | $16/mo (3k pages) |
| Overage Costs | None | $0.10-0.12/hr | $0.0015-0.002/unit | $9/1k pages |
| Predictable Bill | ||||
| Infrastructure | ||||
| Deployment | Local / Your servers | Cloud only | Cloud + Docker | Cloud (self-host beta) |
| Visual Browsers | Always visible | Live View only | Cloud only | No browsers |
| Data Location | Your machine | Their servers | Their servers / yours | Their servers |
| Browser Limit | Unlimited (hardware) | 1-250 concurrent | 1-50 concurrent | N/A |
| Session Time Limit | No limit | 15 min - 6 hrs | 1 - 60 min | N/A |
| AI & Automation | ||||
| MCP Support | Native (92 tools) | Official (8 tools) | Community | Official (5 tools) |
| REST API | 91 endpoints | |||
| WebSocket Events | ||||
| WebDriver/Selenium | ||||
| Debugging | ||||
| Visual Debugging | Real-time | Recordings | Logs only | N/A |
| Watch AI Work | Live View | |||
| Manual Intervention | Click anytime | |||
| Additional | ||||
| Profile Isolation | 2-unlimited | |||
| Proxy Support | Per profile | |||
| CAPTCHA Solving | ||||
| Native App Docking | Beta | |||
| Multi-Monitor | ||||
| Workspace Restore | ||||
| Auto-parsed Markdown | Raw HTML | Raw HTML | Raw HTML | Native |
| Site Crawling | Native | |||
Real Cost Comparison
What does 100 hours of browser automation actually cost?
Flat rate. No per-hour billing.
- 100 hours included
- 200 hours included
- 1,000 hours included
- 14-day money-back guarantee
100 hrs included, then overage
- 100 hours = $20
- 200 hours = $32
- 1,000 hours = $128
- Scales with usage
180k units = ~25 hrs
- 100 hours = ~$200
- 200 hours = ~$400
- 1,000 hours = ~$2,000
- Unit-based billing
3k pages/mo, then overage
- 3k pages = $16
- 100k pages = $83
- 500k pages = $333
- Per-page billing
* Estimates based on published pricing as of February 2026. Browserless units = 30 seconds each. Firecrawl credits = 1 page each. Actual costs may vary. MetaDock ($29/mo) includes 10,000 API calls/month; MetaDock Pro ($59/mo) has unlimited. Sources: Browserbase, Browserless, Firecrawl.
When to Choose Each
- You want to see what your AI is doing
- You need predictable monthly costs
- Data must stay on your machine
- You use Claude, Cursor, or MCP clients
- You need to manually intervene sometimes
- Long-running sessions (Pro: no limits)
- You need advanced anti-detection/stealth
- Built-in CAPTCHA solving is required
- You want zero infrastructure management
- Session recordings are enough for debugging
- You're using Stagehand framework
- You want self-hosted Docker option
- You need hybrid cloud + on-prem
- Existing Puppeteer/Playwright codebase
- You have DevOps expertise in-house
- You need website → LLM-ready data
- Bulk crawling entire sites
- Structured data extraction with AI
- No need to control browser sessions
Ready to see your AI agents work?
14-day money-back guarantee. Upgrade when you need more.