---
title: Kernel
slug: kernel
url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/kernel"
homepage: "https://www.onkernel.com"
categories: browser-automation-apis
last_verified: 2026-11-07
dataset_version: 0738be72
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# Kernel

> Fast-starting browsers plus a runtime for deploying browser agents

- Two products in one: hosted browsers with persistent profiles, replays and live view, plus a deployment runtime
- Your agent code runs next to the browser rather than calling it across the internet
- Browser container images are published openly; cold-start speed is the headline claim, untimed independently

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | Kernel |
| Company | Kernel (onkernel.com) |
| One-liner | Fast-starting browsers plus a runtime for deploying browser agents |
| Site | https://www.onkernel.com |
| Docs | https://docs.onkernel.com |
| Repo | https://github.com/onkernel/kernel-images |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Funding | Seed |
| Open source | Yes |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 |
| Compared in | 1 |

## Where it is compared

### [Browser APIs](https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis)
Ranked **#5 of 14** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Anti-bot pass rate | - | Unknown | - | - | Panel not yet run. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--antibot_success |
| Stealth mode | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://kernel.sh/docs/browsers/bot-detection/stealth | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--stealth_mode |
| CAPTCHA solving | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--captcha_solving |
| Residential proxy | metered-extra | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--residential_proxy |
| Cold start | 30ms | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://www.kernel.sh/docs/browsers/performance.md | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--cold_start |
| CDP endpoint | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.onkernel.com | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--cdp_endpoint |
| Playwright | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://kernel.sh/docs/introduction/control | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--playwright_support |
| Puppeteer | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://kernel.sh/docs/introduction/control | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--puppeteer_support |
| Session persistence | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://kernel.sh/docs/auth/profiles | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--session_persistence |
| Live view | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://kernel.sh/docs/browsers/live-view | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--live_view |
| Session replay | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://kernel.sh/docs/browsers/replays | Replays are a headline feature rather than an afterthought. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--session_replay |
| Max concurrency | 150 sessions | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://www.kernel.sh/docs/browsers/concurrency-and-limits.md | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--concurrency_ceiling |
| File downloads | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--file_downloads |
| Chrome extensions | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--extension_support |
| Browser regions | us-east, eu-west, ap-southeast | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://www.kernel.sh/docs/browsers/regions.md | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--regions |
| Agent API | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | You deploy your agent onto Kernel rather than calling a hosted agent endpoint. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--computer_use_api |
| MCP server | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--mcp_server |
| Human handoff | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--human_handoff |
| Pricing model | per-hour | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--pricing_model |
| Per browser-hour | $0.06/browser-hour | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://www.kernel.sh/docs/info/pricing | Headless rate; headful is $0.48/hr. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--price_per_hour |
| Free tier | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--free_tier |
| GitHub stars | 1,128 | Community-reported | 2026-11-07 | https://github.com/kernel/kernel-images | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--github_stars |
| Funding stage | seed | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--funding_stage |
| Open-source core | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Browser container images are open; the orchestration platform is not. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--open_source_core |
| Positioning | Browsers and a runtime for deploying browser agents | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--positioning |
| Launched | 2024 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#kernel--launch_year |

**Verdict.** Collapses the network hop by running your agent next to the browser, but you adopt their deployment model.

## Alternatives

- [Airtop](https://toolweight.com/tools/airtop), Natural-language browser API, describe the page, skip the selectors
- [Anchor Browser](https://toolweight.com/tools/anchor-browser), Cloud browsers built around authenticated sessions and human takeover
- [Apify](https://toolweight.com/tools/apify), Actor platform for scraping and agents, with Crawlee as the open-source core
- [Bright Data Browser API](https://toolweight.com/tools/bright-data-browser-api), CDP browsers on a 70M+ residential IP network with challenge handling built in
- [Browser Use](https://toolweight.com/tools/browser-use), The open-source browser agent library, with stealth cloud browsers and a hosted agent API
- [Browserbase](https://toolweight.com/tools/browserbase), Managed headless browsers for AI agents, with Stagehand as the SDK
- [Browserless](https://toolweight.com/tools/browserless), Self-hostable headless Chrome service; BrowserQL for bot-heavy sites
- [Cloudflare Browser Rendering](https://toolweight.com/tools/cloudflare-browser-rendering), Puppeteer and Playwright bindings for Workers, plus REST render endpoints
- [Hyperbrowser](https://toolweight.com/tools/hyperbrowser), Agent-first browsers with hosted scrape, crawl and CUA endpoints
- [Self-hosted Playwright](https://toolweight.com/tools/playwright-self-hosted), The baseline: run Chromium in your own container and own everything
- [ScrapingBee](https://toolweight.com/tools/scrapingbee), One-call HTML API with JavaScript rendering and premium proxy tiers
- [Steel.dev](https://toolweight.com/tools/steel-dev), Open-source browser API for AI agents, hosted or self-run

## Logo & brand colours

SVG files: https://toolweight.com/teams/kernel/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/kernel/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/kernel.

| Hex | oklch |
| --- | --- |
| #81b300 | oklch(70.5% 0.182 127.0) |
| #1c2024 | oklch(24.1% 0.010 248.2) |

## Licence and attribution

Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0.

- Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/kernel
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/kernel.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.