Browserless alternative for screenshots and PDFs: render-bolt
Browserless gives you remote browsers to script. If all you need is a screenshot, a PDF or page text, a single HTTP call is simpler and cheaper.
Price for the same volume
| Service | Plan | Per 1,000 | Per month | Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| render-bolt Starter | Starter | $0.60 | $15 | 25,000 renders |
| render-bolt Growth | Growth | $0.39 | $39 | 100,000 renders |
| Browserless Prototyping | Prototyping | $1.75 | $35 | 20,000 units |
| Browserless Starter | Starter | $1.11 | $200 | 180,000 units |
Browserless bills in units: one unit covers up to 30 seconds of browser time per connection. A quick screenshot usually takes one unit, so the per-1,000 figure is the best case for them. From Browserless's public pages, checked October 2026: browserless.io, docs.browserless.io.
What both do
- Real Chromium in the cloud, no browser to install or keep alive
- Screenshots and PDFs over plain HTTP
- Page content extraction
- Stealth measures against basic bot detection
Where Browserless is stronger
- Connect your own Puppeteer or Playwright scripts to their browsers
- BrowserQL for multi-step automation: logins, clicks, forms
- CAPTCHA solving and residential proxies
- A self-hosted Docker image and managed private deployments
- Integrations with agent frameworks and MCP
Choose Browserless if you automate whole flows: logging in, clicking through pages, solving CAPTCHAs, or running your own scripts.
Where render-bolt fits
- No browser code at all: send a URL or HTML, get a file back
- A fixed price per render instead of browser-time units
- Ad blocking, cookie banner removal and full font coverage are built in
- Clean Markdown output tuned for LLM input
Choose render-bolt if you only need the output of a page: an image, a PDF or its text.
Switching
Send the same page with these options. Every endpoint accepts POST with JSON or GET with query parameters.
| You want | render-bolt option |
|---|---|
| Full-page screenshot | full_page: true |
| Capture one element | selector: "#pricing" |
| Retina / 2x | device_scale_factor: 2 |
| Block ads | block_ads: true |
| Hide cookie banners | block_cookie_banners: true |
| Dark mode | dark_mode: true |
| Wait for an element | wait_for_selector: ".loaded" |
| Extra delay | delay: 1500 |
| Viewport size | viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 } |
| Return a link instead of the file | response_type: "url" |
| Page to Markdown | POST /v1/extract { url } |
Questions
Is render-bolt a drop-in replacement for Browserless?
Not for scripted automation: there is no Puppeteer or Playwright connection. If your scripts only open a page and save a screenshot, a PDF or its content, each script becomes one HTTP call with the options in the table above.
How much cheaper is it than Browserless?
render-bolt Starter costs $15 for 25,000 renders ($0.60 per 1,000). Browserless Prototyping lists $35 for 20,000 units ($1.75 per 1,000), checked October 2026.
Can I try it before paying?
Yes. The free plan has 100 renders a month with every feature and needs no card.