CompareDriver vs Kernel→

The Kernel alternative
for sites that block bots.

The same checkout on a bot-protected site, run on Kernel and Driver at the same time. Watch the replay.

Start for freeTalk to us
Kernel
tickets.example.com/checkout

Checking your browser before you continue

Verify you are human

This may take a few seconds.

Request ID 8f2c1a9e44d0

Stopped at the bot check5.0 s
Driver
tickets.example.com/checkout

TIX

Secure checkout

Checkout

Friday, Oct 16 · Section 104, Row F, Seats 7 and 8

2 tickets$168.00
Fees$16.00
Total$184.00
Place order
Order placed11.8 s
0:12 / 0:15

Recorded replay. Same checkout, same site, both started at 14:02:07 UTC.

Trusted by Devs at

  • Simplify Jobs
  • Checkr
  • Vinterior
  • Price2Spy
  • Massive
  • Hack VC
Replays

Six tasks,one
stopwatch.

Same script, same site, same minute. Times run from the first step to the last.

Same script, same minute

  • Kernel
  • Driver

  • Ticket checkout

    Bot-protected ticketing

    Blocked

    11.8 s

  • County records search

    Court portal with CAPTCHA

    Blocked

    9.4 s

  • Change a flight

    Airline login and 2FA

    22.8 s

    17.2 s

  • Local price check

    Geo-fenced storefront

    Wrong region

    6.8 s

  • Marketplace scan

    Listings behind device checks

    14.6 s

    12.1 s

  • Job application

    Multi-step form

    Blocked

    19.5 s

Kernel

2 of 6completed

Driver

6 of 6completed

Recorded runs from the same script, started at the same minute.

At a glance

Side by side,on
the facts.

From published plans and docs as of September 2026. Check their site for changes.

Driver
Kernel
Hardware
Driver: Real devices we own
Kernel: Unikernel VMs (Unikraft)
Browser
Driver: Real Chromium, no stealth patches
Kernel: Chromium patched for stealth
Fingerprints
Driver: Real device signals
Kernel: Generated in software
Network
Driver: ISP IPs, included
Kernel: Proxies included, type not listed
Proxy traffic
Driver: Included in $5 per GB
Kernel: No charge
You pay for
Driver: Traffic only
Kernel: Compute time plus a monthly plan
First paid plan
Driver: $49/mo, all back as credits
Kernel: $30/mo plus usage, $10 in credits
Concurrency
Driver: 5 free, 30, 100
Kernel: 5 free, 10, 150
Frameworks
Driver: Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium, Stagehand
Kernel: CDP clients
Real hardware

Bot walls checkthe hardware. Ours is real.

Anti-bot scripts read the GPU, input and network. On our physical servers and phones every signal is genuine, so pages load without a challenge.

What the bot wall sees

Driver hardwareCloud VM
HardwarePhysical machineVirtual machine
GPUReal GPUSoftware render
InputReal input eventsSynthetic events
FingerprintConsistentMismatched
NetworkOwned IPv4Datacenter
PassedBlocked
Racks of physical servers and phones, and what an anti-bot script sees on Driver hardware versus a cloud VM.

  • Passes device checks

    Real GPUs and real input. Nothing to spoof.

  • No evasion code

    No stealth plugins or patches to maintain.

  • Owned network

    Traffic exits on our own IPv4 and transit.

  • Recorded sessions

    Every run is logged with machine and location.

Pricing

What youpay
to run a browser.

Kernel charges a monthly plan plus compute for every second a browser runs. Driver charges only for traffic, so idle time is free.

Driver

  • Network

    ISP IPs, billed per GB of traffic

    $5/GB

  • Browser time

    Not billed, idle time is free

    $0

  • Entry plan

    30 concurrent, $49 back as credits

    $49

  • Scale plan

    100 concurrent, $129 back as credits

    $129

Kernel

  • Network

    Proxies included, type not listed

    $0

  • Browser time

    Per GB of memory, per second

    $0.06/GB·hr

  • Entry plan

    10 concurrent, $10 in credits, plus usage

    $30

  • Start-up plan

    150 concurrent, $50 in credits, plus usage

    $200

Switching

Switch inan
afternoon.

Driver uses CDP too. Change the connection URL, keep your scripts and run both side by side until you’re sure.

1import { chromium } from 'playwright';23const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(4  'wss://connect.driver.dev?apiKey=' + process.env.DRIVER_API_KEY5);6const page = await browser.newPage();7await page.goto('https://tickets.example.com');8await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Checkout' }).click();

OUTPUT

$ npx tsx agent.ts

connected drv_8f2c1a · Chrome 129 · real GPU · residential IPv4

loaded tickets.example.com 1.2 s

done checkout reached 11.8 s

  • Same CDP protocol
  • Same scripts and selectors
  • Run both side by side