# What is a remote browser for web scraping?

A remote browser is a browser that runs on a cloud server instead of your local machine. You control it through an API or CLI, and it handles [JavaScript rendering](/content/glossary/web-scraping-apis/what-is-javascript-rendering-web-scraping/index.html), interactions, and dynamic content without any local setup.

| Factor    | Local Browser                   | Remote Browser                |
|-----------|---------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Resources | High CPU and RAM locally        | Runs on cloud servers          |
| Setup     | Install Chromium, configure drivers | API call or CLI command      |
| Scaling   | Limited by local hardware       | Hundreds of parallel sessions   |
| Security  | Runs on your infrastructure     | [Isolated per session](/content/glossary/web-scraping-apis/browser-isolation-web-scraping/index.html) |

Use it for scraping dynamic sites, multi-step flows (logins, forms, pagination), or giving AI agents a browser to work with.

[Firecrawl Browser Sandbox](/content/blog/introducing-browser-sandbox/index.html) provides remote browsers out of the box. Each session is isolated, disposable, and pre-loaded with Playwright. No Chromium to install, no infrastructure to manage.