Puppeteer vs ForgeKit
Last verified: Feb 1, 2026
TL;DR: Puppeteer wins for teams with DevOps capacity who need full browser automation. ForgeKit wins when you want a managed screenshot/PDF API without running Chrome yourself.
Compare output with ForgeKit
Feature comparison
| Feature | ForgeKit | Puppeteer |
|---|---|---|
| Managed infrastructure | true | false |
| Avg response time | 1800ms | 3200ms |
| JavaScript rendering | true | true |
| PDF generation | true | true |
| MCP / agent support | true | false |
| Free tier | true | true |
| Rate limit (req/min) | 60 | 60 |
| SDK languages | REST, MCP, OpenAPI | Node.js |
Puppeteer strengths
- Full browser control
- Large community
- Free when self-hosted
- PDF and screenshot support
Puppeteer weaknesses
- Requires server infrastructure
- Memory-heavy at scale
- No managed SLA
- Cold start on serverless
When to choose each
Choose Puppeteer if: full browser control.
Choose ForgeKit if: you want managed utility APIs with MCP support.
Pricing at scale
| Volume | ForgeKit | Puppeteer |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 requests/mo | $19 (Starter) | Self-hosted |
| 10,000 requests/mo | $49 (Build) | Browserless |
| 100,000 requests/mo | $99 (Scale) | Enterprise |
Migration guide
// Puppeteer approach
const result = await captureWithPuppeteer({
url: "https://example.com",
format: "png",
});// ForgeKit — one REST call
const res = await fetch("https://useforgekit.dev/api/v1/screenshot", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": "Bearer fk_live_...",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({ url: "https://example.com", width: 1280 }),
});
const { jobId } = await res.json();FAQ
Can ForgeKit replace Puppeteer for screenshots?
Yes. ForgeKit handles headless Chrome, scaling, and retries. You send a URL and receive a PNG or PDF without managing browsers.
Is Puppeteer free?
Puppeteer itself is open source, but you pay for compute, memory, and DevOps time to run Chrome at scale.
Which is faster for a single screenshot?
ForgeKit typically responds in under 3 seconds for standard pages because browsers are warm and pooled.
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