{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "airtop", "name": "Airtop", "vendor": "Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop)", "vendorUrl": "https://www.airtop.ai", "kind": "http-api", "category": "browser", "summary": "Airtop runs cloud browser sessions that an agent controls through a REST API, Node and Python SDKs, natural-language page calls, or Puppeteer, Playwright and Selenium connections. The same company sells Agent Builder, a no-code product for scheduled web agents.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/airtop.json", "repo": "https://github.com/airtop-ai/airtop-node-sdk", "license": "Proprietary cloud service under Airtop's terms of use. The Node and Python SDKs are MIT per npm and PyPI", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.airtop.ai/api", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@airtop/sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "airtop" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve API key from the portal at portal.airtop.ai/api-keys after a browser signup, sent as `Authorization: Bearer` on https://api.airtop.ai/api/v1. Puppeteer and Playwright connect to the session's `cdpWsUrl`, and Selenium to its `chromedriverUrl`, with the same Bearer header, so the key stays out of URLs. A key works across its organisation, including saved profiles. No scopes, read-only keys, expiry or rotation were found in the reviewed documentation. The developers page mentions RBAC for enterprise access without detail.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free plan with 1,000 credits a month and 3 simultaneous sessions. Paid plans start at $29 a month (Starter, 30,000 credits), $189 (Professional, 225,000) and $558 (Enterprise, 775,000), each with larger credit options, and annual billing takes 10 per cent off. Credits pay for browser time (billed in 30-second increments), integrated proxy traffic and AI calls, but the credits charged per unit are not published. No one-off credit purchases, and unused credits do not carry over. The pricing page states a 10,000 one-time credit bonus on Free while the billing guide states 30,000. Whether signup needs a card is not stated (https://www.airtop.ai/pricing, https://www.airtop.ai/help/billing/billing, checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$29 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the OpenAPI document or the pricing page. An unauthenticated GET to https://api.airtop.ai/api/v1/sessions on 2026-10-08 returned 401, not 402.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 16, "npmWeekly": 15505, "pypiWeekly": 246, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.airtop.ai", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.airtop.ai/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.airtop.ai/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "browser.control", "browser.hosted", "browser.debug", "web.scrape", "scraping.proxies", "scraping.anti-bot" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "freemium", "api-key", "openapi", "llms-txt", "typescript", "python", "proxies", "captcha", "status-page", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-07-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 55.3, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 511, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 11, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 65, "maintenance": 24, "payments": 25, "reliability": 69, "schema": 76, "security": 46, "transparency": 61 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The cloud browser API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, Markdown docs, natural-language page calls with a per-call credit cap, and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. Credit rates for browser time, proxy traffic and AI calls are not published, and the developer changelog's last entry is dated 3 September 2025.", "bestFor": "Agents that need a hosted browser with natural-language page calls, saved logins handed over by a person, and proxies and CAPTCHA solving in one service.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 document with 39 operations, an llms.txt index and a Markdown twin of every docs page", "The API key travels as a Bearer header on REST, CDP and Selenium connections, not in the URL", "Every AI call returns `meta.usage.credits` and accepts `costThresholdCredits` and `timeThresholdSeconds` to cap spend and time", "status.airtop.ai shows no incident between 10 July and 8 October 2026, only 30 minutes of scheduled maintenance on 18 August", "A person can log in through an embedded Live View, and the saved profile keeps the agent signed in without it seeing the password" ], "weaknesses": [ "No published rate for what a browser minute, a GB of proxy traffic or an AI call costs in credits", "The developer changelog's last entry is 3 September 2025, and the stable Python SDK dates from 23 April 2025", "No request rate limits, 429 handling or idempotency keys found in the reviewed documentation", "No scoped or read-only API keys documented, and no guidance on prompt injection from page content", "No security.txt, bug bounty, public DPA or subprocessor list found. The SOC 2 report is on request" ], "agentNotes": [ "Terminate every session with `DELETE /v1/sessions/{id}`. Sessions bill in 30-second increments and idle ones last 10 minutes by default", "Set `costThresholdCredits` on AI calls and read `meta.usage.credits` afterwards. Credit rates are not published, so measure them", "Use `page-query` with `configuration.outputSchema` for structured output. `prompt-content` and `summarize-content` are deprecated", "When calling REST without the SDK, poll session status until `running` before creating a window. Only the SDK waits for you", "Airtop's integrated proxy cannot reach LinkedIn, ticketing sites and some banks and streaming services. Bring a custom proxy for those" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 55.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 65, "maintenance": 24, "payments": 25, "reliability": 69, "schema": 76, "security": 46, "transparency": 42 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "install": "npm i -s @airtop/sdk", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.airtop.ai/api/v1/sessions -H \"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_AIRTOP_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.control", "tool": "https://letme.dev/airtop" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Starter plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 29, "note": "30,000 credits, larger credit options cost more" }, { "item": "Professional plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 189, "note": "225,000 credits, 30 simultaneous sessions" }, { "item": "Enterprise plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 558, "note": "775,000 credits, 100 simultaneous sessions" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop)", "domain": "airtop.ai", "domainRegistered": "2024-07-08", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.airtop.ai/tos", "privacy": "https://www.airtop.ai/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.airtop.ai", "changelog": "https://docs.airtop.ai/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Terms of Use (effective 28 July 2025) are a contract with Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc dba Airtop, 3277 S. White Rd., PMB 14328, San Jose, CA 95148, under California law. They cover the website, products, services and applications, and no separate API or service agreement was found.", "The privacy policy was updated on 2 September 2025 and says the services are hosted in the United States.", "The API answers at api.airtop.ai, Live View at live.airtop.ai and the portal at portal.airtop.ai.", "www.airtop.ai/.well-known/security.txt and docs.airtop.ai/.well-known/security.txt both return 404.", "RDAP for airtop.ai gives a registration date of 2024-07-08.", "The status page runs on Instatus with one component, App. The trust centre at trust.airtop.ai is a Vanta page that needs JavaScript and was not read.", "There are two changelogs. docs.airtop.ai/changelog covers the browser API and ends on 3 September 2025. www.airtop.ai/help/changelog covers Agent Builder and has one entry, 5 August 2026." ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.json", "live": { "slug": "airtop", "probe": { "target": "https://api.airtop.ai/api", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T19:52:43.599599117Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 279, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 296, "p95ms24h": 336, "samples24h": 27, "samples30d": 27, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 27, "ok": 27 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.airtop.ai", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:38:12.902359465Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.airtop.ai/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:10.014971821Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c3630d9e2345" }, { "url": "https://www.airtop.ai/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:01.944890702Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "38896fa721d2" }, { "url": "https://www.airtop.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:04.133677205Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "ee64836a6ed3" }, { "url": "https://www.airtop.ai/tos", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:06.187954482Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "d7cae0ea0d26" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:52:43.599599117Z" } }, "answer": "Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability.", "b": { "slug": "steel", "name": "Steel", "vendor": "Nen Labs, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://steel.dev", "kind": "http-api", "category": "browser", "summary": "Steel runs cloud browser sessions for AI agents, controlled through a REST API, a CDP WebSocket, SDKs, a CLI and an official MCP server. Its browser runtime, steel-browser, is open source and can be self-hosted.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/steel.json", "repo": "https://github.com/steel-dev/steel-browser", "license": "Proprietary cloud service under Steel's terms. steel-browser and the Node and Python SDKs are Apache-2.0. The MCP server and the CLI are MIT", "transports": [ "http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.steel.dev", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "steel-sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "steel-sdk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@steel-dev/cli" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve API key from the dashboard at app.steel.dev, sent in the `steel-api-key` header. Keys are named, shown once and revoked by deletion, and the dashboard shows when each was last used. A global key covers the whole organisation, and `POST /v1/api-keys` lets a global key create keys bound to one project. No per-permission scopes were found. CDP connections pass the key as the `apiKey` query parameter on `wss://connect.steel.dev`. The x402 endpoints need no key. A self-hosted steel-browser needs no key.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Launch is $0 plus usage with $30 of one-time credit valid for 90 days, and the quickstart says no card is required. Browser time is $0.10 an hour on Launch and $0.08 on Scale ($250 a month with $100 of monthly credit), billed by the minute and rounded up. Proxy traffic is $10 or $6 a GB, CAPTCHA solves $3 or $1 per 1,000, and scrape, screenshot and PDF calls $5 per 1,000. CAPTCHA solving and managed proxies on Launch need $10 of paid balance. The same three calls cost $0.01 each by x402. Enterprise is priced through sales. Self-hosted steel-browser is free (https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits, checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$0.01 / call", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "yes", "evidence": "x402 version 2 on https://x402.steel.dev for scrape, screenshot and PDF at $0.01 a call in USDC on Base or Solana, with no account or API key (https://docs.steel.dev/integrations/x402). An unpaid POST to /v1/scrape on 2026-10-08 returned 402 with a payment-required header for 10000 base units on eip155:8453 and Solana mainnet. The header names https://api.paysponge.com/v1/scrape as the resource, so a third party appears to run the payment layer. Browser sessions and api.steel.dev aren't covered.", "endpoints": [ { "url": "https://x402.steel.dev/v1/scrape", "priceUsd": 0.01, "network": "eip155:8453" }, { "url": "https://x402.steel.dev/v1/screenshot", "priceUsd": 0.01, "network": "eip155:8453" }, { "url": "https://x402.steel.dev/v1/pdf", "priceUsd": 0.01, "network": "eip155:8453" } ] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 46988, "pypiWeekly": 63315, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.steel.dev", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.steel.dev/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.steel.dev/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "browser.control", "browser.hosted", "browser.debug", "web.scrape", "web.fetch", "scraping.proxies", "scraping.anti-bot", "pdf.generate" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "self-hosted", "open-source", "freemium", "no-card", "x402", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "python", "typescript", "proxies", "status-page" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 70.4, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 136, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 79, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 75, "reliability": 58, "schema": 86, "security": 56, "transparency": 64 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The hosted API has a public OpenAPI document, per-unit prices, $30 of starting credit and x402 payment for scrape, screenshot and PDF calls. The status page records three API or session-creation incidents of more than an hour in 90 days, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL.", "bestFor": "Agents that need a real cloud browser with persistent profiles, stored logins, CAPTCHA solving and a human takeover path, and teams that want an open-source runtime they can also self-host.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.0.3 document with 75 operations, llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page", "x402 at x402.steel.dev for scrape, screenshot and PDF at $0.01 a call in USDC on Base or Solana, with no account", "Per-unit prices published without login, and $30 of one-time credit on the Launch plan", "Official MCP server with 16 annotated tools, a three-tool scrape profile and page content fenced as untrusted", "steel-browser, the browser runtime, is Apache-2.0 and self-hostable with Docker" ], "weaknesses": [ "Three incidents of more than an hour hit the API or session creation in the 90 days to 8 October 2026, the longest 5 hours 41 minutes", "The documented CDP connection passes the API key as `apiKey` in the `wss://connect.steel.dev` URL", "x402 covers the three one-shot endpoints only, so a browser session needs an account and a key", "The MCP server is not on npm or in the MCP registry, and `mcp.steel.dev` is not live per its README", "No deprecation policy or security.txt found, and the trust centre did not render for our reader" ], "agentNotes": [ "Use `POST /v1/scrape` for pages you only need to read. It starts no session and costs $5 per 1,000 calls, or $0.01 a call by x402", "Release every session with `POST /v1/sessions/{id}/release` and set `inactivityTimeout`. Browser time bills by the minute, rounded up", "Build the CDP URL as `wss://connect.steel.dev?apiKey=\u003ckey\u003e\u0026sessionId=\u003cid\u003e` and keep it out of logs, because it carries the key", "Launch sessions end after 15 minutes at most, and `timeout` cannot be changed on a live session", "CAPTCHA solving and Steel's managed proxies on Launch need $10 of paid balance. Free credit does not count" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 70.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 79, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 75, "reliability": 58, "schema": 86, "security": 56, "transparency": 52 }, "provenanceScore": 75 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install steel-sdk", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.steel.dev/v1/scrape -H \"steel-api-key: YOUR_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"url\": \"https://example.com\"}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add steel -e STEEL_API_KEY=your-steel-api-key -- npx -y github:steel-dev/steel-mcp-server", "config": { "mcpServers": { "steel": { "args": [ "-y", "github:steel-dev/steel-mcp-server" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "STEEL_API_KEY": "\u003cyour-steel-api-key\u003e" } } } }, "x402": "curl -i -X POST https://x402.steel.dev/v1/scrape -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"url\": \"https://example.com\", \"format\": [\"markdown\"]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.control", "tool": "https://letme.dev/steel" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Browser, Launch plan", "unit": "browser-hour", "usd": 0.1, "note": "Billed by the minute, rounded up" }, { "item": "Browser, Scale plan", "unit": "browser-hour", "usd": 0.08 }, { "item": "Proxy traffic, Launch", "unit": "gb", "usd": 10 }, { "item": "Proxy traffic, Scale", "unit": "gb", "usd": 6 }, { "item": "Scrape, screenshot or PDF", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5 }, { "item": "Scrape, screenshot or PDF by x402", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.01, "note": "USDC on Base or Solana, no account" }, { "item": "CAPTCHA solves, Launch", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 3 }, { "item": "CAPTCHA solves, Scale", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 1 }, { "item": "Scale plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 250, "note": "$100 of usage credit each month" }, { "item": "Dedicated IP, Scale", "unit": "month", "usd": 5, "note": "Per IP" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nen Labs, Inc.", "domain": "steel.dev", "domainRegistered": "2024-07-22", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://steel.dev/terms", "privacy": "https://steel.dev/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.steel.dev", "changelog": "https://docs.steel.dev/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The terms (last updated 5 February 2025) and the privacy notice (last updated 5 February 2026) name Nen Labs, Inc., 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 34667, Beaverton, OR 97008, United States, and the terms choose Delaware law.", "The docs Legal page links to Google Docs copies of the terms and privacy policy and not to steel.dev/terms and steel.dev/privacy. We read the steel.dev pages.", "The API answers at api.steel.dev, CDP at connect.steel.dev and x402 at x402.steel.dev. The x402 payment header names api.paysponge.com as the resource.", "steel.dev/.well-known/security.txt and docs.steel.dev/.well-known/security.txt both return 404. The site footer's Security link goes to a Vanta trust centre at trust.steel.dev.", "RDAP for steel.dev gives a registration date of 2024-07-22.", "Changelog entries are numbered and carry dates in page metadata. Number 038 is dated 2 October 2026." ], "score": 75 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.json", "live": { "slug": "steel", "probe": { "target": "https://api.steel.dev", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T19:53:03.122866527Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 434, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 435, "p95ms24h": 512, "samples24h": 50, "samples30d": 50, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 50, "ok": 50 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.steel.dev", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:39:13.93384351Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "steel-dev/steel-browser", "version": "v0.5.4-beta", "released": "2026-08-25", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:30:24.00662318Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@steel-dev/cli", "version": "0.3.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:30:22.800432877Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "steel-sdk", "version": "0.18.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:30:21.796405435Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "steel-sdk", "version": "0.19.0", "released": "2026-06-23", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:30:22.613655125Z" } ], "githubStars": 7756, "npmWeekly": 46988, "pypiWeekly": 63315, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://steel.dev/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:32.828125596Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.steel.dev/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 404, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:19:29.693209384Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z" }, { "url": "https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:19:31.90717024Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "b8c6356ee458" }, { "url": "https://steel.dev/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:47.574475358Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "574556e30b0e" }, { "url": "https://steel.dev/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:50.029723662Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "d797ea62e1fb" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:53:03.122866527Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop)", "b": "Nen Labs, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.airtop.ai/api", "b": "https://api.steel.dev", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP, stdio", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes, from $0.01/call", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary cloud service under Airtop's terms of use. The Node and Python SDKs are MIT per npm and PyPI", "b": "Proprietary cloud service under Steel's terms. steel-browser and the Node and Python SDKs are Apache-2.0. The MCP server and the CLI are MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-07-01", "b": "2026-10-02", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2025-07-29", "b": "2025-02-05", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2025-09-02", "b": "2026-02-05", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "16 stars, 16k npm/wk, 246 PyPI/wk", "b": "47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Airtop or Steel?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key. An agent can also pay Steel per call over x402, with no account.", "question": "Do Airtop and Steel need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Airtop has a hosted endpoint at https://api.airtop.ai/api and Steel at https://api.steel.dev.", "question": "Can an agent call Airtop and Steel without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Airtop. Steel is open source (Proprietary cloud service under Steel's terms. steel-browser and the Node and Python SDKs are Apache-2.0. The MCP server and the CLI are MIT).", "question": "Are Airtop and Steel open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 69 against 58" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Agents that need a hosted browser with natural-language page calls, saved logins handed over by a person, and proxies and CAPTCHA solving in one service.", "slug": "airtop", "watchFor": "No published rate for what a browser minute, a GB of proxy traffic or an AI call costs in credits" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 86 against 76", "Agent ergonomics, 79 against 65", "Security \u0026 auth, 56 against 46", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 75 against 25", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 82 against 24" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account", "Runs on your own machine", "Free to start without a card", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Agents that need a real cloud browser with persistent profiles, stored logins, CAPTCHA solving and a human takeover path, and teams that want an open-source runtime they can also self-host.", "slug": "steel", "watchFor": "Three incidents of more than an hour hit the API or session creation in the 90 days to 8 October 2026, the longest 5 hours 41 minutes" } ], "job": { "capability": "browser.control", "name": "Browser automation" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.json", "title": "Airtop vs Anchor Browser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browser Use", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browserbase", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browserless", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json", "title": "Airtop vs Chrome DevTools MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser.json", "title": "Airtop vs Hyperbrowser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-notte.json", "title": "Airtop vs Notte", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-notte" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Airtop vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json", "title": "Airtop vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-skyvern.json", "title": "Airtop vs Skyvern", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-skyvern" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-steel.json", "title": "Browser Use vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-steel.json", "title": "Browserless vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.json", "title": "Chrome DevTools MCP vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-steel.json", "title": "Hyperbrowser vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-steel.json", "title": "Notte vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel.json", "title": "Playwright MCP vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.json", "title": "Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/skyvern-vs-steel.json", "title": "Skyvern vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/skyvern-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel" } ], "scores": [ { "airtop": 69, "by": 11, "edge": "airtop", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "steel": 58, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "airtop": 76, "by": 10, "edge": "steel", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "steel": 86, "weight": 13 }, { "airtop": 65, "by": 14, "edge": "steel", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "steel": 79, "weight": 13 }, { "airtop": 46, "by": 10, "edge": "steel", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "steel": 56, "weight": 14 }, { "airtop": 25, "by": 50, "edge": "steel", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "steel": 75, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "airtop": 24, "by": 58, "edge": "steel", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "steel": 82, "weight": 7 }, { "airtop": 61, "by": 3, "edge": "steel", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "steel": 64, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability. Both do browser automation. Steel accepts x402. Airtop doesn't.", "verdicts": { "airtop": "The cloud browser API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, Markdown docs, natural-language page calls with a per-call credit cap, and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. Credit rates for browser time, proxy traffic and AI calls are not published, and the developer changelog's last entry is dated 3 September 2025.", "steel": "The hosted API has a public OpenAPI document, per-unit prices, $30 of starting credit and x402 payment for scrape, screenshot and PDF calls. The status page records three API or session-creation incidents of more than an hour in 90 days, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.min.md" }, "markdown": "Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability. Both do browser automation. Steel accepts x402. Airtop doesn't.\n\n- Airtop: grade C, 55.3/100, rank #511 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/airtop.json\n- Steel: grade BB, 70.4/100, rank #136 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/steel.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Airtop (C)\n\nGood for: Agents that need a hosted browser with natural-language page calls, saved logins handed over by a person, and proxies and CAPTCHA solving in one service.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 69 against 58\n\nWatch for: No published rate for what a browser minute, a GB of proxy traffic or an AI call costs in credits\n\n### Steel (BB)\n\nGood for: Agents that need a real cloud browser with persistent profiles, stored logins, CAPTCHA solving and a human takeover path, and teams that want an open-source runtime they can also self-host.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 86 against 76\n- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 65\n- Security \u0026 auth, 56 against 46\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 75 against 25\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 82 against 24\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account\n- Runs on your own machine\n- Free to start without a card\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: Three incidents of more than an hour hit the API or session creation in the 90 days to 8 October 2026, the longest 5 hours 41 minutes\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Airtop | Steel | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 69 | 58 | Airtop +11 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 86 | Steel +10 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 79 | Steel +14 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 46 | 56 | Steel +10 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 75 | Steel +50 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 24 | 82 | Steel +58 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 64 | Steel +3 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **55.3 · C** | **70.4 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Airtop | Steel |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop) | Nen Labs, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.airtop.ai/api` | `https://api.steel.dev` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, stdio |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | yes, from $0.01/call |\n| Licence | Proprietary cloud service under Airtop's terms of use. The Node and Python SDKs are MIT per npm and PyPI | Proprietary cloud service under Steel's terms. steel-browser and the Node and Python SDKs are Apache-2.0. The MCP server and the CLI are MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-07-01 | 2026-10-02 |\n| Terms last updated | 2025-07-29 | 2025-02-05 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-02 | 2026-02-05 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |\n| Popularity | 16 stars, 16k npm/wk, 246 PyPI/wk | 47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Airtop.** The cloud browser API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, Markdown docs, natural-language page calls with a per-call credit cap, and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. Credit rates for browser time, proxy traffic and AI calls are not published, and the developer changelog's last entry is dated 3 September 2025.\n\n**Steel.** The hosted API has a public OpenAPI document, per-unit prices, $30 of starting credit and x402 payment for scrape, screenshot and PDF calls. The status page records three API or session-creation incidents of more than an hour in 90 days, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Airtop\n\n1. Terminate every session with `DELETE /v1/sessions/{id}`. Sessions bill in 30-second increments and idle ones last 10 minutes by default\n2. Set `costThresholdCredits` on AI calls and read `meta.usage.credits` afterwards. Credit rates are not published, so measure them\n3. Use `page-query` with `configuration.outputSchema` for structured output. `prompt-content` and `summarize-content` are deprecated\n4. When calling REST without the SDK, poll session status until `running` before creating a window. Only the SDK waits for you\n5. Airtop's integrated proxy cannot reach LinkedIn, ticketing sites and some banks and streaming services. Bring a custom proxy for those\n\n### Steel\n\n1. Use `POST /v1/scrape` for pages you only need to read. It starts no session and costs $5 per 1,000 calls, or $0.01 a call by x402\n2. Release every session with `POST /v1/sessions/{id}/release` and set `inactivityTimeout`. Browser time bills by the minute, rounded up\n3. Build the CDP URL as `wss://connect.steel.dev?apiKey=\u003ckey\u003e\u0026sessionId=\u003cid\u003e` and keep it out of logs, because it carries the key\n4. Launch sessions end after 15 minutes at most, and `timeout` cannot be changed on a live session\n5. CAPTCHA solving and Steel's managed proxies on Launch need $10 of paid balance. Free credit does not count\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Airtop or Steel?\n\nSteel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability.\n\n### Do Airtop and Steel need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key. An agent can also pay Steel per call over x402, with no account.\n\n### Can an agent call Airtop and Steel without installing anything?\n\nYes. Airtop has a hosted endpoint at https://api.airtop.ai/api and Steel at https://api.steel.dev.\n\n### Are Airtop and Steel open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Airtop. Steel is open source (Proprietary cloud service under Steel's terms. steel-browser and the Node and Python SDKs are Apache-2.0. The MCP server and the CLI are MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"airtop\", \"b\": \"steel\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare airtop steel`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/airtop.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/steel.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Airtop or Steel\n\n- [Airtop vs Anchor Browser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browser Use](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless.md)\n- [Airtop vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)\n- [Airtop vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser.md)\n- [Airtop vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-notte.md)\n- [Airtop vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Airtop vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)\n- [Airtop vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-skyvern.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.md)\n- [Browser Use vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-steel.md)\n- [Browserless vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-steel.md)\n- [Chrome DevTools MCP vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.md)\n- [Hyperbrowser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-steel.md)\n- [Notte vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-steel.md)\n- [Playwright MCP vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel.md)\n- [Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.md)\n- [Skyvern vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/skyvern-vs-steel.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Airtop vs Steel", "url": "" } ], "description": "Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability. Both do browser automation. Steel accepts x402. Airtop doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Airtop C 55.3", "Steel BB 70.4", "scores" ], "h1": "Airtop vs Steel", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-airtop-vs-steel.png", "path": "/compare/airtop-vs-steel", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Airtop vs Steel for AI agents, C 55.3 vs BB 70.4 | Anchor Terminal", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2400, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }