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Head to head · Browser automation · October 2026 research run

Browser Use vs Steel

Browser Use scores 77.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Steel's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Steel leads on maintenance & community. Both do browser automation.

Browser UseBrowser Use · HTTP API BB77.9/100#15 of 578 SteelNen Labs, Inc. · HTTP API BB70.4/100#115 of 578

Which one, for what

Browser Use BB

Good for An agent that wants to hand a whole browser task to a hosted agent and get a result back, or that needs a low-cost cloud browser over CDP, and for unattended agents that can pay by x402.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 87 against 58
  • Payments & pricing, 90 against 75

Watch for

The privacy policy says inputs are used to train Browser Use's AI models, with no opt-out described outside Enterprise zero data retention

Steel BB

Good 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.

Ahead on

  • Maintenance & community, 82 against 77

Watch 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

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runBrowser UseSteelEdge
Reliability16%208758Browser Use +29
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28586Steel +1
Agent ergonomics13%16.27879Steel +1
Security & auth14%17.55956Browser Use +3
Payments & pricing10%12.59075Browser Use +15
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87782Steel +5
Transparency & trust7%8.86564Browser Use +1
Negative events≤1500
Total77.9 · BB70.4 · BB

Facts side by side

FactBrowser UseSteel
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorBrowser UseNen Labs, Inc.
Hosted endpointhttps://api.browser-use.com/api/v4https://api.steel.dev
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdioHTTP, stdio
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPay per useFreemium
x402yesyes, from $0.01/call
LicenceMIT for the open-source library and the SDK. Browser Use Cloud is a proprietary service under Browser Use's terms of serviceProprietary 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
Tools exposed7none
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrycom.browser-use/browser-usenot listed
Last release2026-10-072026-10-02
Terms last updated2026-07-152025-02-05
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-02-05
Customer content may train modelsyesnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesyes
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesyes
Popularity117k stars, 107k npm/wk, 2.1M PyPI/wk47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk

Verdicts

Browser Use

The hosted cloud accepts x402 top-ups in USDC on Base with no account or API key, and publishes prices, rate limits and three OpenAPI documents. The privacy policy says inputs are used to train Browser Use's models, API keys have no documented scopes, and no prompt-injection guidance was found in the docs.

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.

Before you call either

Browser Use

  1. Send the key as X-Browser-Use-API-Key with no Bearer prefix. A Bearer header returns 401
  2. Stop browsers with PATCH /api/v4/browsers/{id} and {"action":"stop"}. Closing CDP or the SDK client leaves the browser billing
  3. Poll GET /runs/{id}/status, not the full run, and wait for the returned Retry-After on 429, which can be 300 seconds at the edge
  4. Before resubmitting after a timeout, read the existing run's status. The server keeps running and may already have submitted a form
  5. With a wallet and no key, call x402.api.browser-use.com on /api/v2 or /api/v3 routes. A task stops with INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS if credit runs out mid-run

Steel

  1. 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
  2. Release every session with POST /v1/sessions/{id}/release and set inactivityTimeout. Browser time bills by the minute, rounded up
  3. Build the CDP URL as wss://connect.steel.dev?apiKey=<key>&sessionId=<id> and keep it out of logs, because it carries the key
  4. Launch sessions end after 15 minutes at most, and timeout cannot be changed on a live session
  5. CAPTCHA solving and Steel's managed proxies on Launch need $10 of paid balance. Free credit does not count

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Browser Use or Steel?

Browser Use scores 77.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Steel's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Steel leads on maintenance & community.

Do Browser Use and Steel need an API key?

Both need an API key. An agent can also pay Browser Use per call over x402, with no account. An agent can also pay Steel per call over x402, with no account.

Can an agent call Browser Use and Steel without installing anything?

Yes. Browser Use has a hosted endpoint at https://api.browser-use.com/api/v4 and Steel at https://api.steel.dev.

Are Browser Use and Steel open source?

Yes. Browser Use is open source (MIT for the open-source library and the SDK. Browser Use Cloud is a proprietary service under Browser Use's terms of service). 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).

Other comparisons with Browser Use or Steel

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