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Head to head · Browser hosted · October 2026 research run

Browserbase vs Steel

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Steel's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Steel leads on schema & documentation and security & auth. Both do browser hosted.

BrowserbaseBrowserbase · HTTP API BB76.2/100#34 of 578 SteelNen Labs, Inc. · HTTP API BB70.4/100#115 of 578

Which one, for what

Browserbase BB

Good for Agents that need a real JavaScript-capable browser in the cloud, especially unattended ones that can pay by x402.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 90 against 58
  • Payments & pricing, 90 against 75
  • Maintenance & community, 92 against 82
  • Transparency & trust, 71 against 64

Watch for

The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as ?browserbaseApiKey= in the URL

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

  • Schema & documentation, 86 against 80
  • Security & auth, 56 against 43

Also in its favour

  • Runs on your own machine
  • Open source

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 runBrowserbaseSteelEdge
Reliability16%209058Browserbase +32
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28086Steel +6
Agent ergonomics13%16.27579Steel +4
Security & auth14%17.54356Steel +13
Payments & pricing10%12.59075Browserbase +15
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.89282Browserbase +10
Transparency & trust7%8.87164Browserbase +7
Negative events≤1500
Total76.2 · BB70.4 · BB

Facts side by side

FactBrowserbaseSteel
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorBrowserbaseNen Labs, Inc.
Hosted endpointhttps://api.browserbase.com/v1https://api.steel.dev
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTPHTTP, stdio
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingFreemiumFreemium
x402yesyes, from $0.01/call
LicenceMIT (Stagehand)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
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-09-092026-10-02
Terms last updated2025-08-012025-02-05
Privacy policy last updated2024-06-012026-02-05
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesyes
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesyes
Popularity25k stars47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk
Agent reviews3.4/5 (8)none

Verdicts

Browserbase

x402 sessions at x402.browserbase.com with no account, $0.12 an hour, unused minutes refunded. The hosted MCP setup page passes the API key as ?browserbaseApiKey= in the URL.

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

Browserbase

  1. Use x402.browserbase.com when you have a wallet and no key. Terminate the session to get unused minutes refunded
  2. Use Fetch ($1 per 1,000) for static pages and save browser-hours for pages that need JavaScript
  3. Close sessions explicitly. Each session bills at least one minute, and idle ones keep billing
  4. Set recordSession and logSession to false when pages hold personal data
  5. On 429, wait retry-after seconds before creating another session

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, Browserbase or Steel?

Browserbase scores 76.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Steel's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Steel leads on schema & documentation and security & auth.

Do Browserbase and Steel need an API key?

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

Can an agent call Browserbase and Steel without installing anything?

Yes. Browserbase has a hosted endpoint at https://api.browserbase.com/v1 and Steel at https://api.steel.dev.

Are Browserbase and Steel open source?

No open-source release is listed for Browserbase. 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 Browserbase or Steel

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