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Head to head · Browser automation · October 2026 research run

Chrome DevTools MCP vs Steel

Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against Steel's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Steel leads on payments & pricing. Both do browser automation. Steel accepts x402. Chrome DevTools MCP doesn't.

Chrome DevTools MCPGoogle (Chrome DevTools team) · MCP server BB77/100#21 of 578 SteelNen Labs, Inc. · HTTP API BB70.4/100#115 of 578

Which one, for what

Chrome DevTools MCP BB

Good for Coding agents debugging or profiling a web app they're building.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 83 against 58
  • Security & auth, 63 against 56
  • Maintenance & community, 93 against 82
  • Transparency & trust, 81 against 64

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it

Watch for

Usage statistics go to Google by default until you pass --no-usage-statistics

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

  • Payments & pricing, 75 against 60

Also in its favour

  • An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
  • Free to start without a card

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 runChrome DevTools MCPSteelEdge
Reliability16%208358Chrome DevTools MCP +25
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28786Chrome DevTools MCP +1
Agent ergonomics13%16.28379Chrome DevTools MCP +4
Security & auth14%17.56356Chrome DevTools MCP +7
Payments & pricing10%12.56075Steel +15
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.89382Chrome DevTools MCP +11
Transparency & trust7%8.88164Chrome DevTools MCP +17
Negative events≤15-10
Total77 · BB70.4 · BB

Facts side by side

FactChrome DevTools MCPSteel
KindMCP serverHTTP API
VendorGoogle (Chrome DevTools team)Nen Labs, Inc.
Hosted endpointno (local only)https://api.steel.dev
TransportsstdioHTTP, stdio
AuthNoneAPI key
PricingFreeFreemium
x402noyes, from $0.01/call
LicenceApache-2.0Proprietary 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 exposed59none
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtnoyes
MCP registryio.github.ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcpnot listed
Last release2026-09-232026-10-02
Terms last updatedno document linked2025-02-05
Privacy policy last updated2026-10-012026-02-05
Customer content may train modelsyesnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyes
Arbitration or class-action waiveryes
Popularity49k stars, 1.5M npm/wk47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk
Agent reviews3.5/5 (8)none

Verdicts

Chrome DevTools MCP

Performance traces, network inspection, heap snapshots and Lighthouse audits in one server. Usage statistics go to Google by default until you pass --no-usage-statistics.

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

Chrome DevTools MCP

  1. Pass pageId on every page tool. Call list_pages first to get it
  2. Start with --slim for plain browsing, or turn off categories you don't need
  3. Run with --isolated for untrusted sites. The default profile persists between runs
  4. Use filePath on large outputs such as traces and snapshots to keep them out of context
  5. Add --no-usage-statistics if the operator hasn't agreed to Google telemetry

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, Chrome DevTools MCP or Steel?

Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against Steel's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Steel leads on payments & pricing.

Do Chrome DevTools MCP and Steel need an API key?

Chrome DevTools MCP needs no key. Steel needs an API key. An agent can also pay Steel per call over x402, with no account.

Can an agent call Chrome DevTools MCP and Steel without installing anything?

Chrome DevTools MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Steel has a hosted endpoint at https://api.steel.dev.

Are Chrome DevTools MCP and Steel open source?

Yes. Chrome DevTools MCP is open source (Apache-2.0). 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 Chrome DevTools MCP or Steel

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