# 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. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent…

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- Updated: 2026-10-08

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 MCP: grade BB, 77/100, rank #22 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.json
- 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

## 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

| Category | Weight | Chrome DevTools MCP | Steel | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 58 | Chrome DevTools MCP +25 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 86 | Chrome DevTools MCP +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 79 | Chrome DevTools MCP +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 63 | 56 | Chrome DevTools MCP +7 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 75 | Steel +15 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 93 | 82 | Chrome DevTools MCP +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 81 | 64 | Chrome DevTools MCP +17 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -1 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **77 · BB** | **70.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Chrome DevTools MCP | Steel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Google (Chrome DevTools team) | Nen Labs, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.steel.dev` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.01/call |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | 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 |
| Tools exposed | 59 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-23 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-02-05 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-01 | 2026-02-05 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 49k stars, 1.5M npm/wk | 47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (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).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "chrome-devtools-mcp", "b": "steel"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare chrome-devtools-mcp steel`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/steel.json

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