# Chrome DevTools MCP vs Steel (slim)

> 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…

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.md (~2,400 tokens) · this version ~780 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · 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: BB 77, rank #22 of 722 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.min.md
- Steel: BB 70.4, rank #136 of 722 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.min.md
- Chrome DevTools MCP, 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 No key needed to call it.
- Steel, 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 An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account; A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install; Free to start without a card.

| Category | Chrome DevTools MCP | Steel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 83 | 58 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 87 | 86 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 83 | 79 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 63 | 56 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 75 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 93 | 82 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 81 | 64 |

| Fact (where they differ) | 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 |
| 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 |