# Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Steel

> Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)'s 30.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) leads on transparency & trust. Both do browser automation. Steel accepts x402. Puppeteer…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.md (~2,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.min.md (~830 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)'s 30.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) leads on transparency & trust. Both do browser automation. Steel accepts x402. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) doesn't.

- Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server): grade F, 30.6/100, rank #619 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json
- Steel: grade BB, 70.4/100, rank #129 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/steel.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/steel.json

## Which one, for what

### Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) (F)

Good for: Nothing new.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 75 against 64

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it

Watch for: Archived on 29 May 2025 with no security guarantees, and deprecated on npm

### 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:
- Reliability, 58 against 12
- Schema & documentation, 86 against 41
- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 47
- Security & auth, 56 against 22
- Payments & pricing, 75 against 60
- Maintenance & community, 82 against 0

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) loses 4 points for them

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 | Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) | Steel | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 12 | 58 | Steel +46 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 41 | 86 | Steel +45 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 79 | Steel +32 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 22 | 56 | Steel +34 |
| 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) | 0 | 82 | Steel +82 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 64 | Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **30.6 · F** | **70.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) | Steel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Model Context Protocol (archived) | 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 | MIT | 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 | 7 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2025-05-12 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | 2021-09-08 | 2025-02-05 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2023-03-15 | 2026-02-05 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 294 stars, 25k npm/wk | 47k npm/wk, 63k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 1/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server).** Seven tools in about 700 tokens, every input with a `required` list. Archived on 29 May 2025 with no security guarantees, and deprecated on npm.

**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

### Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)

1. Don't install it for new work. playwright-mcp covers the same tasks with snapshots and annotations
2. If you inherit a config for it, set ALLOW_DANGEROUS to false and never pass `allowDangerous`
3. Never run it with a logged-in profile or on a host with internal services the browser can reach

### 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, Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) or Steel?

Steel scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)'s 30.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) leads on transparency & trust.

### Do Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) and Steel need an API key?

Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) 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 Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) and Steel without installing anything?

Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Steel has a hosted endpoint at https://api.steel.dev.

### Are Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) and Steel open source?

Yes. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) is open source (MIT). 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/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "puppeteer-reference-server-archived", "b": "steel"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare puppeteer-reference-server-archived steel`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/steel.json

## Other comparisons with Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) or Steel

- [Airtop vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Airtop vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.md)
- [Browser Use vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Browser Use vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-steel.md)
- [Browserbase vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Browserless vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Browserless vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-steel.md)
- [Chrome DevTools MCP vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Chrome DevTools MCP vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-steel.md)
- [Hyperbrowser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Hyperbrowser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-steel.md)
- [Notte vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Notte vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-steel.md)
- [Playwright MCP vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Playwright MCP vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel.md)
- [Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-skyvern.md)
- [Skyvern vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/skyvern-vs-steel.md)
- [Browserbase vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel.md)

## Disclosure

- MCP started at Anthropic, which makes the Claude models our research agents and review panel run on (Anthropic donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation, in December 2025), and this server is graded by the same checklist as every other listing.