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Steel.dev

Open-source browser API for AI agents, hosted or self-run

steel.devdocs.steel.devgithub.com/steel-dev/steel-browser
Overall in browser apis
6of 14 · score 84.8
Data coverage
92%
24 of 26 fields sourced

Best for

  • •Teams with a hard self-host requirement
  • •Prototyping agents you may later run on your own hardware
  • •Avoiding lock-in without writing your own session manager

Strong on

  • +Open-source core Yes 1/14

Weak on

  • −GitHub stars 5,000 6/10
    Better: Browser Use: 120,216
  • −Per browser-hour $0.1/browser-hour 7/9
    Better: ZenRows: $0/browser-hour

vs Kernel

  • •Ahead on Open-source core: Yes vs Partial
  • •Ahead on GitHub stars: 5,000 vs 1,128
  • •Behind on Session replay: Partial vs Yes
  • •Behind on Browser regions: us-east vs us-east, eu-west, ap-southeast

How Steel.dev scores among 14 browser apis24 of 26 fields known

Reliability & anti-bot5

Anti-bot pass rate
—
Stealth mode1st
Yes
1/14
docs.steel.dev · 2026-07-01
CAPTCHA solving
Partial
9/14
Leader: Browserbase · Yes
Residential proxy
metered-extra
4/14
Leader: Airtop · included
Cold start
—
· 2026-11-07

Features10

CDP endpoint1st
Yes
1/14
docs.steel.dev · 2026-07-01
Playwright1st
Yes
1/14
docs.steel.dev · 2026-07-01
Puppeteer1st
Yes
1/14
docs.steel.dev · 2026-07-01
Session persistence1st
Yes
1/14
docs.steel.dev · 2026-07-01
Live view1st
Yes
1/14
docs.steel.dev · 2026-07-01
Session replay
Partial
6/14
Leader: Browserbase · Yes
Max concurrency1st
100 sessions
1/13
docs.steel.dev · 2026-11-07
File downloads1st
Yes
1/14
Chrome extensions1st
Yes
1/12
docs.steel.dev · 2026-11-07
Browser regions
us-east
7/12
Leader: Hyperbrowser · us-central, us-east, us-west, europe-west, asia-south

Agentic3

Agent API
Partial
4/14
Leader: Hyperbrowser · Yes
MCP server1st
Yes
1/14
Human handoff
Partial
5/14
Leader: Browserless · Yes

Pricing3

Pricing model1st
per-hour
1/14
Per browser-hour
$0.1/browser-hour
7/9
Leader: ZenRows · $0/browser-hour
docs.steel.dev · 2026-11-07
Free tier1st
Yes
1/14

Traction3

GitHub stars
5,000
6/10
Leader: Browser Use · 120,216
Funding stage
seed
8/14
Leader: Cloudflare Browser Rendering · public
Open-source core1st
Yes
1/14
github.com · 2026-07-01

Positioning2

Positioning
Open-source browser API purpose-built for AI agents
Launched1st
2024
1/14

Alternatives8

Compare

Sources8