--- title: Steel.dev slug: steel-dev url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/steel-dev" homepage: "https://steel.dev" categories: browser-automation-apis last_verified: 2026-11-07 dataset_version: 0738be72 license: CC-BY-4.0 --- # Steel.dev > Open-source browser API for AI agents, hosted or self-run - Publishes its entire browser service under Apache-2.0, a credible middle ground between a hosted host and rolling your own - Hosted version adds a session viewer, proxy egress and managed scaling; the open-source image runs on your hardware - A cookbook of integrations with browser-use, CUA loops and LangChain is where most people meet it ## Identity | | | | --- | --- | | Name | Steel.dev | | Company | Steel.dev | | One-liner | Open-source browser API for AI agents, hosted or self-run | | Site | https://steel.dev | | Docs | https://docs.steel.dev | | Repo | https://github.com/steel-dev/steel-browser | | Founded | 2024 | | Funding | Seed | | Open source | Yes | | Licence | Apache-2.0 | | Compared in | 1 | ## Where it is compared ### [Browser APIs](https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis) Ranked **#6 of 14** on default weights. | Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Anti-bot pass rate | - | Unknown | - | - | Panel not yet run. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--antibot_success | | Stealth mode | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.steel.dev | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--stealth_mode | | CAPTCHA solving | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Auto-solving offered on hosted sessions; less mature than the unblocking specialists. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--captcha_solving | | Residential proxy | metered-extra | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--residential_proxy | | Cold start | - | Unknown | 2026-11-07 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--cold_start | | CDP endpoint | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.steel.dev | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--cdp_endpoint | | Playwright | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.steel.dev/integrations/playwright | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--playwright_support | | Puppeteer | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.steel.dev/integrations/puppeteer | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--puppeteer_support | | Session persistence | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/profiles-api/overview | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--session_persistence | | Live view | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/sessions-api/embed-sessions/live-sessions | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--live_view | | Session replay | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Session viewer covers live and recent sessions; long retention is unclear. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--session_replay | | Max concurrency | 100 sessions | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--concurrency_ceiling | | File downloads | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--file_downloads | | Chrome extensions | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/extensions-api/overview | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--extension_support | | Browser regions | us-east | Inferred | - | - | Hosted service is US-centric; self-host anywhere. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--regions | | Agent API | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Cookbook integrations with browser-use and CUA loops, not a hosted agent endpoint. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--computer_use_api | | MCP server | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--mcp_server | | Human handoff | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Session viewer allows interaction; no documented pause/resume contract. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--human_handoff | | Pricing model | per-hour | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--pricing_model | | Per browser-hour | $0.1/browser-hour | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--price_per_hour | | Free tier | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--free_tier | | GitHub stars | 5,000 | Inferred | - | - | steel-browser repo, rounded. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--github_stars | | Funding stage | seed | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--funding_stage | | Open-source core | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-01 | https://github.com/steel-dev/steel-browser | Apache-2.0; the hosted service is the same core plus scaling. | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--open_source_core | | Positioning | Open-source browser API purpose-built for AI agents | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--positioning | | Launched | 2024 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/browser-automation-apis#steel-dev--launch_year | **Verdict.** The only option that removes vendor risk entirely, thinner than Browserbase but a good trade on cooperative sites. ## Alternatives - [Airtop](https://toolweight.com/tools/airtop), Natural-language browser API, describe the page, skip the selectors - [Anchor Browser](https://toolweight.com/tools/anchor-browser), Cloud browsers built around authenticated sessions and human takeover - [Apify](https://toolweight.com/tools/apify), Actor platform for scraping and agents, with Crawlee as the open-source core - [Bright Data Browser API](https://toolweight.com/tools/bright-data-browser-api), CDP browsers on a 70M+ residential IP network with challenge handling built in - [Browser Use](https://toolweight.com/tools/browser-use), The open-source browser agent library, with stealth cloud browsers and a hosted agent API - [Browserbase](https://toolweight.com/tools/browserbase), Managed headless browsers for AI agents, with Stagehand as the SDK - [Browserless](https://toolweight.com/tools/browserless), Self-hostable headless Chrome service; BrowserQL for bot-heavy sites - [Cloudflare Browser Rendering](https://toolweight.com/tools/cloudflare-browser-rendering), Puppeteer and Playwright bindings for Workers, plus REST render endpoints - [Hyperbrowser](https://toolweight.com/tools/hyperbrowser), Agent-first browsers with hosted scrape, crawl and CUA endpoints - [Kernel](https://toolweight.com/tools/kernel), Fast-starting browsers plus a runtime for deploying browser agents - [Self-hosted Playwright](https://toolweight.com/tools/playwright-self-hosted), The baseline: run Chromium in your own container and own everything - [ScrapingBee](https://toolweight.com/tools/scrapingbee), One-call HTML API with JavaScript rendering and premium proxy tiers ## Licence and attribution Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0. - Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) - Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/steel-dev - Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/steel-dev.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp - Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.