Browserbase vs Steel (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Browserbase grades higher than Steel: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Browserbase grades higher on value for money, features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Browserbase
Cloud browsers and APIs for agents that use the web
Steel
Open-source browser infrastructure for AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick Browserbase if
- Fits if you run browser agents in code and need hosted browsers
- Works for a developer who wants sessions observed and replayed
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Free: 1 browser hour, 15-minute sessions and 7-day retention
- Watch out: usage past the allowance is billed at the plan's rate, so the bill grows with hours and proxies
- Not for you if you need on-prem, which the FAQ says it does not offer
- Skip it if you need HIPAA or SSO on a self-serve plan
Pick Steel if
- Fits if you want browser infrastructure you could also run on your own servers
- Works for developers testing agents on the free credits
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you outgrow Launch, as Scale is $250 a month plus usage
- Tight if you stay free: $30 once, 15-minute sessions and 7-day retention
- Watch out: the comparison table marks the stealth browser Enterprise only, but the homepage describes stealth generally
- Watch out: browser hours are billed on top, $0.10 on Launch and $0.08 on Scale
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABrowserbaseFair | 1.6GPASteelWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CDeveloper is $20 a month for 25 concurrent browsers, about the category's middle, with hours, proxies and calls billed past the allowance. | DScale is $250 a month plus usage, past the category's $150 dearest-tenth start. Launch is free, but only a one-time credit. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree is 3 concurrent browsers and 1 browser hour, with 15-minute sessions and no captcha solving. | CLaunch has $30 of one-time credits, no card, 10 concurrent sessions and 15-minute limits. The open-source server is free but needs your own hosting. |
| Features | BCloud browsers, search and fetch, agent identity, a model gateway and observability; HIPAA and SSO are enterprise only. | CBrowser sessions, proxies, CAPTCHA solving, a scrape tool and self-hosting. The comparison table marks stealth as Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. It is used through an SDK and code, with sessions and proxies to configure. | DNo rating on record. You use an API and SDK, or host the server yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with six integrations and APIs; no desktop or phone app. | CWeb API with MCP, and a self-hostable server. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | cloud browsers for AI agents | open-source browser API for agents |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Browserbase and Steel. How we grade
Price against what you get
Browserbase starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Steel starts at $250 a month and scores 1.7.
Browserbase scores higher and starts $230 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 13 score higher than Browserbase for less, and 95 score higher than Steel for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Steel is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Browserbase also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Browserbase | Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $20 per month | $250 per month plus usage (Scale), after a free Launch plan |
| Free plan | 3 concurrent browsers, 1 browser hour, 3 agent runs, 1,000 search and 1,000 fetch calls, and $5 in model tokens. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Launch plan: $30 of credits granted once, no card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Browserbase | Steel |
| Price read from | browserbase.com | steel.dev |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Browserbase
- Plans scale past included usage at the plan's rate, so the bill grows with browser hours, proxies and API calls.
- Free has no captcha solving and stops sessions at 15 minutes.
- HIPAA (BAA) and SSO are listed for enterprise customers, not the self-serve plans.
- The FAQ says it does not offer on-prem deployment; hybrid setups come through consulting.
Steel
- Usage is billed beyond included credits: browser hours are $0.10 on Launch and $0.08 on Scale.
- The comparison table marks the stealth browser as Enterprise only, while the homepage describes stealth for the product generally.
- Launch sessions stop at 15 minutes and 7 days of data retention; Scale allows 1 hour and 14 days.
- Dedicated IPs cost $5 each on Scale; reserved browser pools need Enterprise.
Key features
Browserbase
- Cloud browsers
- Fleets of headless browsers that agents control through Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium or Stagehand.
- Search and Fetch APIs
- Search returns relevant sites from one query; Fetch returns pages as HTML, JSON or markdown for agents.
- Agent identity
- Captcha solving on paid plans, plus stealth mode (basic on Developer and Startup, advanced on Scale).
- Runtime and model gateway
- Browserbase Functions run deployed agents on its servers, and one API key reaches major models through Stagehand.
- Observability
- Session recordings, logs and prompts for debugging an agent, with data kept 7 to 30+ days by plan.
Steel
- Browser sessions over an API
- Start thousands of real browser sessions on demand, each released when the work is done, and control them from agent code.
- Stealth and CAPTCHA solving
- The site describes fingerprint rotation, human-like mouse movement and CAPTCHA solving, billed at $3 per 1,000 solves on Launch.
- Residential proxies
- Proxy traffic from many countries, billed at $10 per GB on Launch and $6 per GB on Scale.
- Open-source and self-hosting
- Steel Browser is open source on GitHub, and Steel Outpost runs the platform in your own cloud with your own keys.
- Scrape tool
- A browser tools endpoint for scraping is billed at $5 per 1,000 requests on every plan.
Plans
Browserbase
Free$0
3 concurrent browsers, 1 browser hour, 15-minute sessions and 7-day data retention; no captcha solving.
Developer$20
per month
25 concurrent browsers, 100 browser hours then $0.12/hour, 1 GB of proxies then $12/GB, captcha solving.
Startup$99
per month
100 concurrent browsers, 500 browser hours then $0.10/hour, 5 GB of proxies then $10/GB.
ScaleCustom
250+ concurrent browsers, usage-based hours and proxies, advanced stealth mode and verified agents.
Steel
Launch$0
per month, plus usage
$30 of one-time credits, 10 concurrent sessions of up to 15 minutes, up to 3 seats, email and community support.
Scale$250
per month, plus usage
$100 of credits every month, 100 concurrent sessions of up to 1 hour, unlimited seats, Slack channel and HIPAA-ready BAA.
EnterpriseCustom
1,000+ concurrent sessions, sessions up to 24 hours, reserved browser pools, SLAs and SSO.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Browserbase or Steel?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Browserbase is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $250 a month for Steel. Browserbase starts at $20 per month, and Steel starts at $250 per month plus usage (Scale), after a free Launch plan.
Which has a free plan, Browserbase or Steel?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Browserbase has a free plan. Steel does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.