Notte vs Steel (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Notte grades higher than Steel: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Notte grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Notte
Cloud browsers, identities and agents for web automation
Steel
Open-source browser infrastructure for AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick Notte if
- Fits if you want to try browser agents for a few runs with no card
- Works for developers who need saved logins across agent sessions
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: $10 once, 5 browsers and 15-minute sessions
- Watch out: plan credits expire at the end of each cycle, though top-ups do not
- Watch out: usage is billed on top, with residential proxies at $10 per GB
- Skip it if you need to bring your own keys or proxies below the $100 Startup 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
| 1.8GPANotteWeak | 1.6GPASteelWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CDeveloper is $20 a month with $20 of credits that expire each cycle, so most of it is prepaid usage. Startup is $100. | 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 | CA one-time $10 in credits with no card, 5 concurrent browsers and 15-minute sessions. It runs out and does not refill. | 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 | CSessions, agents, functions, personas and vaults. Bring-your-own keys and proxies wait for the $100 Startup plan. | CBrowser sessions, proxies, CAPTCHA solving, a scrape tool and self-hosting. The comparison table marks stealth as Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. It is used through an SDK and API, so it takes code. | DNo rating on record. You use an API and SDK, or host the server yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb service only, with no integrations named. No desktop or phone app. | CWeb API with MCP, and a self-hostable server. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | cloud browsers and agent identities | 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: Notte and Steel. How we grade
Price against what you get
Notte starts at $20 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Steel starts at $250 a month and scores 1.7.
They score the same, and Notte starts $230 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 35 score higher than Notte 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.
- Notte also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Notte | Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $20 per month | $250 per month plus usage (Scale), after a free Launch plan |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | $10 in credits granted once on sign-up, no card needed, no expiry | Launch plan: $30 of credits granted once, no card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Notte Labs Inc. | Steel |
| Price read from | notte.cc | steel.dev |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Notte
- Usage is billed on top of the credits: sessions $0.01 an hour, functions $0.05 an hour, residential proxies $10 per GB.
- Monthly plan credits expire at the end of each cycle; extra purchased top-ups do not.
- Bring-your-own keys and proxies start on the Startup plan; Free and Developer sessions cap at 15 and 120 minutes.
- Model tokens are passed through without a Notte markup when Notte-managed keys are used.
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
Notte
- Cloud browser sessions
- Launches many concurrent browser instances, with live view, session replays, stealth and captcha solving included on every plan.
- Browser agents
- An agent takes a task described in plain language and carries it out on the web without selectors to maintain.
- Functions
- Browser functions run as billed workloads on the platform, charged by the hour.
- Personas and vaults
- Browser profiles for each agent and credential vaults keep identities and logins available across runs.
- Proxies
- Residential proxies are available when enabled, and the Startup plan accepts your own proxy at a lower per-GB rate.
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
Notte
Free$0
One-time $10 of credits, 5 concurrent browsers and 15-minute sessions.
Developer$20
per month
$20 of credits a month that expire each cycle, 25 concurrent browsers and 120-minute sessions.
Startup$100
per month
$100 of credits a month, 100 concurrent browsers, 300-minute sessions, bring-your-own keys and proxies.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom limits, SSO, SLAs, HIPAA, on-premise deployment and bring-your-own cloud.
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, Notte or Steel?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Notte is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $250 a month for Steel. Notte 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, Notte or Steel?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Notte nor Steel has a free plan. Both have 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.