Steel review (2026): is it worth $250 a month?
Open-source browser infrastructure for AI agents
Black Friday: is there a Steel sale?
Steel report card
Weak · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for open-source browser API for agents
Steel offers browser sessions over an API, as an open-source server you can host or a managed cloud. The free Launch plan is a one-time $30 in credits and 15-minute sessions, and the next plan is $250 a month plus usage.
Who Steel is for
- Fits if you want browser infrastructure you could also run on your own servers
- Works for developers testing agents on the free credits
Who Steel is not for
- 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
Why Steel gets a 1.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyScale is $250 a month plus usage, past the category's $150 dearest-tenth start. Launch is free, but only a one-time credit.
- CFree plan and trialLaunch 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.
- CFeaturesBrowser sessions, proxies, CAPTCHA solving, a scrape tool and self-hosting. The comparison table marks stealth as Enterprise only.
- DEase of useNo rating on record. You use an API and SDK, or host the server yourself.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWeb API with MCP, and a self-hostable server. No desktop or phone app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Steel's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/steel#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/steel.svg" alt="Steel: 1.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Steel stands among AI agents
Steel's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 0 of the 178 other AI agents we grade, and level with 29.
It stands best on free plan and trial (C, above 64 of 178) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $250 a month, against a middle price of $25 for the category: 92 of the 98 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 95 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 179 AI agents we grade, cut by the letter each got. Steel’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 178, level with 27
- CFree plan and trialAbove 64 of 178, level with 79
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 178, level with 130
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 178, level with 35
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 178, level with 46
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 109 AI agents. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Steel, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Steel you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 149 of the 178 other AI agents grade higher. It costs $3,000 a year. Steel is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- It plugs into other products, MCP among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Steel’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Steel?
Steel is an API for controlling fleets of cloud browsers, built for AI agents that need to browse, scrape or test the web. Steel Browser is the open-source server you can host yourself; Steel Cloud is the managed version with scaling, proxies and CAPTCHA solving. Billing is a small monthly fee plus usage.
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
Steel pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Steel is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $250 per month plus usage (Scale), after a free Launch plan.
- Starts at
- $250 per month plus usage (Scale), after a free Launch plan
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- Launch plan: $30 of credits granted once, no card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | $0per 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 | $250per month, plus usage | $100 of credits every month, 100 concurrent sessions of up to 1 hour, unlimited seats, Slack channel and HIPAA-ready BAA. |
| Enterprise | Custom | 1,000+ concurrent sessions, sessions up to 24 hours, reserved browser pools, SLAs and SSO. |
Read from steel.dev on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Steel before you buy.
Works with
Steel alternatives
- Steel vs Browserbase
Free plan · from $20/mo
- Steel vs Browser Use
Free plan · from $5
- Steel vs Hyperbrowser
Free trial · from $30/mo
- Steel vs Kernel
Free plan · from $30/mo
- Steel vs Notte
Free trial · from $20/mo
Common questions
Does Steel have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Steel is listed for Web.
Does Steel have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Steel is listed for Web.
Is Steel open source?
Yes. Steel is open source, according to its own site. It can also be run on a server of your own.
Does Steel have an API?
Yes. Steel offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.