Steel vs Browser Use
Side-by-side, using only facts verified on each official site (2026-11-05). Rankings are never paid; some links are affiliate links.
 Steel |  Browser Use | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Steel is an open source browser API that lets you control fleets of browsers in the cloud. | Browser Use is the cloud browser for AI agents. Run web agents that finish the task, or connect your own agent to stealth browsers at $0.02 an hour. |
| Category | Browser & computer-use agents | Browser & computer-use agents |
| Pricing (as stated) | Free tier · from $250/mo See official pricing → | from $5/gb See official pricing → |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes · repo | Yes · repo |
| Verified | 2026-11-05 | 2026-11-05 |
| Details | Steel listing → | Browser Use listing → |
| Website | Visit Steel ↗ | Visit Browser Use ↗ |
Which should you pick?
Pick Steel if…
No verified differentiator on price, free plan or licence — compare features on the vendor sites.
Pick Browser Use if…
No verified differentiator on price, free plan or licence — compare features on the vendor sites.
Our take on Browser Use
Based on the official site, docs and public info checked 2026-10-26 — not hands-on testing.
The most-starred open-source browser-agent library (MIT, ~119k GitHub stars when checked), with a paid Browser Use Cloud for hosted stealth browsers and agents.
Pros
- MIT-licensed Python library you can run yourself
- Cloud is pay-as-you-go with no subscription; credits never expire and the minimum top-up is $5
- Publishes a model-by-model cost/quality benchmark on its pricing page, which helps you pick a model
Cons / watch-outs
- Cloud agent runs cost model tokens +20% plus browser time and traffic, so costs depend heavily on model choice
- Residential proxy traffic is $5/GB and on by default; switch to direct/your own proxy ($0.20/GB) if you don't need it
- Python-first; TypeScript teams may prefer Stagehand
Who it's for
Developers building agents that need to operate real websites, from hobby scripts (self-hosted) to production scale (Cloud).Pricing notes
Cloud browsers $0.02/hour plus $5/GB residential proxy; agent runs at model price +20%. $1 free credit once per person, no card required. Concurrency rises with total paid (10 sessions at $0, 50 at $100).Sources: browser-use.com/pricing · github.com/browser-use/browser-use. Prices change; confirm on the vendor site.
Both are listed under Browser & computer-use agents. Prices change — confirm on the vendor sites.