---
title: "Steel Pricing, Features & Alternatives (2026)"
description: "Steel review: Browser Infrastructure for AI Agents tool — Free tier, plans, pros & cons, and the best Steel alternatives compared for startups in 2026."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/steel
retrieved: 2026-10-14
---

![Steel logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=steel.dev&sz=128)

[Browser Infrastructure for AI Agents](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/browser-infra)Free tier

# Steel: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

Steel is an open-source browser API for AI agents. It manages Chromium sessions, cookies, proxies and CAPTCHA solving behind a simple API that works with Playwright, Puppeteer and agent frameworks. The hosted service gives 100 free browser hours a month, the most generous free tier in the category, and bills by usage after that. Because the core is open source, you can self-host it if you outgrow the cloud (as of August 2026).

Category

Browser Infrastructure for AI Agents

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

Browser Infrastructure for AI Agents — headless-browser, ai-agents

[Visit Steel official site](https://steel.dev)

## Steel Pricing Plans (2026)

| Plan        | Price                                | Highlights                                                                |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| FreePopular | $0 (100 browser hours / month)       | 100 browser hours / month · Session management · Playwright and Puppeteer |
| Usage-based | Pay per browser hour after free tier | Higher concurrency · Proxies and CAPTCHA solving                          |
| Open Source | $0 (self-hosted)                     | Run the browser API yourself                                              |

Pricing summary: Free · then usage-based. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

## Key Steel Features

* ✓100 browser hours / month
* ✓Session management
* ✓Playwright and Puppeteer

### ✓ Pros

* +100 free browser hours a month
* +Open source, so you can self-host
* +Agent-friendly API

### ✗ Cons

* −Smaller company than Browserbase
* −Fewer enterprise features
* −Self-hosting browsers is heavy on memory

## Best Steel Alternatives

[Compare all ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/steel)

[BBrowserlessFree · paid from $25/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/browserless)[![Browserbase logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=browserbase.com&sz=128)BrowserbaseFrom $20/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/browserbase)[![Browser Use logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=browser-use.com&sz=128)Browser UseFree · then usage-based](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/browser-use)

## Steel Compared

[Steel vs Browserbase](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/browserbase-vs-steel)[Steel vs Browser Use](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/browser-use-vs-steel)[Steel vs Browserless](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/browserless-vs-steel)

[In-depth guideBest Browser Infrastructure for AI Agents 2026: Kitesurf vs Browserbase vs Browser UseCloudflare shipped a browser with no Chromium in it. Kitesurf, Browserbase, Browser Use, Steel, Stagehand and Firecrawl compared on cost per browser hour, session persistence, and anti-bot reality.](https://appstackbuilder.com/blog/browser-infrastructure-ai-agents-2026)

## Steel FAQ

What is Steel used for?⌄

Steel is a browser infrastructure for ai agents tool. Open-source browser API for AI agents with 100 free browser hours a month, then usage-based pricing.

Is Steel free?⌄

Yes — Steel has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does Steel cost?⌄

Steel is free to use, with usage-based pricing on some features.

What are the best Steel alternatives?⌄

Popular Steel alternatives include Browserless, Browserbase, Browser Use. Compare pricing and features on our Steel alternatives page.

## Not sure if Steel fits your stack?

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[Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/)