Browserless and Steel both hand you a real Chrome over the network, but they were shaped around different workloads. Browserless has run headless Chrome in production since 2017, and its center of gravity is still the scripted job: scrape a page, render a PDF, run a test suite. Steel is browser and computer infrastructure for the agent era, where a run holds identity, takes uncertain paths, and leaves evidence behind.
Summary
| Topic | Steel | Browserless |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Browser and computer infrastructure for agents you build | Headless Chrome API with BrowserQL, REST endpoints, and Docker |
| Model choice | Any framework or model: Playwright, Puppeteer, Browser Use, Stagehand, computer use | Playwright, Puppeteer, REST; BrowserQL is Browserless's own language |
| State & auth | Profiles that persist across sessions, Credentials API, Files API | Authenticated Profiles as reusable auth snapshots; user data directories |
| Observability | Live session viewer, replay, Agent Traces | Live debugger, session replay, hybrid automation handoff |
| Transparency | Open-source runtime you can audit | Open-source Chrome image, commercial license for enterprise |
| Pricing | $30 starting credits; $10 top-up unlocks CAPTCHA, proxies, and advanced features on the first plan | Unit-based plans from a free tier; proxies and CAPTCHA draw units |
Differences that matter
1) What the session is for
A Browserless unit is a block of browser time up to 30 seconds, so the platform expects short work that finishes. Agent runs are rarely that tidy. They stall on a login wall, wait for a human, re-read a page they misjudged. A Steel session is closer to a full computer environment for agents, with mouse and keyboard actions for computer-use models, Profiles that carry identity between runs, and a Credentials API that injects secrets your agent never sees.
2) What you author, and where it runs
Steel code is ordinary automation code. You connect over a CDP URL with the framework you already have, so if Steel disappoints you, your agents move elsewhere without a rewrite. The runtime is open source too, so your security team can read what the browser layer does with credentials instead of taking a datasheet's word for it. Steel Cloud is the recommended deployment; the open code is proof, not a chore. Browserless supports the same standard libraries. Its sharpest feature does not travel: BrowserQL is Browserless's own language, and queries written in it run on Browserless.
3) Pricing you can meter
Steel's Launch plan starts with $30 in credits. A $10 top-up unlocks CAPTCHA solving, proxies, and the advanced feature set, and that $10 is a balance you spend. Unblocking works on day one. Browserless meters units: every 30 seconds a connection stays alive is one, and proxy traffic and CAPTCHA solves draw from the same pool. That reads clean on an invoice. It also bills the pauses while a person or a model thinks. Steel pricing verified 2026-08-13.
When Browserless fits
- You already run headless Chrome for scraping, testing, or PDF work, and the browser is a tool in that pipeline rather than the product.
- Your team has BrowserQL queries in production, or wants a scraping-first language.
- Data must stay in your own VPC and you would rather run the Docker deployment yourself.
When Steel is a good fit
- You are building agents, and the browser layer must hold identity, secrets, and files across runs.
- Runs are long, branchy, or pause for a human approval; ceilings reach an hour on Scale and 24 hours on Enterprise.
- You want CAPTCHA, proxies, and stealth on the entry plan instead of an enterprise negotiation.
- You need evidence that outlives whichever agent you shipped; the viewer, replays, and Agent Traces stay the same when the model changes.
Next steps
Point an existing Playwright or Puppeteer script at a Steel Cloud session, then add a Profile when the flow needs a login. The code you have is the integration.
Humans use Chrome. Agents use Steel.