All three click buttons on someone else's screen, but they are three different purchases. Skyvern is a packaged AI agent: describe a portal workflow and its planner runs it. Steel is the browser and computer infrastructure your own agents drive through standard APIs. Traditional RPA sells recorded scripts and a control room, licensed per bot.
Summary
| Topic | Steel | Skyvern | Traditional RPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Browser and computer infrastructure for agents you bring | A packaged agent that runs task descriptions | Recorded scripts and a control room, per-bot licensed |
| Portability | Standard CDP/Playwright code | Skyvern-format workflows run on Skyvern | Recordings tied to the vendor's designer |
| State & auth | Profiles, Credentials API | Stored credentials, 2FA/TOTP on Pro | Windows vaults and AD |
| Anti-bot | CAPTCHA solving and managed proxies on the first plan | Native CAPTCHA and proxies; advanced tiers on Pro | Not a design goal |
| Observability | Session viewer, replay, Agent Traces | Run history and audit trail in-product | Pass/fail dashboards, little page state |
| Pricing | $30 starting credits; $10 top-up unlocks advanced features | Credit tiers: Free, $29 Hobby, $149 Pro, Enterprise | Per-bot licenses plus services |
Differences that matter
1) Who owns the judgment
Skyvern's planner decides how a page is interpreted and when to retry. That logic changes on Skyvern's release schedule. RPA went the other way and shipped no judgment at all, so a redesigned form takes the workflow down. Steel holds neither position. A session is a real browser, increasingly a full computer environment for agents, driven by your own loop or an open framework. If automation is your product, you want the retry logic somewhere you can read it at 2am.
2) Exit paths and inspectability
Code written against Steel is ordinary automation code, and the connection is a CDP URL, so your agents move elsewhere without a rewrite. The runtime is open source, so a security team can read what it does with credentials before approving it. Steel Cloud remains the recommended way to run it; the open code is evidence, not a deployment plan. Skyvern publishes its agent code too, though workflows in its format execute on its planner. RPA sits at the far end, where recordings, licenses, and consultants come from one vendor.
3) Cost you can forecast
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 rather than a fee. Session ceilings run 15 minutes on Launch, one hour on Scale ($250/mo with $100 monthly credit), and up to 24 hours on Enterprise. Skyvern meters monthly credits, and per its January 2026 pricing post the burn depends on runtime, retries, and anti-bot work; residential proxies and 2FA sit on the $149 Pro plan. RPA quotes look fixed until the services line lands. Steel pricing verified 2026-08-13.
When Skyvern fits
- Ops staff describe portal workflows in plain language and nobody wants to own agent code.
- You want planning, auth, CAPTCHA, and proxies from one vendor, on that vendor's release schedule.
When traditional RPA fits
- The process lives in a desktop or intranet app that rarely changes and auditors trust the control room.
- Compliance requires Windows-level hooks no browser can reach.
When Steel is a good fit
- You are building agents and want the browser and computer layer handled without adopting a planner.
- Portability and inspectability are requirements: standard code on an open runtime.
- CAPTCHA, proxies, and stealth come with the entry plan instead of an enterprise negotiation.
- Evidence has to outlive the agent: the viewer, replays, and Agent Traces work the same for whatever you swap in next year.
Next steps
Start a session on Steel Cloud and point your existing framework at it.
Humans use Chrome. Agents use Steel.