Decide whether this move earns its cost
A signed-in job requests a report from a website and transfers the completed file to application storage. A download beginning is not the delivery outcome.
Steel's managed and self-hosted choices make infrastructure ownership a concrete deciding factor. Keep that option on the shortlist when operating the browser is intentional; evaluate Notte when owning fewer execution and authentication components is the actual goal.
Notte belongs on the shortlist when saved account state and an executable browser workflow simplify the report job. Confirm the chosen file-transfer API and storage boundary in the current docs before moving the delivery step.
A working download-to-storage pipeline is a reason to retain the current provider until an equivalent artifact path is demonstrated. Neither a replay nor a successful page navigation proves that a file arrived.
Keep the result contract stable
A controlled report with a known filename, expected content marker and application-owned destination.
The application receives the complete expected file, verifies its content marker and associates it with the originating account and job.
Preserve the evidence contract across the move: Website report ID, file byte count, content verification and destination object reference.
Map the workflow's resources
| Requirement | Steel | Notte |
|---|---|---|
| Code execution | External worker | Python Functions |
| Scheduled execution | External scheduler | Native |
| Recordings / replay | Documented | Documented |
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗docs.notte.cc [4] ↗
Where the code runs
Steel: The reviewed browser documentation establishes sessions, profiles and credentials. It does not establish a hosted Python handler with deployment and invocation APIs. An external worker can control a Steel browser; price and operate that worker separately.
Notte: Functions deploy Python code with a run() entry point. Invoke them over HTTP or with an SDK, inspect run history, and roll back code by redeploying an earlier version as the latest version.
Deployment ownership
Steel: Compare managed Steel with the documented self-hosted path explicitly. Self-hosting gives the team infrastructure responsibility that a hosted browser subscription would otherwise cover.
Notte: Use a remote browser from your existing process or deploy the browser automation as a Notte Function. These choices put lifecycle, scheduling and monitoring responsibilities in different places.
Pricing model
Steel: Hosted browser plans and a self-hosted browser have different cost structures. For self-hosting, include the worker, compute, networking, storage and operations rather than assigning the open-source code a zero operating cost.
Notte: The public usage rates are $0.01 per browser-hour, $0.05 per Function-hour and $10 per GB of managed proxy traffic. Paid plans return their price as usage credits. Price the relevant meters and plan eligibility for the workload.
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗notte.cc [2] ↗
Cut over one responsibility at a time
For this Steel-to-Notte migration, keep the business assertion outside provider resource management. Source profile, connection, file and execution IDs are not valid target IDs; use a documented transfer path or establish the corresponding resource in Notte.
Retain source job history and a rollback route until the target pilot passes. A migration checklist is not evidence that saved state or runtime behavior is automatically portable.
- Separate website report generation from provider file retrieval in the current code.
- Keep the destination and content check unchanged while replacing the retrieval path.
- Test delayed and interrupted downloads before switching scheduled report delivery.
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗docs.notte.cc [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗
A proposed acceptance case
This is an evaluation design, not a claim that this workflow has been executed successfully on every provider.
| Part of the test | Required observation |
|---|---|
| Controlled input | A controlled report with a known filename, expected content marker and application-owned destination. |
| Pass condition | The application receives the complete expected file, verifies its content marker and associates it with the originating account and job. |
| Negative case | Close the browser before a deliberately delayed download completes. The job must detect the missing or partial artifact instead of reporting a delivered report. |
| Evidence to retain | Website report ID, file byte count, content verification and destination object reference. |
A reason to delay or keep the source
Close the browser before a deliberately delayed download completes. The job must detect the missing or partial artifact instead of reporting a delivered report.
Steel: Hosted and self-hosted Steel are different operating choices. A cloud feature's documentation does not establish identical packaging, retention or operational support in a self-hosted installation.
Delay cutover when the target's selected plan, required artifact path or supported website-account flow is not established. Resolve that gap before moving real jobs, even if the rate comparison favors the target.
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗notte.cc [2] ↗