Notte vs Steel

The decision

Steel's managed and self-hosted paths are a concrete reason to consider it. Notte puts deployed Python Functions and website authentication alongside its cloud sessions. Choose how much infrastructure and execution orchestration your team wants to own, then compare the same browser task.

Notte combines cloud browser sessions with deployed Python automations and website authentication tools. You can control the browser over CDP or use Notte's actions, then deploy repeated work as a Function.

Steel is a browser API with managed cloud and self-hosted deployment paths. Its current documentation covers persistent profiles, a credential API, session replay and agent observability.

At a glance

Sources: docs.notte.cc [1] ↗docs.notte.cc [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗docs.notte.cc [4] ↗docs.notte.cc [5] ↗docs.notte.cc [6] ↗docs.steel.dev [7] ↗docs.steel.dev [8] ↗docs.steel.dev [9] ↗docs.steel.dev [10] ↗docs.steel.dev [11] ↗docs.steel.dev [12] ↗

What survives a session

Notte: Profiles save cookies, local storage and session storage. Sessions start with fresh state by default. Persisting a profile writes state back when the session ends; a running session can also save its state explicitly.

Steel: The Profiles API documents reusable browser context, cookies, extensions, credentials and browser settings. Steel also documents lighter auth-context reuse, which should not be confused with a complete profile.

Sources: docs.notte.cc [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗

Website login

Notte: Vaults substitute credential placeholders in supported browser actions outside the model context. Managed Auth checks requested saved connections before automation. Personas supply an inbox and optional phone number for verification workflows.

Steel: Steel's Credentials API stores credentials for users or agents. Its cookbook demonstrates using stored credentials with Playwright, while profiles and auth contexts preserve signed-in browser state.

Sources: docs.notte.cc [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗

Where the code runs

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.

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.

Sources: docs.notte.cc [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗

Published browser measurements

These are the latest provider runs in the saved BrowserArena snapshot checked on October 18, 2026. Dates and runner environments can differ. A lifecycle test opens, connects, navigates and releases a browser; the throughput test runs a separate browser action sequence. Neither measures managed authentication or deployed Function reliability.

Use these observations to choose what to test in your application. An account-configuration failure, an incompatible page action and a timed-out navigation require different interpretations. BrowserArena is maintained by Notte and publishes its source and methodology.

Sources: browserarena.ai [1] ↗browserarena.ai [2] ↗github.com [3] ↗

Pricing model

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.

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.

Sources: notte.cc [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗

Capacity and limits

Notte: The public plans list 5, 25 and 100 concurrent browser sessions, with custom limits on Enterprise. Session duration and concurrent capacity are separate plan limits; a larger technical API limit does not override the plan.

Steel: Steel's pricing and limits page describes hosted account entitlements. For a self-hosted deployment, capacity depends on the resources and orchestration you operate as well as the browser process.

Sources: notte.cc [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗

Which approach fits?

Choose Notte when your browser workflow needs saved logins, credential fill or scheduled Python code alongside the browser.

Notte tradeoff: A saved profile restores browser state; it does not prove that a website still considers the user signed in. Use Managed Auth when the workflow needs connection readiness before it starts.

Choose Steel when you want browser infrastructure that can fit a self-hosted deployment, with profiles and credentials available through browser-focused APIs.

Steel tradeoff: 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.

Sources: docs.notte.cc [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗

Check the browser connection

Install playwright-core in your application and provision a session through the provider's documented creation flow. Run this smoke test from the intended controller region with the returned CDP endpoint. It checks connection and navigation, not login, rendering parity or a complete business workflow.

Keep browser connection URLs on your backend. After the test, release the owned session through the provider's API. Product-specific lifecycle APIs and profile identifiers are not portable between providers.

import { chromium } from "playwright-core";

// Provision the owned browser using the provider's documented session API.
// Keep the connection URL in your backend's secret environment.
const endpoint = process.env.BROWSER_CDP_URL;
if (!endpoint) throw new Error("Set BROWSER_CDP_URL for an owned session");

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(endpoint);
try {
  const context = browser.contexts()[0] ?? await browser.newContext();
  const page = context.pages()[0] ?? await context.newPage();
  await page.goto("https://example.com", { waitUntil: "domcontentloaded" });
  if ((await page.title()) !== "Example Domain") {
    throw new Error("The browser did not reach the expected page");
  }
  console.log({ connected: true, expectedPage: true });
} finally {
  await browser.close();
  // Release the owned session with the provider's documented API as well.
  // A disconnected socket alone is not a portable session-cleanup contract.
}

Sources: playwright.dev ↗

Before you switch

Keep the same target workflow when evaluating both products. Separate infrastructure facts from measurements and test the required account state, action sequence and artifacts. A successful connection test does not establish that a long or authenticated task will complete.

Use the focused guides for Notte and Steel below when the deciding requirement is pricing, persistence or code execution. Provider-owned resources such as session IDs, profiles and managed connections need a new mapping during migration.

Keep comparing