How does the browser get into the right account?
Website authentication crosses several boundaries: the user who authorizes access, the system that holds credentials, the browser that submits them, and any model or code driving the page. Reusing a login and collecting a new identity are separate workflows.
For a customer-facing app, associate each stored connection with the correct application user before opening a browser. Reusing another user's profile can produce a technically successful run in the wrong account.
Compare the login path
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.
Browser Use: V4 secret bindings give credentials aliases and allowed hostnames for use in a run. Profiles reuse existing state; the separate 2FA guide addresses verification during authenticated work.
Compare saved state
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.
Browser Use: Profiles persist cookies, local storage and login state between browsers. Browser settings select a profile for a run. A session's conversation history and a profile's browser state are different resources.
Compare the evidence from a run
Steel: Steel documents live and past sessions as well as Agent Traces. Browser recordings answer what happened on the page; traces add context around the agent or application driving it.
Browser Use: Browser Use documents live preview and recording. Recording availability follows the browser lifecycle and processing state; a live URL is for an active browser rather than a permanent replay link.
How to evaluate this choice
Compare the concrete login path. A vault can fill a secret while your code controls the workflow; a managed connection may own more of the login process. Neither should be described as a universal guarantee that every website remains signed in.
- Identify whether the task uses an existing account or creates an approved new identity.
- Separate profile restoration from credential fill and connection readiness.
- Document which component can access credential values and which only handles references.
- Verify the expected tenant and account after login.
- Provide a human handoff when the website requires user interaction.
Requirements side by side
| Requirement | Steel | Browser Use |
|---|---|---|
| Saved browser state | Documented | Documented |
| Credential handling | Credentials API | V4 secret bindings |
| Website sign-in | Profile / credential flows | Profile / 2FA flows |
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗docs.steel.dev [3] ↗docs.steel.dev [4] ↗docs.steel.dev [5] ↗docs.steel.dev [6] ↗docs.browser-use.com [7] ↗docs.browser-use.com [8] ↗docs.browser-use.com [9] ↗docs.browser-use.com [10] ↗
Which approach fits?
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.
Choose Browser Use when you use Browser Use's framework or want its hosted browsers while retaining the option of a hosted browser agent.
Browser Use tradeoff: A hosted-agent run is a different execution unit from your deployed browser script. Keep comparisons focused on the browser path when measuring session speed and price.
A useful acceptance check
Write a pass/fail result for the real task before running the evaluation. Record the account, configuration and code version next to that result. Repeat failures need an explanation, not an automatically different browser configuration.
When Notte belongs on this shortlist
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.
Browser Use's hosted-agent offering and standalone browser infrastructure are separate options. Keep the comparison at the browser layer when your application already owns its controller; compare execution ownership separately if the hosted agent is part of the requirement.
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.
Consider this third option when its documented mechanism addresses a requirement left open by the two providers above. A working configuration on either original provider can still be the better choice; compare the task and ownership cost before switching.
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗docs.browser-use.com [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗