# Steel.dev

Official pricing: https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits  
Category: browser · Isolation: container

## Pricing regimes (raw)

- **Browser session, Launch rate ($0.10/browser-hour)** (sizes): browser-session ? vCPU/? GiB $0.1/h
- **Browser session, Scale rate ($0.08/browser-hour)** (sizes): browser-session ? vCPU/? GiB $0.08/h
- **Enterprise (custom rates, reserved browser pools, stealth browser)** (sizes): browser-session ? vCPU/? GiB $null/h [sales]

## Features

Yes: persistent disk, idle auto-stop, ≥24 h sessions, full VM (own kernel), browser, computer-use API, browser automation API, desktop control API, browser + desktop control, anti-bot stealth, CAPTCHA solving, residential IPs, open internet, static egress IP, self-hosting, open source, HIPAA, SSO, Python, Node.js, MCP server, automatic snapshots, snapshots on demand, gVisor or VM (no shared kernel)

No: snapshots, memory snapshots, fork/clone, pause/resume, volumes, custom image (Docker or snapshot), start from your own snapshot, your own Docker/OCI image, Docker inside, nested virtualization, root, systemd, desktop GUI, code interpreter, preinstalled agents, SSH, public IPv4, HTTPS preview URLs, custom domains, raw TCP inbound, egress allowlist, BYOC, SOC 2, GPU, arm64, Windows, macOS, GPU desktop, HTTP method/path egress rules, wake on request, live resize, live fork (no pause), memory fork, EU data residency, agent harness API, hosted agent API (their own agent), inbound access rules, firewall inside (nftables), secret proxy, secret proxy for any API, extra volumes, shared volumes

Unknown: everything else. Evidence (source + quote) per feature: https://battleships.dev/data/providers/steel.json → feature_evidence

## Caveats

- Browser-hour priced product: no published vCPU/RAM per session (sizes vcpu/ram null); the engine cannot size-match, treat 1 session = 1 browser instance.
- Plan and rate are coupled: $0.10/h only on Launch, $0.08/h only on Scale. Each mode carries 'requires_plan' so the engine never combines the Scale rate with the Launch plan.
- Proxy bandwidth is modelled by knobs proxy_launch ($10/GB) / proxy_scale ($6/GB) with effect 'egress_gib_rate', each restricted to its plan's mode; default 0 = no Steel proxy. network.egress_gib = 0 because non-proxy traffic is not metered per docs.
- Launch max session 15 min and Scale 1 h: long agent runs must be split into many sessions (state carried via Profiles API / sessionContext). Enterprise needed for sessions up to 24 h.
- CAPTCHA solves $3/1k (Launch, needs $10 deposit) / $1/1k (Scale); Browser Tools /scrape /screenshot /pdf $5/1k; not modelled in the card.
- Dedicated static egress IPs: $5/IP/month on Scale (up to 25 self-serve); their traffic is still metered as proxy bandwidth. Not a public inbound IPv4, so network.ipv4_* left null/false.
- Browsers run in one region (us-east); proxy geolocation changes the visible IP location only.
- Host OS / isolation technology undocumented (isolation 'container' is an assumption for the card enum; features.linux null).
- Legacy Starter/Developer/Startup plan prices are third-party only (costbench.com); official pages do not publish them.
- Self-hosting the open-source steel-browser Docker image is free (you pay your own compute); not modelled as a mode.
- No SOC 2 statement found; HIPAA-ready BAA on Scale/Enterprise. No latency benchmark available (vendor claims <1 s average session start).
- ENGINE LIMITATION (verifier 2026-09-28): sizes have vcpu/ram_gib null (unpublished), and engine.js hourly() filters sizes with s.vcpu >= W.vcpu, which is false for null, so this card is currently never priced ('no preset'). Needs an engine rule for unsized browser-session presets; numbers were not invented to work around it.
- Browser Tools (/scrape, /screenshot, /pdf) have their own 20 requests/minute limit (HTTP 429), separate from the plan req/min limit; each call opens a fresh browser that counts against plan concurrency.

## How this provider charges


Steel sells cloud browser sessions (CDP / Playwright / Puppeteer / Selenium), not VMs. Everything is metered usage:
browser-hours (billed by the minute, rounded up), Steel proxy bandwidth, CAPTCHA solves and Browser Tools calls.
The plan decides both the unit rates and the hard limits (concurrency, max session length). Current plans launched
2026-06-26 ("Simpler pricing" blog); older Starter/Developer/Startup plans survive only for existing customers.
Browser vCPU/RAM per session are **not published**.

Verified live 2026-09-28 against docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits (last edit 2026-06-30) and the steel.dev
pricing section ($30 one-time / $100 per month / $250 confirmed in page HTML).

## Regime table

| Regime | When it applies | How billed | Numbers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | Default, no subscription | $0 fee + usage; one-time credit | $0.10/browser-h; proxy $10/GB; CAPTCHA $3/1k; Browser Tools $5/1k; $30 one-time credit valid 90 days (~300 browser-h); 10 concurrent; **15-min max session**; 60 req/min; 7-day retention; up to 3 seats | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits |
| Launch, verified | Want Steel proxies or CAPTCHA solving on Launch | $10 paid-balance deposit (free credits don't count); deposit is spent on usage, not a fee | $10 deposit | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits |
| Scale | Need >10 concurrent, >15 min sessions, dedicated IPs, SSO/BAA | $250/mo **+ usage**; $100/mo usage credit applied to all meters (fee itself is not credit) | $0.08/browser-h; proxy $6/GB; CAPTCHA $1/1k; Tools $5/1k; 100 concurrent; **1-h max session**; 600 req/min; 14-day retention; unlimited seats | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits, https://steel.dev/pricing |
| Enterprise | >100 concurrent, sessions up to 24 h, stealth browser, reserved pools | Custom + usage (contact founders) | 1,000+ concurrent; up to 24 h sessions; all rates "Custom" | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits |
| Legacy Starter / Developer / Startup | Customers who signed up before 2026-06-26; no forced migration | Old subscription with included hours | **Third-party only**: $29 / $99 / $499 per month (costbench.com, verified 2026-06-14); included 290 / 1,238 / 9,980 h (search-engine summary, unverified). Official pages no longer publish them | https://steel.dev/blog/pricing-update, https://costbench.com/software/browser-automation/steel-dev/ |
| Browser session time | Any running session | Per minute, rounded up, from create until release()/timeout; idle time billed | 1-min effective minimum per session | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/sessions-api/session-lifecycle |
| Steel residential proxy | `useProxy` / Steel-managed proxy | Per GB, bidirectional (TLS handshakes, headers, every asset) | $10/GB Launch, $6/GB Scale, custom Ent. | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/stealth/proxies |
| Default datacenter IP / BYO proxy | No Steel proxy | Not metered by Steel | $0 | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/stealth/proxies |
| Dedicated static IP | Scale+ (Hobby/Launch must upgrade) | Monthly subscription per IP; its traffic still billed as proxy bandwidth | $5/IP/month; up to 25 self-serve | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/sessions-api/dedicated-ips |
| CAPTCHA solving | `solveCaptcha` | Per solve | $3/1k Launch (after $10 deposit), $1/1k Scale | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits |
| Browser Tools | `/scrape`, `/screenshot`, `/pdf` one-shot calls | Per call | $5/1k (Launch and Scale) | https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits |
| Self-hosted steel-browser | Run the open-source Docker image yourself | Free software; you pay your own compute | $0 to Steel | https://steel.dev/pricing |
| Research grants | School email to research@steel.dev | Free credits, amount unpublished | null | https://steel.dev/pricing |

Region: all browsers run in `us-east`; the `region` parameter is accepted but proxy geolocation, not region,
controls the IP location (https://docs.steel.dev/overview/sessions-api/configuration).

## Gotchas

1. **Session caps force re-creation**: 15 min on Launch and 1 h on Scale. An 8-hour agent job needs 8+ sessions on
   Scale (state carried via Profiles/sessionContext); only Enterprise allows up to 24 h.
2. **Idle is billed**: default timeout is 5 min; a stalled client keeps the session billed until the hard timeout
   unless `inactivityTimeout` is set. Per-minute round-up means many 10-second sessions each bill a full minute.
3. **Proxy GB dominates**: at $6-10/GB, 100 GB of proxied traffic costs as much as 7,500 (Scale) to 10,000 (Launch) browser-hours.
   Measured bandwidth includes TLS handshakes and all page assets; block images/resources to cut it. BYO proxy is free.
4. **Scale fee is not credit**: $250 buys limits plus a separate $100 usage credit, so effective fixed cost is $150
   before usage offsets it.
5. **Launch anti-bot gate**: proxies and CAPTCHA need a $10 paid deposit; the $30 free credit can't be used for them
   until then.
6. **Dedicated IP traffic is not free**: $5/IP/month plus proxy bandwidth rates on all traffic through it.
7. **Browser resources unknown**: no vCPU/RAM published, so heavy pages (SPAs, video) can't be sized or compared
   on a per-core basis.
8. **Docs drift**: some doc pages still mention "Hobby / Developer / Pro" plan names (proxies, dedicated IPs pages);
   the pricing/limits page (Launch/Scale/Enterprise) is authoritative.

## Worked example

Adapted for a browser product: 50 concurrent browsers × 8 h/day × 22 days = **8,800 browser-hours**, 100 GiB of
Steel-proxied traffic. CPU util / snapshots not applicable (no snapshot product; profiles storage not priced).

| Regime | Feasible? | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | No: 50 concurrent > 10, 8 h jobs vs 15-min session cap | n/a (list math would be 8,800×$0.10 + 100×$10 = $1,880) |
| Scale, no proxy | Yes (50 ≤ 100), with sessions recycled hourly (≥ 8 per browser-day; no round-up loss at exact 60-min sessions) | $250 + max(0, $704 − $100) = **$854** |
| Scale, 100 GB Steel proxy | Yes | $250 + ($704 + $600 − $100) = **$1,454** |
| Scale + 5 dedicated IPs | Yes | $1,454 + $25 = $1,479 (IP traffic already counted as proxy GB) |
| Scale, BYO proxy | Yes | **$854** + your proxy vendor's bill |
| Enterprise | Yes, sessions up to 24 h | unknown (custom rates) |
| Anti-pattern: no inactivityTimeout, 5-min stall per session | Yes | +5 min per session; at 8 sessions/browser-day = +733 h/month ≈ +$59 on Scale |