BrowserStack Automate vs Steel
BrowserStack Automate
browserstack.comSteel
steel.devSide by side
| Figure | BrowserStack Automate | Steel |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $59/mo | $250/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 5 |
| Spec score · Browser Automation Tools | 8.7 (#10) | 8.2 (#21) |
| Spec score · Headless Browser APIs | 8.5 (#7) | 8.1 (#13) |
| Compliance | SOC 2, GDPR | sso saml, HIPAA |
| Deployment | cloud, self hosted | Steel says its browser runtime is open source under Apache-2.0 and can be run locally or self-hosted with Docker. |
| Integrations | The integrations page lists Cypress, Jenkins, Selenium, Appium, Playwright, Puppeteer, and other automation frameworks and tools. | Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium, Python, Node.js, Browser Use, OpenAI Computer Use, Claude Computer Use |
| Key features | Cross-browser testing on real desktop and mobile browser environments · Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Puppeteer, and JavaScript framework support · Parallel test execution · Local and staging environment testing through BrowserStack Local · CI/CD integrations · Video, screenshot, framework, console, network, and CI logs · REST APIs for plans, projects, builds, sessions, and media · Test reporting and failure analytics | Managed cloud browser sessions · Browser automation through Puppeteer, Playwright, and Selenium · Web scraping, screenshots, and PDF generation · Persistent cookies and reusable browser context · Proxy and browser fingerprinting controls · Automatic CAPTCHA solving · Session viewer and replay-based debugging · Authentication and automatic sign-in support |
| Support | docs | email, community, docs |
Plans
BrowserStack Automate
- Chrome$59 a month
- Desktop & Mobile$175 a month
- Desktop & Mobile$175 a month
- Desktop & Mobile Pro$225 a month
Steel
- LaunchFree
- Scale$250 a month
- LaunchFree
- Scale$250 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
BrowserStack Automate
BrowserStack Automate provides a managed automation grid for testing websites and apps across physical desktop, iOS and Android devices. It supports more than 3,500 real desktop and mobile browser combinations and lists Selenium, Playwright, Puppeteer, Cypress and JavaScript framework support. Tests can run in parallel across hundreds or thousands of browsers, although the listed plans show one parallel test by default. BrowserStack Local securely connects internal staging environments to BrowserStack Cloud. Reports can include video, screenshots, framework logs, CI console logs, network logs and AI-driven failure analysis. Other listed capabilities include microphone audio injection, network simulation, Apple Pay workflows, localization settings, physical SIM testing and camera image injection. Integrations include Jenkins, Jira, Slack, Appium and multiple CI/CD tools. Deployment options are cloud and self-hosted. There is a free trial but no free plan; the Chrome plan costs $59 a month, billed annually. BrowserStack says its platform is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and its privacy policy complies with GDPR.