Browser Use vs Steel
Learn how Browser Use and Steel differ in their key features, development activity, technology
stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these browser automation tools is best for you.
Learn how Browser Use and Steel differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these browser automation tools is best for you.
Browser Use
Last 30 days
Last commit
1 day agoRepository age
2 yearsVersion
0.13.10License
MITRepository
browser-use/browser-use
Steel
Last 30 days
Last commit
6 days agoRepository age
2 yearsVersion
v0.5.4-betaLicense
Apache-2.0Self-hosted
YesRepository
steel-dev/steel-browser
Detailed Comparison
Browser Use appears to have several advantages over Steel, particularly in popularity, growth and licensing. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Browser Use appears to have several advantages over Steel, particularly in popularity, growth and licensing. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Community & Popularity
Browser Use significantly outpaces Steel in community adoption with 113,368 stars compared to 7,605 stars on GitHub. This 14.9x difference suggests Browser Use has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Browser Use has 12,484 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.
Growth Momentum
Browser Use is growing faster, adding 4,906 stars in the last 30 days (+4.5%) against adding 149 stars for Steel (+2%). Browser Use is both larger and pulling further ahead.
Development Activity
Both projects show recent activity, with Browser Use last updated 1 day ago and Steel 6 days ago.
Technology Stack
Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, Bash. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Browser Use uses Python while Steel leverages CSS, Typescript, JSX.
Project Maturity
Both projects started around the same time, with Browser Use beginning 2 years ago and Steel 2 years ago.
Licensing
Browser Use uses the MIT license, which is more permissive than Steel's Apache-2.0 license, potentially offering greater flexibility for commercial use and integration.
Use Cases & Features
Both tools serve similar use cases in Browser Automation, Browser Automation for AI.
Hosting & Deployment
Steel provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Browser Use may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.
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