# Steel, free: Web scraping API

> Browser Tools are stateless, single-call endpoints that spin up a managed browser, perform one action against a URL, and return the result. They are the fastest way to pull content off a page when you do not need to drive a long-running session.

Steel's web scraping API on its Launch plan. It costs $0.00 per 1,000 pages. It returns 4 of the 7 key fields we check: Screenshot, Markdown, HTML, Links.
We rank 1,257 plans by price. [PhantomJsCloud's $10 monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/phantomjscloud/10-monthly/llms.txt) costs the least per 1,000 pages: as little as $0.022. PhantomJsCloud's $10 monthly plan covers up to 15,000 pages a day.
[Spider Cloud's $40 monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/spider-cloud/40-monthly/llms.txt) covers any number of pages. Spider Cloud's $40 monthly plan costs more to start than PhantomJsCloud's $10 monthly plan.
[WebScraping.AI](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/webscraping-ai/29-monthly-personal-get-html-get-page-html-datacenter-proxy-no-js-rendering/llms.txt), [Scrappey](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/scrappey/top-up-pay-as-you-go-post-api-v1-direct-request/llms.txt) and [ScraperAPI](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/scraperapi/299-monthly-business-get-sync-api/llms.txt) are the best web scraping API providers in our benchmark.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/free
- [Best web scraping API in 2026: pricing compared](https://datacircle.dev/best-web-scraping-api.txt)
- Get it: https://steel.dev/pricing
- Request: `POST https://api.steel.dev/v1/scrape`
- API key: with the plan, on https://steel.dev/pricing
- Its API docs: https://docs.steel.dev/overview/browser-tools/overview#scrape
- Sold by: Steel (https://steel.dev)
- Checked: 2026-10-29

## In the answer

- Completeness: 57%
- Screenshot: ✓
- Markdown: ✓
- HTML: ✓
- Links: ✓

## Price

- $ per 1,000 pages: $0.00
- Per: call
- Billing: free

## Charges

- Also pays for: from the same budget: Screenshot · PDF

## Overage

- $ per 1,000 pages: $5.00

## Not found

- $ per 1,000: $0.00

## In their words

- Their pitch: Browser Tools are stateless, single-call endpoints that spin up a managed browser, perform one action against a URL, and return the result. They are the fastest way to pull content off a page when you do not need to drive a long-running session.

## Data

- Freshness: live
- Keep data: no limit
- Use data: You may not access or use the Services for any purpose other than that for which we make the Services available. The Services may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by us. As a user of the Services, you agree not to: Systematically retrieve data or other content from the Services to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory without written permission from us. [...] Use any information obtained from the Services in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person. [...] Use the Services in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations. [...] Engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. [...] Attempt to bypass any measures of the Services designed to prevent or restrict access to the Services, or any portion of the Services. [...] Except as may be the result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop, or distribute any automated system, including without limitation, any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper, or offline reader that accesses the Services, or use or launch any unauthorized script or other software. [...] Use the Services as part of any effort to compete with us or otherwise use the Services and/or the Content for any revenue-generating endeavor or commercial enterprise. [...] Engage in web scraping or data collection that violates applicable laws or regulations Use the Services to bypass security measures, access controls, or authentication systems without authorization [...] Use the Services to collect personal data without proper consent or legal basis [...] Use the Services to infringe upon intellectual property rights or copyrighted content Use the Services to violate any website's terms of service, robots.txt, or similar access restrictions Use the Services to circumvent paywalls, subscription services, or other paid access controls [...]

## Plan

- Pay: $0
- You get: $30
- Enough for: 6,000 calls, once
- Expires: 90 days

## Rate limit

- Concurrent: 10
- Batch: 1

## Speed

- Answer: in the call
- Median: 6.47 s

## The call

- You send: url, Content-Type header "application/json". Optional: format, delay, pdf, projectId, region, screenshot, useProxy
- Method: POST
- Path: /v1/scrape

## About the plan

- Plan: Launch
- Who can get it: anyone at least 18 years old

## The 26 fields the plan's answer can hold

URL, HTTP status, HTML, cleaned HTML, Markdown, readability, page links, page title, description, keywords, author, article author, canonical URL, favicon URL, language, published time, modified time, JSON-LD data, Open Graph title, Open Graph description, Open Graph image, Open Graph site name, Open Graph URL, scrape time, screenshot URL, PDF URL

## Steel's plans (4)

- [Steel, free](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 57% complete, live
- [Steel, top-up from $10](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/top-up-from-10/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 57% complete, live
- [Steel, $250 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/250-monthly/llms.txt): $12.50 per 1,000, 57% complete, live
- [Steel, contact us](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/contact-us/llms.txt): 57% complete, live

## Steel's calls (1)

- `POST /v1/scrape`: [Steel, free](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/free/llms.txt)

## Steel's APIs (1)

- [Steel: web scraping API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/steel/free/llms.txt)

## Steel: web scraping API alternatives

- [WebScraping.AI, top-up from $20, Pay as you go, GET /text, Get Page Text, residential proxy, JS rendering](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/webscraping-ai/top-up-from-20-pay-as-you-go-get-text-get-page-text-residential-proxy-js-rendering/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live
- [Geekflare, $50 pack, Blaze, POST /webscraping, Web Scraping with Premium Proxy](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/geekflare/50-pack-blaze-post-webscraping-web-scraping-with-premium-proxy/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 43% complete, live
- [Anchor Browser, $50 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/anchor-browser/50-monthly/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 14% complete, live
- [ZenRows, top-up from $5, Pay-as-you-go (agent storefront), GET /v1/, Fetch a page, premium proxies](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/zenrows/top-up-from-5-pay-as-you-go-agent-storefront-get-v1-fetch-a-page-premium-proxies/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 43% complete, live

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-10-29.

- https://docs.steel.dev/overview/browser-tools/overview.md
- https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits
- https://docs.steel.dev/steel-go-sdk
- https://steel.dev/pricing
- https://steel.dev/terms