head to head · open source
ActivePieces vs Steel
ActivePieces has 24,522 GitHub stars, 4,201 forks, 573 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Steel has 7,655 stars, 979 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ActivePieces leads on adoption by 220% (24,522 vs 7,655 stars). ActivePieces is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Steel is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. ActivePieces has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Steel 13%. ActivePieces was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai-agents), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ActivePieces | Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 7.7K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 979 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ActivePieces if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Steel if
- You want the Steel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Steel fits your workflow better
About ActivePieces
ActivePieces is an open source, TypeScript based no code automation platform for building AI workflows and exposing integrations as MCP servers, aimed at both technical and non technical users who want Zapier style automation while keeping control of their own data.
read the full ActivePieces overview →
About Steel
Steel is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed browser API written in TypeScript that gives AI agents and applications cloud browser sessions, so teams can automate the web without building browser infrastructure from scratch.
read the full Steel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ActivePieces or Steel more popular?
ActivePieces has 24,522 GitHub stars and Steel has 7,655. ActivePieces has the larger community by that measure.
Are ActivePieces and Steel free?
Both are open source. ActivePieces has no licence declared in this registry, and Steel is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between ActivePieces and Steel?
ActivePieces is written in TypeScript and Steel in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ActivePieces or Steel?
Choose ActivePieces if you want the larger community (24,522 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Steel if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.