Coasty – #1 Computer-Use AI Agent API at $0.05/predict

TL;DR

TL;DR: Coasty is a YC S26 computer-use AI agent ranked #1 on OSWorld (85.60%). It ships a REST API at $0.05 base per /v1/predict, an MCP server with 26 tools, 1,000+ OAuth app integrations, and a $99/month flat-rate Unlimited plan — directly competing with Anthropic Computer Use and OpenAI Operator.

Source and Accuracy Notes

⚠️ This section is MANDATORY. All links must be verified from actual source, not guessed.

• Project page: coasty.ai — verified via allorigins proxy, Jul 2026
• Source repository: no public GitHub repo found — Coasty is closed-source/proprietary
• License: proprietary SaaS — no open-source license applicable
• HN launch thread: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48922706 — confirmed YC S26 Launch HN
• OSWorld benchmark: osworld.github.io — Coasty scored 85.60% (369 tasks)
• Pricing verified from coasty.ai/pricing — Starter $19/mo, Plus $50/mo, Unlimited $99/mo

What Is Coasty?

Coasty is an AI employee platform that controls a desktop the way a human does — opening browsers, clicking UI elements, typing into forms, navigating apps, sending emails, and managing spreadsheets. It was founded in 2024 and went through Y Combinator’s S26 batch.

The product ships on two surfaces simultaneously:

1. Coasty Cloud — managed VM infrastructure where every agent session runs in an isolated sandboxed virtual machine. No local setup required.
2. Coasty Desktop — a native Mac/Windows app that runs as a floating overlay and can control the local machine directly (browser, terminal, files, apps) without a VM.

On the developer side, Coasty exposes a REST API (/v1/predict) and an MCP server with 26 tools, targeting teams that want to embed computer-use capability into their own products or workflows.

Benchmark positioning

Coasty claims the top position on OSWorld, a benchmark that evaluates AI agents on 369 real-world computer tasks across browsers, office apps, and system operations. Coasty’s reported score is 85.60%, compared to estimates of around 40% for OpenAI Operator on the same benchmark.

Key Capabilities

Computer use engine

The core agent uses screen understanding (vision-based UI interaction) rather than accessibility APIs or DOM parsing. This allows it to work with any interface — including legacy software, internal tools, and CAPTCHAs — without predefined scripts.

Every cloud session runs in a VM-level isolated sandbox. Sessions do not share infrastructure, and no data leaks between them.

App integration layer

Coasty ships a built-in Composio integration layer with 1,000+ OAuth-secured native app integrations including:

• Email: Gmail, Outlook
• CRM/Sales: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive
• Project management: Linear, Jira, Asana, monday.com
• Developer tools: GitHub, GitLab, Google Drive, Google Calendar
• Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams
• Finance: Stripe, Shopify
• Support: Intercom, Zendesk, HubSpot

When an app has an API, Coasty calls it directly for sub-second latency. When it does not (SAP GUI, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, legacy banking portals), the same agent drives the UI via computer use.

Developer API

The /v1/predict endpoint is a REST API with a published $0.05 base price per call, plus surcharges for tool use. Free sandbox keys are available. The API spec is OpenAPI 3.1 (public).

The MCP server exposes 26 tools covering browser automation, file operations, terminal commands, screenshot capture, and more.

Pricing

| Plan | Price | Credits/month | |------|-------|--------------| | Starter | $19/mo | 200 | | Plus | $50/mo | 600 | | Unlimited | $99/mo | Unlimited (2 machines, 10 schedules, 5 concurrent agents) | | Boost (one-time) | $19 | 150 credits | | Power Boost (one-time) | $49 | 500 credits | | Ultra Boost (one-time) | $99 | 1,200 credits |

The Unlimited plan is notable as a flat-rate offering in a category where competitors typically charge per-task or per-minute (Anthropic Computer Use, OpenAI Operator at $200/mo rate-limited, Genspark Pro at $249 credit-capped).

How to Get Started with the API

1. Get a sandbox API key

Sign up at coasty.ai and navigate to Settings → API Keys to generate a free sandbox key. Sandbox keys give you a limited number of predict calls to test the endpoint before billing.

2. Call the predict endpoint

curl -X POST https://api.coasty.ai/v1/predict \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "task": "Go to github.com and search for repositories with more than 1000 stars",
    "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet"
  }'

A successful response returns a session ID and the agent’s initial reasoning. Poll the session endpoint to stream results.

3. Connect an app integration

In the Coasty dashboard, go to Settings → Connections, click Add Connection, and authenticate with OAuth for any of the 1,000+ supported apps. Once connected, the agent can use that app in every chat session — no password is ever exposed to the agent.

4. Deploy a scheduled agent

The Unlimited plan includes scheduling (cron-style). In the Coasty dashboard, assign a task to an AI employee, set a schedule, and the agent runs autonomously on the defined interval.

How Coasty Compares

| Feature | Coasty | Anthropic Computer Use | OpenAI Operator | |---------|--------|----------------------|----------------| | OSWorld score | 85.60% | not published | ~40% | | API | /v1/predict, $0.05 base | raw API | limited preview | | App integrations | 1,000+ OAuth | none | none | | MCP server | 26 tools | no | no | | Desktop app | Mac + Windows | no | no | | VM isolation | per-session | per-session | shared pool | | Starter price | $19/mo | pay-per-use | $200/mo | | Unlimited flat | $99/mo | N/A | N/A |

Traditional RPA tools (UiPath, Blue Prism, Power Automate) require brittle per-process scripting and certified-developer builds. Coasty adapts to UI changes in real-time via vision, with setup in minutes rather than weeks.

Security Model

Every cloud session runs in its own isolated, sandboxed virtual machine. The Coasty privacy policy states no training on private user content. For BYOK (bring-your-own-key) configurations, the selected provider’s retention and training terms apply.

TLS 1.3 encrypts traffic in transit; AES-256-GCM covers data at rest where applicable.

FAQ

Q: Does Coasty solve CAPTCHAs? A: Yes. Coasty has a built-in CAPTCHA-solving pipeline. This is critical for real-world automation where CAPTCHAs are common on websites.

Q: How is the API different from Anthropic Computer Use? A: Anthropic provides a raw API for computer control. Coasty is a production-ready platform with managed VM infrastructure, built-in app integrations (1,000+ OAuth), a desktop app, multi-model support, and the highest reported OSWorld score.

Q: What AI models does Coasty support? A: Coasty supports multiple AI models. The API call example shows claude-3-5-sonnet as an available model option.

Q: Can Coasty run locally without the cloud? A: Yes. The Coasty Desktop app for Mac and Windows runs as a local overlay and can control the machine directly without requiring a cloud VM session.

Q: Is there an open-source component? A: Coasty does not appear to have a public source repository. It is a proprietary SaaS product. An open-source framework component is mentioned in comparison materials but no public repo URL was found.

Conclusion

Coasty is the most fully-featured computer-use platform in the current market — combining a high-scoring benchmark agent, a production REST API, an MCP server, 1,000+ OAuth app integrations, and a desktop app in one product. Its $99/mo flat-rate Unlimited plan is meaningfully cheaper than OpenAI Operator ($200 rate-limited) and Anthropic pay-per-use for sustained automation workloads.

If you need a computer-use agent for sales prospecting, QA testing, data entry, or any repeatable desktop workflow — and especially if you want to embed that capability into your own product via API — Coasty is worth evaluating.

Source last checked: 2026-07-24