Nexus Mods just acquired SteamDB and promised the site stays free. Good news, but SteamDB was already the most complete price-history and metadata layer over the Steam store, and one owner change is a reason to know the neighbours. If Steam sale history goes stale, if you want a browser overlay directly on the store, or if you care about Proton and Steam Deck compatibility more than raw depot data, other tools solve those pieces better. These seven SteamDB alternatives cover the workflows the site does well and a few it does not.
We looked at what each tool actually tracks, how deep its history goes, whether it needs an account, and where it stops. Where SteamDB and the alternative overlap, we called out what each does better.
What SteamDB alternatives should cover
| App | Best for | Free plan | Paid tier | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SteamDB | Depot data, price history, DLC changes | Everything, no account needed | None | Depot and manifest access, plus complete Steam sale history |
| IsThereAnyDeal | Cross-store deal alerts | Full site, browser extension, waitlist alerts | None | Compares Steam, GOG, Epic, Fanatical, Humble, Green Man Gaming in one view |
| Augmented Steam | Overlays store info directly on Steam | Free, open source browser extension | None | Injects historical low, ProtonDB rating and wishlist stats onto every store page |
| ProtonDB | Steam Deck and Linux game compatibility | Free, community reports | None | Real-user Proton reports with tier ratings |
| SteamCharts | Live and historical player counts | Everything | None | Simple monthly average and all-time peak charts |
| GG.deals | Grey-market and key-reseller price tracking | Free, wishlist alerts | None | Tracks key resellers SteamDB ignores |
| Steam Deck HQ | Deck-specific settings and reviews | Free | None | Handheld-first reviews with tuned settings per game |
Why look past SteamDB
- Cross-store awareness. SteamDB tracks Steam only. If a game is 80% off on Fanatical or GOG, SteamDB will not tell you.
- Browser overlay. SteamDB is a separate destination. Some readers want the historical low pinned to the Steam store page they are already looking at.
- Handheld and Linux focus. SteamDB has no view for Proton or Steam Deck compatibility. Those questions have their own communities.
- Ownership uncertainty. The Nexus Mods purchase went smoothly, but any change in operator is a good moment to know your backups.
Each alternative below solves one of those cleanly.
The alternatives
IsThereAnyDeal — Best for cross-store price tracking
IsThereAnyDeal watches Steam, GOG, Epic, Humble, Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, and Microsoft Store and reports the lowest current and historical prices across all of them. Its waitlist emails you when a game drops below a threshold you set, which SteamDB does not do at all. The browser extension marks store pages with the current best price elsewhere. Free, no account needed for basic use, and the API is open for third-party tools.
Where it falls short: the site is dense and the design has not aged well. Some regional stores are missing.
Pricing: free. Optional Patreon supports the project.
vs SteamDB: wider by store, shallower by depot. Use both.
Download: IsThereAnyDeal
Bottom line: run this in the background if you buy PC games at all.
Augmented Steam — Best for an in-store overlay
Augmented Steam is a browser extension that injects historical low prices, ProtonDB compatibility ratings, wishlist data, and store-review breakdowns directly onto Steam store pages. You never leave Steam. It also pulls in IsThereAnyDeal data for the current best price elsewhere. Open source, Chrome and Firefox supported, no telemetry.
Where it falls short: the extension only works while browsing steampowered.com. If you shop from a mobile Steam client or the desktop app, it does nothing.
Pricing: free, open source.
vs SteamDB: an overlay instead of a destination. If you already spend time on the Steam store, this is the faster path.
Download: Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, source at github.com/IsThereAnyDeal/AugmentedSteam
Bottom line: the fastest way to see historical lows without ever tabbing out of Steam.
ProtonDB — Best for Steam Deck and Linux compatibility
ProtonDB collects community reports on how well each Steam game runs under Proton on Steam Deck, Linux, and SteamOS. Games get a tier from Borked to Platinum, and every rating comes with a hardware and Proton version, so you can find reports that match your setup. The site is the reason most Steam Deck owners buy with confidence.
Where it falls short: ratings can lag for new releases, and reports for niche titles are thin.
Pricing: free, community-supported.
vs SteamDB: SteamDB has no compatibility view. ProtonDB is the answer to “will this run on my Deck”.
Download: protondb.com
Bottom line: the first stop for anyone on a Deck or Linux desktop.
SteamCharts — Best for live and historical player counts
SteamCharts shows current concurrent players, 24-hour peak, monthly average, and all-time peak for every game on Steam. It is the simplest way to see whether a multiplayer game is still healthy before you buy in. SteamDB has the same numbers, but SteamCharts strips away everything else and loads faster.
Where it falls short: it only reports Steam concurrents. If a game is popular on Epic or console, SteamCharts under-counts it.
Pricing: free.
vs SteamDB: a focused, faster read of the exact same data.
Download: steamcharts.com
Bottom line: open it before joining a dying server or dropping money on a fading MMO.
GG.deals — Best for key-reseller and grey-market prices
GG.deals tracks Steam, GOG, and Epic, but it also indexes key resellers and grey-market stores that IsThereAnyDeal and SteamDB deliberately exclude. If you are comfortable buying keys, GG.deals will find prices well under the official low. Wishlist alerts and a browser extension are included at no cost.
Where it falls short: grey-market keys carry the usual risk of chargebacks or region locks. GG.deals labels each seller trust score, but you still need to read it.
Pricing: free. Ads on the site pay for it.
vs SteamDB: wider net, riskier sellers. Great as a companion, not a replacement.
Download: gg.deals
Bottom line: use it for the cheapest possible price when you accept the reseller trade-offs.
Steam Deck HQ — Best for handheld-tuned reviews
Steam Deck HQ reviews games specifically on Steam Deck, listing recommended graphics settings, TDP limits, expected battery life, and any control quirks per title. Their database has thousands of games and is community-writable. If you want to know whether a game is enjoyable on the Deck, not just whether Proton starts it, this is the site.
Where it falls short: desktop and other handhelds are not the focus, and coverage skews to popular releases.
Pricing: free. Optional Patreon.
vs SteamDB: complementary. Deck HQ answers “should I play this on my Deck”, SteamDB answers “what changed in the depot”.
Download: steamdeckhq.com
Bottom line: buy for the Deck with settings guidance rather than trial and error.
ProtonUp-Qt — Best for managing custom Proton and Wine builds
ProtonUp-Qt is a small GTK/Qt desktop tool that installs and switches between Proton-GE, Luxtorpeda, Boxtron, and Wine-GE builds for Steam, Heroic, and Lutris. Where ProtonDB tells you which build to use, ProtonUp-Qt actually installs it in one click. Available as a Flatpak, AppImage, and native package on most Linux distros.
Where it falls short: it is a helper, not a database. You still need ProtonDB reports to know which build to install.
Pricing: free, open source (GPLv3).
vs SteamDB: completely orthogonal. Pair it with ProtonDB to fix compatibility issues you find.
Download: Flathub, source at github.com/DavidoTek/ProtonUp-Qt
Bottom line: the last-mile fix when a Steam Deck or Linux game needs a specific Proton build.
How to choose
Pick IsThereAnyDeal if you shop across stores and want deal alerts SteamDB does not send. Pick Augmented Steam if you never leave the Steam store and want historical lows and Proton tier pinned to every page. Pick ProtonDB and Steam Deck HQ together if you play mostly on a Deck. Pick SteamCharts when the question is only about live player counts.
Pick GG.deals when you are willing to buy from key resellers and want the cheapest possible price, not the cheapest official one. Pick ProtonUp-Qt when a game needs a specific Proton or Wine build that stock Steam does not ship.
Stay on SteamDB for anything the others do not: depot IDs, manifest history, achievement stats, unreleased branches, and Steam Workshop metadata. That is still its core value, and Nexus Mods keeping it free means there is no reason to migrate. Treat these as SteamDB alternatives when you need a specific angle SteamDB was never designed to cover.
FAQ
Is SteamDB shutting down? No. Nexus Mods acquired SteamDB in September 2026 and stated the site will remain free and independent. This roundup covers tools that complement or extend what SteamDB does, not replacements forced by a shutdown.
What is the closest full alternative to SteamDB? IsThereAnyDeal for price history plus Augmented Steam for the in-page overlay covers the two workflows most SteamDB visitors use. Neither has SteamDB’s depot and manifest access.
Is Augmented Steam safe? Yes. It is open source, published on the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons, and has been in active development since 2014 (originally as Enhanced Steam). Reviewable source lives at github.com/IsThereAnyDeal/AugmentedSteam.
Does ProtonDB work outside Steam Deck? Yes. Reports include the reporter’s hardware and Proton version, so desktop Linux users can filter for their own kernel and GPU driver combination.
Where do I check current Steam player counts? SteamCharts is the fastest read. SteamDB shows the same data with more context. Both pull from Steam’s own public API.
Can I trust GG.deals prices? GG.deals aggregates prices from resellers with varying trust levels and labels each accordingly. Buy from top-rated sellers and read the seller notes before purchase.
