Browserless vs Playwright MCP Server
A side-by-side look at the Browserless and Playwright MCP Server MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Browserless for browser automation work as a local process; choose Playwright MCP Server for browser automation as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Browserless when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Browser Automation domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
browserless_content, browserless_scrape, browserless_screenshot.
Choose Playwright MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Browser Automation domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
start_codegen_session, end_codegen_session, get_codegen_session.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Browser Automation | Browser Automation |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 67/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 5,667 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 33 |
| Full listing | View Browserless | View Playwright MCP Server |
Tools & capabilities
Browserless tools 4
browserless_contentRender a URL in headless Chromium and return the fully-executed HTML (after JavaScript runs) — use this when a plain fetch returns an empty shell or JS-rendered SPA. Example: browserless_content({ url: "https://example.com", _apiKey: "your-token" })browserless_scrapeExtract structured data from a rendered page using CSS selectors. Returns text, inner HTML, attributes and geometry for every matched element. Example: browserless_scrape({ url: "https://news.ycombinator.com", elements: [{ selector: ".titleline a" }], _apiKey: "your-token" })browserless_screenshotCapture a screenshot of a rendered page. Returns the image byte-length and metadata only (the binary PNG is NOT inlined). Example: browserless_screenshot({ url: "https://example.com", fullPage: true, _apiKey: "your-token" })browserless_smart_scrapeAI-assisted extraction: tries a plain HTTP fetch first and falls back to a full headless browser, returning content in the requested formats (html, markdown, links, screenshot, pdf). Best when you just want clean page content and do not know the right selectors. Example: browserless_smart_scrape({ url: "https://example.com", formats: ["markdown", "links"], _apiKey: "your-token" })
Playwright MCP Server tools 33
start_codegen_sessionStart a new code generation session to record Playwright actionsend_codegen_sessionEnd a code generation session and generate the test fileget_codegen_sessionGet information about a code generation sessionclear_codegen_sessionClear a code generation session without generating a testplaywright_navigateNavigate to a URLplaywright_screenshotTake a screenshot of the current page or a specific elementplaywright_clickClick an element on the pageplaywright_iframe_clickClick an element in an iframe on the pageplaywright_iframe_fillFill an element in an iframe on the pageplaywright_fillfill out an input fieldplaywright_selectSelect an element on the page with Select tagplaywright_hoverHover an element on the page- +21 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Browserless
{
"mcpServers": {
"browserless": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-browserless"
]
}
}
}
Playwright MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"executeautomation-playwright-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Browserless is categorized under Browser Automation and uses a local stdio subprocess. Playwright MCP Server belongs to Browser Automation and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Browserless for browser automation work and Playwright MCP Server for browser automation.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Browserless has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Playwright MCP Server is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add browserless and executeautomation-playwright-mcp-server as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Browserless has a quality signal of 59/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Playwright MCP Server has 67/100 (Great) with 2 views, 0 installs and 5,667 GitHub stars.
