Browserless vs Playwright MCP
A side-by-side look at the Browserless and Playwright MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Playwright MCPBrowser Automation · Local subprocess (stdio)Official Microsoft Playwright MCP server, enabling LLMs to interact with web pages through structured accessibility snapshots89ExcellentAuth: no auth requiredVerdict: choose Browserless for browser automation work as a local process; choose Playwright MCP 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 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
browser_close, browser_resize, browser_console_messages.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | Playwright MCP | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Browser Automation | Browser Automation |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 89/100 · Excellent |
| 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 | Verified |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 38,289 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 25 |
| Full listing | View Browserless | View Playwright MCP |
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 tools 25
browser_closeClose the pagebrowser_resizeResize the browser windowbrowser_console_messagesReturns all console messagesbrowser_handle_dialogHandle a dialogbrowser_emulate_mediaEmulate CSS media features for the page, for example switch between the light and dark color scheme. Omitted parameters are left unchanged; null clears an override.browser_evaluateEvaluate JavaScript expression on page or elementbrowser_file_uploadUpload one or multiple filesbrowser_dropDrop files or MIME-typed data onto an element, as if dragged from outside the page. At least one of "paths" or "data" must be provided.browser_findSearch the accessibility snapshot of the current page for text or a regular expression. Returns matching snapshot nodes with a few lines of surrounding context (like search snippets), each shown under its path from the root of the tree, which is cheaper than capturing the whole snapshot when you only need to locate an element and its ref.browser_fill_formFill multiple form fieldsbrowser_press_keyPress a key on the keyboardbrowser_typeType text into editable element- +13 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
{
"mcpServers": {
"microsoft-playwright-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@playwright/mcp@latest"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Browserless is categorized under Browser Automation and uses a local stdio subprocess. Playwright MCP belongs to Browser Automation and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Browserless for browser automation work and Playwright MCP 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 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 microsoft-playwright-mcp 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 has 89/100 (Excellent) with 4 views, 0 installs and 38,289 GitHub stars.