Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison
Firecrawl MCP Server vs Web Search API
In-depth architectural comparison of the Firecrawl MCP Server and Web Search API MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Firecrawl MCP Server
Search & Data Extraction · Local stdio
Quality: 90/100 (Excellent) | Auth: API Key required
Web Search API
Search & Data Extraction · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Firecrawl MCP Server if you need specialized Search & Data Extraction tools running via a local process. Choose Web Search API if your workspace requires Search & Data Extraction integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's
mcpServers manifest.Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose Firecrawl MCP Server when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: API Key required (Freemium).
- You have access to required keys:
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY. - Primary tools included: firecrawl_scrape, firecrawl_map, firecrawl_search.
Choose Web Search API when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
- Primary tools included: web_search_query, query, count.
Feature & Specification Comparison
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
Firecrawl MCP Server Tools (25)
firecrawl_scrape
Retrieve and extract content from one supplied URL through Firecrawl. Use this when the request identifies a page and needs its content or defined fields. It can return markdown, HTML, links, screenshots, branding data, a targeted answer, or JSON matching a supplied schema; JSON is useful when the requested result has defined fields, while markdown preserves readable page content.
This tool operates on a known page. For a set of pages use `firecrawl_crawl`, and to discover page URLs use `firecrawl_map` or `firecrawl_search`. Options include JavaScript render delay, cache age, main-content filtering, PII redaction, and lockdown cache-only retrieval. Browser actions may change the live page when interactive actions are enabled.
Firecrawl may reuse recently indexed content instead of refetching the page, and the reuse window varies by domain. Set `maxAge: 0` to force a live fetch, or a smaller `maxAge` to bound how stale reused content may be. A successful response does not by itself confirm that the state it describes is still current.
Returns the selected content formats and page metadata.
firecrawl_map
Enumerate URLs indexed under one website through Firecrawl without fetching each page's content. Use this when the request asks for a site's URL inventory, when several relevant pages must be located, or when the desired page URL is unknown. An optional `search` term narrows the URL list, while sitemap, subdomain, query-parameter, and result-limit options control coverage.
Returns matching URLs rather than page bodies. Retrieve one page with `firecrawl_scrape`; collect content across multiple pages with `firecrawl_crawl`.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Firecrawl MCP Server Configuration
Web Search API Configuration
Frequently Asked Questions
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