Playwright MCP vs MCP Accessibility Scanner
A side-by-side look at the Playwright MCP and MCP Accessibility Scanner MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Playwright MCP for browser automation work as a local process; choose MCP Accessibility Scanner for browser automation. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
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.
Choose MCP Accessibility Scanner when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Browser Automation domain.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
scan_page, audit_site, scan_page_matrix.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Browser Automation | Browser Automation |
| Quality signal | 89/100 · Excellent | 57/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | No auth required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Verified | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 38,513 | 57 |
| Directory activity | 6 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 25 | 42 |
| Full listing | View Playwright MCP | View MCP Accessibility Scanner |
Tools & capabilities
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
MCP Accessibility Scanner tools 42
scan_pagePerforms a comprehensive accessibility scan on the current page using Axe-core.audit_siteCrawls and scans multiple internal pages, then aggregates violations across the site.scan_page_matrixRuns Axe scans on the same page across viewport/media/zoom variants and compares deltas against baseline.audit_keyboardAudits real keyboard focus behavior by pressing Tab (and optional Shift+Tab) with practical heuristics.audit_screen_readerInspects the browser's accessibility tree (`page.ariaSnapshot`), accessible names and element geometry for potential accessibility issues. No actual screen reader is installed or driven, and its announcements and interactions are not tested.browser_navigateNavigate to a URL.browser_navigate_backGo back to the previous page.browser_navigation_timeoutSet default navigation timeout for existing tabs.browser_default_timeoutSet default operation timeout for existing tabs.browser_snapshotCapture accessibility snapshot of the current page (better than screenshot for analysis).browser_findSearch the current page accessibility snapshot without returning the full snapshot.browser_clickPerform click on a web page element.- +30 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.
Playwright MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"microsoft-playwright-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@playwright/mcp@latest"
]
}
}
}
MCP Accessibility Scanner
No confirmed install command for MCP Accessibility Scanner yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.