Comparison

Apify vs io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp

Apify is an MCP server published by apify. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp is an MCP server published by microsoft. Marketplaces we read that list it: 4 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Cursor: cursor/plugins, Docker MCP Catalog). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-14. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.

Where each is published

Where each is published
Marketplace	Apify	io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:42cc91f13363 Forks (GitHub): 328 Pulls (Docker Hub): 36 138 Stars (Docker Hub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 10 975 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Listed Version: sha256:8771dc4666e7 Forks (GitHub): 3 244 Pulls (Docker Hub): 2 428 126 Stars (Docker Hub): 38 Stars (GitHub): 38 101 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Official MCP Registry	Not listed	Listed Version: 0.0.82 Downloads/month (npm): 30 500 978 Downloads/week (npm): 6 524 222 Forks (GitHub): 3 244 Stars (GitHub): 38 101 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Claude Code: claude-plugins-official	Not listed	Listed Version: not stated Forks (GitHub): 4 260 Stars (GitHub): 37 786 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Cursor: cursor/plugins	Not listed	Listed Version: 1.0.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 086 Stars (GitHub): 11 186 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11

Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.

The facts side by side

Apify vs io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp
Fact	Apify	io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp
Marketplaces that list it (differs)	1 (worse)	4 (better)
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	10 975 (worse)	38 101 (better)
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	36 138 (worse)	2 428 126 (better)
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	328 (worse)	4 260 (better)
Last release	Not published	Not published
Where it runs (differs)	On your machine (mcp/apify-mcp-server)	On your machine (@playwright/mcp)
Transport	stdio	stdio
Tools it declares (differs)	10	23
Environment variables it asks for (differs)	2, secrets among them: 1	Not published
Parts of the bundle (differs)	Not a bundle	1
Licence	MIT	MIT
Repository (differs)	github.com/apify/actors-mcp-server	github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp
Changes in the last 7 days	0	0
First seen	2026-10-11	2026-10-11

Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.

What each says it does

Apify

In its own words, on Docker MCP Catalog:

Apify is the world's largest marketplace of tools for web scraping, data extraction, and web automation. You can extract structured data from social media, e-commerce, search engines, maps, travel sites, or any other website.

io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

Playwright Tools for MCP

How to run each

Apify As a local MCP server: Docker image

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env "APIFY_TOKEN=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" --transport stdio apify-mcp-server -- docker run -i --rm -e APIFY_TOKEN mcp/apify-mcp-server

Requires: APIFY_TOKEN (secret)

io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp As a local MCP server: npm package

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio playwright-mcp -- npx -y @playwright/mcp

Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.

Tools each declares

Only Apify declares

abort-actor-run
apify--rag-web-browser
call-actor
fetch-actor-details
fetch-apify-docs
get-actor-run
get-dataset-items
get-key-value-store-record
search-actors
search-apify-docs

Only io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp declares

browser_click
browser_close
browser_console_messages
browser_drag
browser_drop
browser_evaluate
browser_file_upload
browser_fill_form
browser_handle_dialog
browser_hover
browser_navigate
browser_navigate_back

Show the remaining 11

browser_network_request
browser_network_requests
browser_press_key
browser_resize
browser_run_code_unsafe
browser_select_option
browser_snapshot
browser_tabs
browser_take_screenshot
browser_type
browser_wait_for

Both declare

None

Tool names as each marketplace publishes them. More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

The marketplaces of io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.

What it can do: Apify · What it can do: io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp · Compare two other plugins

Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/cursor/plugins/blob/HEAD/.cursor-plugin/marketplace.json. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-10-14. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.