browserless vs io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp
browserless is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by browserless. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). 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 2026-10-13. 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
| Marketplace |  browserless |  io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 1.0.0 Forks (GitHub): 3 Stars (GitHub): 1 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.0.82 Downloads/month (npm): 30 500 978 Downloads/week (npm): 6 524 222 Forks (GitHub): 3 239 Stars (GitHub): 38 064 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Not listed | Listed Version: not stated Forks (GitHub): 4 247 Stars (GitHub): 37 724 Not marked · First seen |
| Cursor: cursor/plugins | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 066 Stars (GitHub): 11 026 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Not listed | Listed Version: sha256:8771dc4666e7 Forks (GitHub): 3 239 Pulls (Docker Hub): 2 416 297 Stars (Docker Hub): 38 Stars (GitHub): 38 064 Not marked · First seen |
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
| Fact | browserless | io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 4 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 1 (worse) | 38 064 (better) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 2 416 297 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 3 (worse) | 4 247 (better) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server (mcp.browserless.io/mcp) | On your machine (@playwright/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | Not published | 23 |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | 1 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 11 | 1 |
| Licence (differs) | SSPL-1.0 | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/browserless/claude-plugin | github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | not checked yet | no remote endpoint we check |
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
browserless
A Claude Code plugin that gives Claude direct access to the Browserless.io REST APIs: scrape webpages, take screenshots, generate PDFs, search the web, map site structures, and run custom browser automation, all from natural language.
io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp
Playwright Tools for MCP
How to run each
browserless As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install browserless@claude-communityio.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio playwright-mcp -- npx -y @playwright/mcpCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of browserless publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: browserless · What it can do: io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. 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. Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.