Firecrawl MCP vs Playwright MCP
Firecrawl MCP (Web Scraping & Crawling) and Playwright MCP (Browser Automation) are both MCP servers. Playwright MCP has more GitHub stars (33.8K vs 6.5K). Choose Firecrawl MCP for Crawl and scrape websites, or Playwright MCP for Automate browser navigation.
Comparison
| Attribute | Firecrawl MCP | Playwright MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Web Scraping & Crawling | Browser Automation |
| GitHub stars | 6,539 | 33,759 |
| Forks | 753 | 2,783 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Last commit | Jun 9, 2026 | Jun 10, 2026 |
| Supported clients | Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline | Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Cline |
| Best for | Crawl and scrape websites | Automate browser navigation |
| Risk level | High | High |
| Popularity score | 71 | 85 |
| Freshness score | 100 | 100 |
| Maintenance score | 95 | 100 |
| GEO score | 64 | 70 |
When to choose Firecrawl MCP
- Your main use case is Crawl and scrape websites.
When to choose Playwright MCP
- You want broader GitHub adoption — Playwright MCP has 33.8K stars vs 6.5K.
- You want the more recently maintained option (last commit Jun 10, 2026).
- Your main use case is Automate browser navigation.
Alternatives to Firecrawl MCP and Playwright MCP
- Apify Actors MCP★ 1.3K · Web Scraping & Crawling
run thousands of prebuilt Apify Actors to scrape and automate the web
- Exa MCP★ 4.6K · Search & Retrieval
search the web and retrieve high-quality, AI-ready results in real time
- Filesystem MCP★ 87K · Files & Storage
read, write, and search files in allowed local directories
- Browserbase MCP★ 3.4K · Browser Automation
run cloud browsers for automated web navigation and scraping at scale
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Firecrawl MCP and Playwright MCP?
Firecrawl MCP is an MCP server that helps AI assistants crawl websites and convert pages into clean markdown or structured data. Playwright MCP is an MCP server that helps AI assistants control a real browser to navigate, click, type, and extract page content. Firecrawl MCP is best for Crawl and scrape websites, while Playwright MCP is best for Automate browser navigation.
Is Firecrawl MCP or Playwright MCP more popular on GitHub?
Playwright MCP is more popular, with about 33.8K GitHub stars versus 6.5K.
Which is more actively maintained, Firecrawl MCP or Playwright MCP?
Firecrawl MCP's most recent commit was Jun 9, 2026, and Playwright MCP's was Jun 10, 2026. More recent activity is a signal of active maintenance.
Are Firecrawl MCP and Playwright MCP open source?
Firecrawl MCP is open-source under the MIT license. Playwright MCP is open-source under the Apache-2.0 license.
Last updated