# agent-browser vs Chrome DevTools MCP

> Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against agent-browser's 66.6 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do browser automation. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md (~2,400 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against agent-browser's 66.6 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do browser automation.

- agent-browser: grade B, 66.6/100, rank #263 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-browser.json
- Chrome DevTools MCP: grade BB, 77/100, rank #23 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.json

## Which one, for what

### agent-browser (B)

Good for: Coding agents with a shell that want short commands and compact snapshots.

Watch for: The ten most recent CI runs on main, 1 to 8 October 2026, all concluded in failure. In the newest, Windows Rust tests and native end-to-end tests failed

### Chrome DevTools MCP (BB)

Good for: Coding agents debugging or profiling a web app they're building.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 48
- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 78
- Maintenance & community, 93 against 70
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 61

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: Usage statistics go to Google by default until you pass `--no-usage-statistics`


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | agent-browser | Chrome DevTools MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 48 | 83 | Chrome DevTools MCP +35 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 87 | Chrome DevTools MCP +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 83 | Chrome DevTools MCP +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 67 | 63 | agent-browser +4 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 93 | Chrome DevTools MCP +23 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 81 | Chrome DevTools MCP +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -1 | |
| **Total** | | **66.6 · B** | **77 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | agent-browser | Chrome DevTools MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | Vercel Labs | Google (Chrome DevTools team) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio | stdio |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 158 | 59 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-23 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models |  | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | 44k stars, 2.1M npm/wk | 49k stars, 1.5M npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (8) |

## Verdicts

**agent-browser.** Snapshots with element refs, a 29-tool default MCP profile and opt-in domain allowlists, action policies and content boundary markers suit agent use. The project is at 0.38.2 with no stable release, the ten most recent CI runs on main failed between 1 and 8 October 2026, and every security control is off by default.

**Chrome DevTools MCP.** Performance traces, network inspection, heap snapshots and Lighthouse audits in one server. Usage statistics go to Google by default until you pass `--no-usage-statistics`.

## Before you call either

### agent-browser

1. Run `agent-browser install` once after `npm install -g agent-browser`. It downloads Chrome for Testing
2. Take a fresh `snapshot -i` after any navigation. Refs survive same-document changes only
3. Pass `--json` for machine-readable results and `--max-output` to cap page text
4. Set `--allowed-domains`, `--action-policy` and `--content-boundaries` for untrusted sites. None is on by default, and the allowlist rejects `--profile`, `--cdp` and `--restore`
5. Start MCP with `agent-browser mcp`, and add profiles such as `--tools core,network` only when needed

### Chrome DevTools MCP

1. Pass `pageId` on every page tool. Call `list_pages` first to get it
2. Start with `--slim` for plain browsing, or turn off categories you don't need
3. Run with `--isolated` for untrusted sites. The default profile persists between runs
4. Use `filePath` on large outputs such as traces and snapshots to keep them out of context
5. Add `--no-usage-statistics` if the operator hasn't agreed to Google telemetry

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, agent-browser or Chrome DevTools MCP?

Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against agent-browser's 66.6 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.

### Do agent-browser and Chrome DevTools MCP need an API key?

Neither needs a key.

### Can an agent call agent-browser and Chrome DevTools MCP without installing anything?

agent-browser runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Chrome DevTools MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

### Are agent-browser and Chrome DevTools MCP open source?

Yes. agent-browser is open source (Apache-2.0). Chrome DevTools MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "agent-browser", "b": "chrome-devtools-mcp"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare agent-browser chrome-devtools-mcp`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-browser.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/chrome-devtools-mcp.json

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