{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "airtop", "name": "Airtop", "vendor": "Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop)", "vendorUrl": "https://www.airtop.ai", "kind": "http-api", "category": "browser", "summary": "Airtop runs cloud browser sessions that an agent controls through a REST API, Node and Python SDKs, natural-language page calls, or Puppeteer, Playwright and Selenium connections. The same company sells Agent Builder, a no-code product for scheduled web agents.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/airtop.json", "repo": "https://github.com/airtop-ai/airtop-node-sdk", "license": "Proprietary cloud service under Airtop's terms of use. The Node and Python SDKs are MIT per npm and PyPI", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.airtop.ai/api", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@airtop/sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "airtop" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve API key from the portal at portal.airtop.ai/api-keys after a browser signup, sent as `Authorization: Bearer` on https://api.airtop.ai/api/v1. Puppeteer and Playwright connect to the session's `cdpWsUrl`, and Selenium to its `chromedriverUrl`, with the same Bearer header, so the key stays out of URLs. A key works across its organisation, including saved profiles. No scopes, read-only keys, expiry or rotation were found in the reviewed documentation. The developers page mentions RBAC for enterprise access without detail.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free plan with 1,000 credits a month and 3 simultaneous sessions. Paid plans start at $29 a month (Starter, 30,000 credits), $189 (Professional, 225,000) and $558 (Enterprise, 775,000), each with larger credit options, and annual billing takes 10 per cent off. Credits pay for browser time (billed in 30-second increments), integrated proxy traffic and AI calls, but the credits charged per unit are not published. No one-off credit purchases, and unused credits do not carry over. The pricing page states a 10,000 one-time credit bonus on Free while the billing guide states 30,000. Whether signup needs a card is not stated (https://www.airtop.ai/pricing, https://www.airtop.ai/help/billing/billing, checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$29 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the OpenAPI document or the pricing page. An unauthenticated GET to https://api.airtop.ai/api/v1/sessions on 2026-10-08 returned 401, not 402.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 16, "npmWeekly": 15505, "pypiWeekly": 246, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.airtop.ai", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.airtop.ai/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.airtop.ai/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "browser.control", "browser.hosted", "browser.debug", "web.scrape", "scraping.proxies", "scraping.anti-bot" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "freemium", "api-key", "openapi", "llms-txt", "typescript", "python", "proxies", "captcha", "status-page", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-07-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 55.3, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 511, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 11, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 65, "maintenance": 24, "payments": 25, "reliability": 69, "schema": 76, "security": 46, "transparency": 61 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The cloud browser API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, Markdown docs, natural-language page calls with a per-call credit cap, and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. Credit rates for browser time, proxy traffic and AI calls are not published, and the developer changelog's last entry is dated 3 September 2025.", "bestFor": "Agents that need a hosted browser with natural-language page calls, saved logins handed over by a person, and proxies and CAPTCHA solving in one service.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 document with 39 operations, an llms.txt index and a Markdown twin of every docs page", "The API key travels as a Bearer header on REST, CDP and Selenium connections, not in the URL", "Every AI call returns `meta.usage.credits` and accepts `costThresholdCredits` and `timeThresholdSeconds` to cap spend and time", "status.airtop.ai shows no incident between 10 July and 8 October 2026, only 30 minutes of scheduled maintenance on 18 August", "A person can log in through an embedded Live View, and the saved profile keeps the agent signed in without it seeing the password" ], "weaknesses": [ "No published rate for what a browser minute, a GB of proxy traffic or an AI call costs in credits", "The developer changelog's last entry is 3 September 2025, and the stable Python SDK dates from 23 April 2025", "No request rate limits, 429 handling or idempotency keys found in the reviewed documentation", "No scoped or read-only API keys documented, and no guidance on prompt injection from page content", "No security.txt, bug bounty, public DPA or subprocessor list found. The SOC 2 report is on request" ], "agentNotes": [ "Terminate every session with `DELETE /v1/sessions/{id}`. Sessions bill in 30-second increments and idle ones last 10 minutes by default", "Set `costThresholdCredits` on AI calls and read `meta.usage.credits` afterwards. Credit rates are not published, so measure them", "Use `page-query` with `configuration.outputSchema` for structured output. `prompt-content` and `summarize-content` are deprecated", "When calling REST without the SDK, poll session status until `running` before creating a window. Only the SDK waits for you", "Airtop's integrated proxy cannot reach LinkedIn, ticketing sites and some banks and streaming services. Bring a custom proxy for those" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 55.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 65, "maintenance": 24, "payments": 25, "reliability": 69, "schema": 76, "security": 46, "transparency": 42 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "install": "npm i -s @airtop/sdk", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.airtop.ai/api/v1/sessions -H \"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_AIRTOP_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.control", "tool": "https://letme.dev/airtop" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Starter plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 29, "note": "30,000 credits, larger credit options cost more" }, { "item": "Professional plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 189, "note": "225,000 credits, 30 simultaneous sessions" }, { "item": "Enterprise plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 558, "note": "775,000 credits, 100 simultaneous sessions" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop)", "domain": "airtop.ai", "domainRegistered": "2024-07-08", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.airtop.ai/tos", "privacy": "https://www.airtop.ai/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.airtop.ai", "changelog": "https://docs.airtop.ai/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Terms of Use (effective 28 July 2025) are a contract with Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc dba Airtop, 3277 S. White Rd., PMB 14328, San Jose, CA 95148, under California law. They cover the website, products, services and applications, and no separate API or service agreement was found.", "The privacy policy was updated on 2 September 2025 and says the services are hosted in the United States.", "The API answers at api.airtop.ai, Live View at live.airtop.ai and the portal at portal.airtop.ai.", "www.airtop.ai/.well-known/security.txt and docs.airtop.ai/.well-known/security.txt both return 404.", "RDAP for airtop.ai gives a registration date of 2024-07-08.", "The status page runs on Instatus with one component, App. The trust centre at trust.airtop.ai is a Vanta page that needs JavaScript and was not read.", "There are two changelogs. docs.airtop.ai/changelog covers the browser API and ends on 3 September 2025. www.airtop.ai/help/changelog covers Agent Builder and has one entry, 5 August 2026." ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.json", "live": { "slug": "airtop", "probe": { "target": "https://api.airtop.ai/api", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T20:21:05.236260417Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 339, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 296, "p95ms24h": 338, "samples24h": 32, "samples30d": 32, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 32, "ok": 32 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.airtop.ai", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:38:12.902359465Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.airtop.ai/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:10.014971821Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c3630d9e2345" }, { "url": "https://www.airtop.ai/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:01.944890702Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "38896fa721d2" }, { "url": "https://www.airtop.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:04.133677205Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "ee64836a6ed3" }, { "url": "https://www.airtop.ai/tos", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:26:06.187954482Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "d7cae0ea0d26" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T20:21:05.236260417Z" } }, "answer": "Playwright MCP scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.", "b": { "slug": "playwright-mcp", "name": "Playwright MCP", "vendor": "Microsoft", "vendorUrl": "https://playwright.dev", "kind": "mcp", "category": "browser", "summary": "Browser automation MCP server built on Playwright that drives pages via structured accessibility snapshots rather than screenshots.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playwright-mcp", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playwright-mcp.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playwright-mcp.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playwright-mcp.json", "repo": "https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "stdio", "streamable-http", "sse" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@playwright/mcp" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No authentication; local process. Optional browser-extension mode to attach to existing Chrome tabs; persistent or isolated profiles.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Open source; no hosted service.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No payments. Local open-source server.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 72, "popularity": { "githubStars": 36800, "npmWeekly": 5320150, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp#readme", "registryName": "io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp", "capabilities": [ "browser.control" ], "tags": [ "official", "local", "open-source", "browser", "no-auth" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-28", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 67.6, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 203, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 84, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 60, "reliability": 57, "schema": 70, "security": 57, "transparency": 72 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Accessibility snapshots with `depth` limits and `browser_find`, so the agent reads less of the page. `browser_run_code_unsafe` runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and can't be switched off.", "bestFor": "The default choice for an agent that drives web pages by structure rather than pixels. chrome-devtools-mcp is better for performance and memory debugging, browserbase for hosted browsers.", "strengths": [ "Accessibility snapshots with `depth` limits and `browser_find`, so the agent reads less of the page", "25 tools by default, with network, storage, devtools, vision, PDF and testing behind `--caps`", "`readOnlyHint`, `destructiveHint` and `openWorldHint` on every tool", "File access confined to workspace roots by default, and `--secrets` masks values in responses", "Six releases since 3 July 2026, published to the MCP registry from CI" ], "weaknesses": [ "`browser_run_code_unsafe` runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and can't be switched off", "No authentication on the HTTP transport, and `--isolated` is off by default", "Still 0.0.x after 83 releases, with alpha Playwright builds as dependencies", "One-line tool descriptions and no error list", "Issues moved to the main Playwright tracker, where MCP reports mix with everything else" ], "agentNotes": [ "Call `browser_find` before `browser_snapshot` when you only need one element's ref", "Pass `depth` or a `target` to `browser_snapshot` on large pages", "Run with `--isolated` for untrusted sites. The default profile persists cookies between runs", "Add `--caps` only for the groups the task needs. Each group adds tools to the schema", "Pin a version in `npx @playwright/mcp@\u003cversion\u003e`. 0.0.x releases can rename tools" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 67.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 84, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 60, "reliability": 57, "schema": 70, "security": 57, "transparency": 75 }, "provenanceScore": 68 }, "connect": { "claudeCode": "claude mcp add playwright -- npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest --isolated", "config": { "mcpServers": { "playwright": { "args": [ "-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest", "--isolated" ], "command": "npx" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.control", "tool": "https://letme.dev/playwright-mcp" }, "sameCompany": [ "azure-foundry-fine-tuning", "azure-ai-content-safety", "azure-speech-to-text", "azure-text-to-speech", "microsoft-agent-framework", "microsoft-execution-containers", "microsoft-entra-agent-id", "azure-key-vault", "azure-devops-mcp", "microsoft-learn-mcp", "azure-mcp", "azure-maps", "azure-translator", "microsoft-graph-calendar", "microsoft-teams", "dynamics-365-sales", "power-automate", "microsoft-advertising-api", "microsoft-excel-graph", "outlook-mail-graph" ], "area": "developer", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Microsoft Corporation", "domain": "playwright.dev", "domainRegistered": "2019-09-18", "domainNote": "playwright.dev is Microsoft's documentation domain for Playwright. The licence names Microsoft Corporation.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-26", "score": 68 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playwright-mcp.json", "live": { "slug": "playwright-mcp", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "microsoft/playwright-mcp", "version": "v0.0.83", "released": "2026-09-28", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:25:38.60261262Z" }, { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp", "version": "0.0.82", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T02:42:52.272076636Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@playwright/mcp", "version": "0.0.83", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:25:36.646336319Z" } ], "githubStars": 37930, "npmWeekly": 8987267, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://playwright.dev/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:56.716588343Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "playwright.dev", "registered": "2019-09-18", "source": "https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/domain/playwright.dev", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:09:32.042470742Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T16:25:38.60261262Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "MCP server", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop)", "b": "Microsoft", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.airtop.ai/api", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "stdio, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy)", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary cloud service under Airtop's terms of use. The Node and Python SDKs are MIT per npm and PyPI", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "72", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "not listed", "b": "io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-07-01", "b": "2026-09-28", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2025-07-29", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2025-09-02", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "16 stars, 16k npm/wk, 246 PyPI/wk", "b": "37k stars, 5.3M npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Playwright MCP scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Airtop or Playwright MCP?" }, { "answer": "Airtop needs an API key. Playwright MCP needs no key.", "question": "Do Airtop and Playwright MCP need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Airtop has a hosted endpoint at https://api.airtop.ai/api. Playwright MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.", "question": "Can an agent call Airtop and Playwright MCP without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Airtop. Playwright MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).", "question": "Are Airtop and Playwright MCP open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 69 against 57", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 76 against 70" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install" ], "goodFor": "Agents that need a hosted browser with natural-language page calls, saved logins handed over by a person, and proxies and CAPTCHA solving in one service.", "slug": "airtop", "watchFor": "No published rate for what a browser minute, a GB of proxy traffic or an AI call costs in credits" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Agent ergonomics, 84 against 65", "Security \u0026 auth, 57 against 46", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 25", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 24", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 61" ], "also": [ "No key needed to call it", "Runs on your own machine", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "The default choice for an agent that drives web pages by structure rather than pixels. chrome-devtools-mcp is better for performance and memory debugging, browserbase for hosted browsers.", "slug": "playwright-mcp", "watchFor": "`browser_run_code_unsafe` runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and can't be switched off" } ], "job": { "capability": "browser.control", "name": "Browser automation" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.json", "title": "Airtop vs Anchor Browser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browser Use", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browserbase", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless.json", "title": "Airtop vs Browserless", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json", "title": "Airtop vs Chrome DevTools MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser.json", "title": "Airtop vs Hyperbrowser", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-notte.json", "title": "Airtop vs Notte", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-notte" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json", "title": "Airtop vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-skyvern.json", "title": "Airtop vs Skyvern", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-skyvern" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.json", "title": "Airtop vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Anchor Browser vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Browser Use vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Browserbase vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Browserless vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Chrome DevTools MCP vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Hyperbrowser vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "title": "Notte vs Playwright MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-playwright-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json", "title": "Playwright MCP vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-skyvern.json", "title": "Playwright MCP vs Skyvern", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-skyvern" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel.json", "title": "Playwright MCP vs Steel", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel" } ], "scores": [ { "airtop": 69, "by": 12, "edge": "airtop", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "playwright-mcp": 57, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "airtop": 76, "by": 6, "edge": "airtop", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "playwright-mcp": 70, "weight": 13 }, { "airtop": 65, "by": 19, "edge": "playwright-mcp", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "playwright-mcp": 84, "weight": 13 }, { "airtop": 46, "by": 11, "edge": "playwright-mcp", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "playwright-mcp": 57, "weight": 14 }, { "airtop": 25, "by": 35, "edge": "playwright-mcp", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "playwright-mcp": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "airtop": 24, "by": 60, "edge": "playwright-mcp", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "playwright-mcp": 84, "weight": 7 }, { "airtop": 61, "by": 11, "edge": "playwright-mcp", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "playwright-mcp": 72, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Playwright MCP scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do browser automation.", "verdicts": { "airtop": "The cloud browser API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, Markdown docs, natural-language page calls with a per-call credit cap, and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. Credit rates for browser time, proxy traffic and AI calls are not published, and the developer changelog's last entry is dated 3 September 2025.", "playwright-mcp": "Accessibility snapshots with `depth` limits and `browser_find`, so the agent reads less of the page. `browser_run_code_unsafe` runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and can't be switched off." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.min.md" }, "markdown": "Playwright MCP scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do browser automation.\n\n- Airtop: grade C, 55.3/100, rank #511 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/airtop.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/airtop.json\n- Playwright MCP: grade B, 67.6/100, rank #203 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playwright-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playwright-mcp.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Airtop (C)\n\nGood for: Agents that need a hosted browser with natural-language page calls, saved logins handed over by a person, and proxies and CAPTCHA solving in one service.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 69 against 57\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 76 against 70\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n\nWatch for: No published rate for what a browser minute, a GB of proxy traffic or an AI call costs in credits\n\n### Playwright MCP (B)\n\nGood for: The default choice for an agent that drives web pages by structure rather than pixels. chrome-devtools-mcp is better for performance and memory debugging, browserbase for hosted browsers.\n\nAhead on:\n- Agent ergonomics, 84 against 65\n- Security \u0026 auth, 57 against 46\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 25\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 24\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 61\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n- Runs on your own machine\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: `browser_run_code_unsafe` runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and can't be switched off\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Airtop | Playwright MCP | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 69 | 57 | Airtop +12 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 70 | Airtop +6 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 84 | Playwright MCP +19 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 46 | 57 | Playwright MCP +11 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 60 | Playwright MCP +35 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 24 | 84 | Playwright MCP +60 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 72 | Playwright MCP +11 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **55.3 · C** | **67.6 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Airtop | Playwright MCP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |\n| Vendor | Switchboard Visual Technologies, Inc. (dba Airtop) | Microsoft |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.airtop.ai/api` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | stdio, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy) |\n| Auth | API key | None |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary cloud service under Airtop's terms of use. The Node and Python SDKs are MIT per npm and PyPI | Apache-2.0 |\n| Tools exposed | none | 72 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp` |\n| Last release | 2026-07-01 | 2026-09-28 |\n| Terms last updated | 2025-07-29 | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-02 | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | |\n| Popularity | 16 stars, 16k npm/wk, 246 PyPI/wk | 37k stars, 5.3M npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Airtop.** The cloud browser API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, Markdown docs, natural-language page calls with a per-call credit cap, and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. Credit rates for browser time, proxy traffic and AI calls are not published, and the developer changelog's last entry is dated 3 September 2025.\n\n**Playwright MCP.** Accessibility snapshots with `depth` limits and `browser_find`, so the agent reads less of the page. `browser_run_code_unsafe` runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and can't be switched off.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Airtop\n\n1. Terminate every session with `DELETE /v1/sessions/{id}`. Sessions bill in 30-second increments and idle ones last 10 minutes by default\n2. Set `costThresholdCredits` on AI calls and read `meta.usage.credits` afterwards. Credit rates are not published, so measure them\n3. Use `page-query` with `configuration.outputSchema` for structured output. `prompt-content` and `summarize-content` are deprecated\n4. When calling REST without the SDK, poll session status until `running` before creating a window. Only the SDK waits for you\n5. Airtop's integrated proxy cannot reach LinkedIn, ticketing sites and some banks and streaming services. Bring a custom proxy for those\n\n### Playwright MCP\n\n1. Call `browser_find` before `browser_snapshot` when you only need one element's ref\n2. Pass `depth` or a `target` to `browser_snapshot` on large pages\n3. Run with `--isolated` for untrusted sites. The default profile persists cookies between runs\n4. Add `--caps` only for the groups the task needs. Each group adds tools to the schema\n5. Pin a version in `npx @playwright/mcp@\u003cversion\u003e`. 0.0.x releases can rename tools\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Airtop or Playwright MCP?\n\nPlaywright MCP scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.\n\n### Do Airtop and Playwright MCP need an API key?\n\nAirtop needs an API key. Playwright MCP needs no key.\n\n### Can an agent call Airtop and Playwright MCP without installing anything?\n\nAirtop has a hosted endpoint at https://api.airtop.ai/api. Playwright MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.\n\n### Are Airtop and Playwright MCP open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Airtop. Playwright MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"airtop\", \"b\": \"playwright-mcp\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare airtop playwright-mcp`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/airtop.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playwright-mcp.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Airtop or Playwright MCP\n\n- [Airtop vs Anchor Browser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browser Use](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browser-use.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserbase.md)\n- [Airtop vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-browserless.md)\n- [Airtop vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)\n- [Airtop vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser.md)\n- [Airtop vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-notte.md)\n- [Airtop vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)\n- [Airtop vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-skyvern.md)\n- [Airtop vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-steel.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Browser Use vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Browserbase vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Browserless vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Chrome DevTools MCP vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chrome-devtools-mcp-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Hyperbrowser vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Notte vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Playwright MCP vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)\n- [Playwright MCP vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-skyvern.md)\n- [Playwright MCP vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-steel.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Airtop vs Playwright MCP", "url": "" } ], "description": "Playwright MCP scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against Airtop's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Airtop leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do browser automation. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Airtop C 55.3", "Playwright MCP B 67.6", "scores" ], "h1": "Airtop vs Playwright MCP", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.png", "path": "/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Airtop vs Playwright MCP for AI agents, C 55.3 vs B 67.6", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2400, "slim": 780 }, "version": 1 }