{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "anchor-browser",
      "name": "Anchor Browser",
      "vendor": "Anchor Forge Inc.",
      "vendorUrl": "https://anchorbrowser.io",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "browser",
      "summary": "Anchor Browser runs cloud browser sessions for AI agents, controlled through a REST API, a CDP WebSocket, TypeScript and Python SDKs and hosted MCP servers. It adds managed logins with MFA, profiles, proxies, CAPTCHA solving and recordings.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/anchorbrowser/AnchorBrowser-SDK-Typescript",
      "license": "Proprietary cloud service. No service agreement was found, only a website terms of use. The TypeScript and Python SDKs and the self-hosted MCP server are Apache-2.0",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "anchorbrowser"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "anchorbrowser"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "mixed",
      "authNotes": "API key in the `anchor-api-key` header, created in the dashboard at app.anchorbrowser.io or issued by Agent Access, an unauthenticated puzzle flow that needs no account. The hosted MCP servers also accept OAuth sign-in through signin.anchorbrowser.io, with `mcp:tools` and `mcp:admin` scopes in the resource metadata. CDP connections pass the key as the `apiKey` query parameter on `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io`. No key scopes, expiry or rotation guidance were found. Teams that enforce Agent Access identity also send `anchor-identity-token`.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "The Free plan has $5 of credits a month, and Agent Access gives an agent 1 credit with no account. Usage is $0.01 a browser created, $0.05 a browser-hour counted to the minute, $8 a GB through Anchor's proxy and $0.20 a GB otherwise. AI steps cost $0.01, $0.05 or $0.10 by model tier from 21 August 2026. Starter is $50 a month and Growth $2,000, with overage at $1 a credit. Enterprise is priced through sales (https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/pricing, checked 2026-10-08).",
      "priceSummary": "$0.01 / call",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "A blog post dated 29 August 2025 shows x402 payment on POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/sessions and says it is enabled per project. An unpaid POST on 2026-10-08 returned 401 with no payment terms, and the docs and OpenAPI document describe `x402` only as a session option that lets the browser pay other sites through Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments.",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": 43004,
        "pypiWeekly": 10135,
        "asOf": "2026-10-08"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io",
      "llmsTxt": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/llms.txt",
      "openapi": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/openapi.yaml",
      "capabilities": [
        "browser.control",
        "browser.hosted",
        "browser.debug",
        "web.fetch",
        "web.scrape",
        "scraping.proxies",
        "scraping.anti-bot",
        "pdf.generate"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "official",
        "hosted",
        "freemium",
        "no-card",
        "openapi",
        "llms-txt",
        "mcp",
        "oauth",
        "python",
        "typescript",
        "proxies",
        "status-page",
        "soc2"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-07-28",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 67.3,
        "grade": "B",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 211,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 722,
        "categoryRank": 7,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 73,
          "maintenance": 57,
          "payments": 60,
          "reliability": 80,
          "schema": 80,
          "security": 54,
          "transparency": 51
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-08"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "The API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, per-unit prices and Agent Access, an unauthenticated flow that issues a trial API key without a dashboard account. No service agreement is published, only a website terms of use, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL.",
        "bestFor": "Agents that must work inside signed-in accounts, with managed identities, MFA handling and a human sign-in link, and agents that need to start with no human signup.",
        "strengths": [
          "Agent Access issues an API key through two unauthenticated calls and a puzzle, with 1 trial credit, or 5 with a verified-email OIDC token",
          "OpenAPI 3.1 document with 101 paths and 136 operations, llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page",
          "Per-unit prices published without login, $0.01 a browser, $0.05 a browser-hour and $8 a GB of proxy traffic",
          "Hosted MCP servers at api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/mcp accept OAuth sign-in or the API key header, with read and write endpoint calls as separate tools",
          "Managed identities sign in and handle MFA without returning credentials to the agent, and secrets can be limited to matching domains, per the docs"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025",
          "The documented CDP connection passes the API key as `apiKey` in the `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io` URL",
          "No changelog, deprecation policy or published SLA found, and docs.anchorbrowser.io/changelog returns 404",
          "The status page lists two components, Website and Anchor Application, and its incident feed has never held an entry",
          "A 2025 blog post describes x402 payment on `POST /v1/sessions`, but an unpaid request on 8 October 2026 returned 401, not 402"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Send the key in the `anchor-api-key` header. For CDP, build `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=\u003ckey\u003e\u0026sessionId=\u003cid\u003e` and keep that URL out of logs",
          "Set `session.timeout.idle_timeout` and `max_duration` and end sessions with DELETE. The default maximum is 180 minutes, and browser time bills by the minute",
          "Session creation is capped at 5 a minute on Free, 25 on Starter and 100 on Growth. On 429, wait for the `Retry-After` seconds",
          "Connect the `Anchor` MCP server or `Anchor (all)`, not both, because the docs say the pair duplicates tool names",
          "Authenticated browsers, CAPTCHA solving and proxies by country need the Starter plan or higher. The Free plan and Agent Access keys run plain sessions and web tasks"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 0,
        "avgRating": 0,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "B",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 67.3
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 73,
          "maintenance": 57,
          "payments": 60,
          "reliability": 80,
          "schema": 80,
          "security": 54,
          "transparency": 40
        },
        "provenanceScore": 61
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npm install anchorbrowser",
        "http": "curl -X POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/tools/perform-web-task -H \"anchor-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"prompt\":\"Go to example.com and return the page title\",\"url\":\"https://example.com\"}'",
        "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http anchor https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/mcp",
        "config": {
          "mcpServers": {
            "anchor": {
              "headers": {
                "anchor-api-key": "YOUR_ANCHOR_API_KEY"
              },
              "url": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/mcp"
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/browser.control",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/anchor-browser"
      },
      "area": "developer",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Browser creation",
          "unit": "call",
          "usd": 0.01,
          "note": "Per browser instance created"
        },
        {
          "item": "Browser usage",
          "unit": "browser-hour",
          "usd": 0.05,
          "note": "Counted to the nearest full minute"
        },
        {
          "item": "Anchor proxy traffic",
          "unit": "gb",
          "usd": 8
        },
        {
          "item": "Egress with your own proxy or none",
          "unit": "gb",
          "usd": 0.2
        },
        {
          "item": "AI step, Light model tier",
          "unit": "call",
          "usd": 0.01,
          "note": "Also the flat rate with your own model key"
        },
        {
          "item": "AI step, Standard model tier",
          "unit": "call",
          "usd": 0.05
        },
        {
          "item": "AI step, High Performance model tier",
          "unit": "call",
          "usd": 0.1
        },
        {
          "item": "Overage credit, Starter and Growth",
          "unit": "credit",
          "usd": 1
        },
        {
          "item": "Starter plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 50
        },
        {
          "item": "Growth plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 2000
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Anchor Forge Inc.",
        "domain": "anchorbrowser.io",
        "domainRegistered": "2024-09-18",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "",
        "privacy": "https://anchorbrowser.io/privacy-policy",
        "statusPage": "https://status.anchorbrowser.io",
        "changelog": "",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-08",
        "notes": [
          "The website terms of use (last updated 16 March 2025) and the privacy policy (last updated 24 February 2026) name Anchor Forge Inc. and its affiliates. The terms choose New York law.",
          "No terms URL is recorded. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use that grants personal, non-commercial use of the site, and no service agreement or API terms were found.",
          "The privacy policy is written for the website and customer contacts and has one product section, on Gmail access for sign-in codes. A DPA is listed in the trust portal behind an access request.",
          "The API and MCP servers answer at api.anchorbrowser.io, CDP at connect.anchorbrowser.io and OAuth sign-in at signin.anchorbrowser.io.",
          "anchorbrowser.io/.well-known/security.txt and docs.anchorbrowser.io/.well-known/security.txt both return 404. The trust portal at trust.anchorbrowser.io runs on SafeBase.",
          "RDAP for anchorbrowser.io gives a registration date of 2024-09-18.",
          "docs.anchorbrowser.io/changelog returns 404 and no API changelog was found."
        ],
        "score": 61
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "anchor-browser",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-08T20:21:06.076530465Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 481,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 390,
          "p95ms24h": 481,
          "samples24h": 32,
          "samples30d": 32,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-10-08",
              "probes": 32,
              "ok": 32
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.anchorbrowser.io",
          "indicator": "none",
          "summary": "All Systems Operational",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T20:22:19.078850437Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:10.688067751Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "d1115f8035fb"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://anchorbrowser.io/privacy-policy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:15:09.984357233Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "5503a044040d"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T20:22:19.078850437Z"
      }
    },
    "answer": "Playwright MCP and Anchor Browser score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 67.6 (B) and 67.3 (B). Anchor Browser 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": "Anchor Forge Inc.",
        "b": "Microsoft",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "https://api.anchorbrowser.io",
        "b": "no (local only)",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "HTTP",
        "b": "stdio, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy)",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "OAuth or key",
        "b": "None",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Freemium",
        "b": "Free",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "x402"
      },
      {
        "a": "Proprietary cloud service. No service agreement was found, only a website terms of use. The TypeScript and Python SDKs and the self-hosted MCP server are Apache-2.0",
        "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": "2026-07-28",
        "b": "2026-09-28",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "no document linked",
        "b": "no document linked",
        "name": "Terms last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "2026-02-24",
        "b": "no document linked",
        "name": "Privacy policy last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Customer content may train models"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Terms restrict automated access"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Terms or service can change without notice"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver"
      },
      {
        "a": "43k npm/wk, 10k PyPI/wk",
        "b": "37k stars, 5.3M npm/wk",
        "name": "Popularity"
      },
      {
        "a": "none",
        "b": "3/5 (2)",
        "name": "Agent reviews"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Playwright MCP and Anchor Browser score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 67.6 (B) and 67.3 (B). Anchor Browser leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Anchor Browser or Playwright MCP?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Anchor Browser takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Playwright MCP needs no key.",
        "question": "Do Anchor Browser and Playwright MCP need an API key?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Anchor Browser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anchorbrowser.io. Playwright MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.",
        "question": "Can an agent call Anchor Browser and Playwright MCP without installing anything?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Anchor Browser. Playwright MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).",
        "question": "Are Anchor Browser and Playwright MCP open source?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 80 against 57",
          "Schema \u0026 documentation, 80 against 70"
        ],
        "also": [
          "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install",
          "Free to start without a card"
        ],
        "goodFor": "Agents that must work inside signed-in accounts, with managed identities, MFA handling and a human sign-in link, and agents that need to start with no human signup.",
        "slug": "anchor-browser",
        "watchFor": "No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025"
      },
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Agent ergonomics, 84 against 73",
          "Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 57",
          "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 51"
        ],
        "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"
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.json",
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.json",
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserless.json",
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.json",
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      },
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser.json",
        "title": "Anchor Browser vs Hyperbrowser",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json",
        "title": "Anchor Browser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived"
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.json",
        "title": "Anchor Browser vs Steel",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel"
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-playwright-mcp.json",
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    "scores": [
      {
        "anchor-browser": 80,
        "by": 23,
        "edge": "anchor-browser",
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "playwright-mcp": 57,
        "weight": 16
      },
      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "anchor-browser": 80,
        "by": 10,
        "edge": "anchor-browser",
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "playwright-mcp": 70,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "anchor-browser": 73,
        "by": 11,
        "edge": "playwright-mcp",
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "playwright-mcp": 84,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "anchor-browser": 54,
        "by": 3,
        "edge": "playwright-mcp",
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "playwright-mcp": 57,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "anchor-browser": 60,
        "by": 0,
        "edge": "",
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "playwright-mcp": 60,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "key": "tasks",
        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "anchor-browser": 57,
        "by": 27,
        "edge": "playwright-mcp",
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "playwright-mcp": 84,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "anchor-browser": 51,
        "by": 21,
        "edge": "playwright-mcp",
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "playwright-mcp": 72,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Playwright MCP and Anchor Browser score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 67.6 (B) and 67.3 (B). Anchor Browser leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do browser automation.",
    "verdicts": {
      "anchor-browser": "The API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, per-unit prices and Agent Access, an unauthenticated flow that issues a trial API key without a dashboard account. No service agreement is published, only a website terms of use, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL.",
      "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."
    }
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  "markdown": "Playwright MCP and Anchor Browser score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 67.6 (B) and 67.3 (B). Anchor Browser leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do browser automation.\n\n- Anchor Browser: grade B, 67.3/100, rank #211 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/anchor-browser.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.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### Anchor Browser (B)\n\nGood for: Agents that must work inside signed-in accounts, with managed identities, MFA handling and a human sign-in link, and agents that need to start with no human signup.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 80 against 57\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 80 against 70\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: No service agreement or API terms found. anchorbrowser.io/terms is a website terms of use dated 16 March 2025\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 73\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 57\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 51\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 | Anchor Browser | Playwright MCP | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 57 | Anchor Browser +23 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 70 | Anchor Browser +10 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 84 | Playwright MCP +11 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 57 | Playwright MCP +3 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 84 | Playwright MCP +27 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 72 | Playwright MCP +21 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **67.3 · B** | **67.6 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Anchor Browser | Playwright MCP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |\n| Vendor | Anchor Forge Inc. | Microsoft |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.anchorbrowser.io` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | stdio, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy) |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | None |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary cloud service. No service agreement was found, only a website terms of use. The TypeScript and Python SDKs and the self-hosted MCP server are Apache-2.0 | 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 | 2026-07-28 | 2026-09-28 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-02-24 | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models |  |  |\n| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |\n| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |\n| Popularity | 43k npm/wk, 10k PyPI/wk | 37k stars, 5.3M npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Anchor Browser.** The API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 document, per-unit prices and Agent Access, an unauthenticated flow that issues a trial API key without a dashboard account. No service agreement is published, only a website terms of use, and the documented CDP connection puts the API key in the URL.\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### Anchor Browser\n\n1. Send the key in the `anchor-api-key` header. For CDP, build `wss://connect.anchorbrowser.io?apiKey=\u003ckey\u003e\u0026sessionId=\u003cid\u003e` and keep that URL out of logs\n2. Set `session.timeout.idle_timeout` and `max_duration` and end sessions with DELETE. The default maximum is 180 minutes, and browser time bills by the minute\n3. Session creation is capped at 5 a minute on Free, 25 on Starter and 100 on Growth. On 429, wait for the `Retry-After` seconds\n4. Connect the `Anchor` MCP server or `Anchor (all)`, not both, because the docs say the pair duplicates tool names\n5. Authenticated browsers, CAPTCHA solving and proxies by country need the Starter plan or higher. The Free plan and Agent Access keys run plain sessions and web tasks\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, Anchor Browser or Playwright MCP?\n\nPlaywright MCP and Anchor Browser score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 67.6 (B) and 67.3 (B). Anchor Browser leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.\n\n### Do Anchor Browser and Playwright MCP need an API key?\n\nAnchor Browser takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Playwright MCP needs no key.\n\n### Can an agent call Anchor Browser and Playwright MCP without installing anything?\n\nAnchor Browser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.anchorbrowser.io. Playwright MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.\n\n### Are Anchor Browser and Playwright MCP open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Anchor Browser. Playwright MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-playwright-mcp.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"anchor-browser\", \"b\": \"playwright-mcp\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare anchor-browser playwright-mcp`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/anchor-browser.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playwright-mcp.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Anchor Browser or Playwright MCP\n\n- [Airtop vs Anchor Browser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-anchor-browser.md)\n- [Airtop vs Playwright MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-playwright-mcp.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Browser Use](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browser-use.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Browserbase](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserbase.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Browserless](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-browserless.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Chrome DevTools MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-hyperbrowser.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Notte](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-notte.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-skyvern.md)\n- [Anchor Browser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-steel.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",
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