# Browserless vs Chrome DevTools MCP

> Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against Browserless's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do browser automation. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.md (~2,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-chrome-devtools-mcp.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-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: 2026-10-08

Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against Browserless's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do browser automation.

- Browserless: grade BB, 70.4/100, rank #128 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserless.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/browserless.json
- Chrome DevTools MCP: grade BB, 77/100, rank #22 of 629. 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

### Browserless (BB)

Good for: Agents that need a real browser in the cloud with stealth, proxies and CAPTCHA solving, and teams that want the option of running the same server themselves.

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: REST and WebSocket routes take the API token as `?token=` in the URL, which the docs give as the standard method

### Chrome DevTools MCP (BB)

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

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 78
- Security & auth, 63 against 53
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 93 against 82
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 62

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Open source

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


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Browserless | Chrome DevTools MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 82 | 83 | Chrome DevTools MCP +1 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 89 | 87 | Browserless +2 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 83 | Chrome DevTools MCP +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 53 | 63 | Chrome DevTools MCP +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | Chrome DevTools MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 93 | Chrome DevTools MCP +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 81 | Chrome DevTools MCP +19 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -1 | |
| **Total** | | **70.4 · BB** | **77 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Browserless | Chrome DevTools MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | browserless.io, Inc. | Google (Chrome DevTools team) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://production-sfo.browserless.io` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | SSPL 1.0 or a commercial licence for the core server and the MCP server. The BAP TypeScript SDK is MIT. BrowserQL, stealth and other cloud additions are proprietary | Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 14 | 59 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-09-23 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |
| Popularity | 14k stars, 3.5k npm/wk | 49k stars, 1.5M npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (8) |

## Verdicts

**Browserless.** An OpenAPI document, llms.txt and a 14-tool MCP server with annotations on every tool make the service easy for an agent to read, and the free plan needs no card. The API token travels in the URL query string by default, cloud tokens carry no scopes, and no machine payment route exists.

**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

### Browserless

1. Send the token as `Authorization: Bearer` to the MCP server. On REST and WebSocket routes it goes in `?token=`, so keep those URLs out of logs
2. Close sessions as soon as the work is done. Browser time bills one unit per 30 seconds, rounded up, idle or not
3. For multi-step work with `browserless_agent`, set `keepSessionAlive: true` on the first call and pass the returned `sessionId` after that. Sessions are one-shot by default since server 1.33.0
4. On 429, back off and retry. It means the plan's concurrency limit or queue is full, usually from sessions left open
5. Match the path to the protocol. Use `/chromium` for CDP clients and `/chromium/playwright` only for `playwright.connect()`

### 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, Browserless or Chrome DevTools MCP?

Chrome DevTools MCP scores 77 (BB) on agent readiness against Browserless's 70.4 (BB), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Browserless and Chrome DevTools MCP need an API key?

Browserless takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Chrome DevTools MCP needs no key.

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

Browserless has a hosted endpoint at https://production-sfo.browserless.io. Chrome DevTools MCP runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

### Are Browserless and Chrome DevTools MCP open source?

No open-source release is listed for Browserless. Chrome DevTools MCP is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

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