# Functionize MCP server vs Selenium

> Selenium scores 73.6 (BB) to Functionize's 44.7 (E) for browser automation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/functionize-mcp-vs-selenium
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/functionize-mcp-vs-selenium.md (~2,850 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/functionize-mcp-vs-selenium.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/functionize-mcp-vs-selenium.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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-25

Selenium scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Functionize MCP server's 44.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Functionize MCP server leads on security & auth. Both do browser automation.

- Functionize MCP server: grade E, 44.7/100, rank #1031 of 1210. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/functionize-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/functionize-mcp.json
- Selenium: grade BB, 73.6/100, rank #89 of 1210. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/selenium.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/selenium.json
- Best browser automation tools for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/browser/index.md
- All 153 browser comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Functionize MCP server (E)

Good for: Teams that use Functionize Studio and want a coding agent to request, run and diagnose end-to-end browser tests of web apps without driving a browser itself.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 56 against 43

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

Watch for: Tool definitions, input schemas and annotations aren't published, and `tools/list` needs a signed-in account

### Selenium (BB)

Good for: Agents that write test or automation scripts in any of five languages, and teams with a Grid.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 90 against 50
- Schema & documentation, 89 against 29
- Agent ergonomics, 70 against 43
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 94 against 49
- Transparency & trust, 74 against 59

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- No key needed to call it
- Open source
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.8 against 2.8 out of 5

Watch for: No MCP server from the project. The docs point to community servers and say they are third-party


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Functionize MCP server | Selenium | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 90 | Selenium +40 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 29 | 89 | Selenium +60 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 43 | 70 | Selenium +27 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 56 | 43 | Functionize MCP server +13 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 60 | Selenium +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 94 | Selenium +45 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 74 | Selenium +15 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **44.7 · E** | **73.6 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Functionize MCP server | Selenium |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | SDK + MCP |
| Vendor | Functionize, Inc. | Selenium project (Software Freedom Conservancy) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.functionize.com/mcp` | no (local only) |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under Functionize's Terms of Service (version 2.0, effective 10 July 2026). The Claude Code plugin and its two skills are MIT-licensed; the server's source isn't public | Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 10 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-09 |
| Terms last updated |  | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | none | 35k stars, 1.8M npm/wk, 6.9M PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.8/5 (4) | 3.8/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Functionize MCP server.** The server passes a coding agent's test requests to Functionize Studio's testing agent, which tests a live web app in cloud browsers and reports the failing step. It uses OAuth with read and write scopes and has a no-card free plan. Tool definitions aren't public, no numeric rate limit is published, and the status page omits Studio and the server.

**Selenium.** Selenium is stable, Apache-2.0 software on 4.51.0 with bindings in five languages, CI passing on trunk, an llms.txt and an agent guide added in September 2026. It has no MCP server of its own, Selenium Manager sends usage statistics by default, and Grid accepts unauthenticated sessions unless a username and password are set.

## Before you call either

### Functionize MCP server

1. Have the person complete the browser sign-in, which an agent can't do, then check the connection with `list_agent_teams`
2. Pass the project ID, environment and test ID in `start_agent_session`, and continue a waiting session with `send_agent_message` rather than starting another
3. Report a created test as done only after a green run, not on a test ID or a green generation
4. After a dropped connection, list the project's recent tests before creating a test again, since a submitted create finishes on the server
5. Send the `X-Functionize-Team-Id` header to pin a team, and keep credentials in masked Studio variables, never in prompts

### Selenium

1. Install with `pip install selenium` (Python 3.10 or later) and let Selenium Manager fetch drivers. Do not set driver paths
2. Use `WebDriverWait` with expected conditions, never fixed sleeps, and do not mix implicit and explicit waits
3. Set `SE_AVOID_STATS=true` to stop Selenium Manager sending usage statistics
4. Point coding agents at https://www.selenium.dev/llms.txt. Most Selenium 2 and 3 era examples use removed APIs
5. Set `--username` and `--password` before exposing a Grid beyond localhost. Check `http://localhost:4444/status` before creating sessions

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Functionize MCP server or Selenium?

Selenium scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Functionize MCP server's 44.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Functionize MCP server leads on security & auth.

### Can an agent call Functionize MCP server and Selenium without installing anything?

Functionize MCP server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.functionize.com/mcp. No hosted endpoint is listed for Selenium.

### Are Functionize MCP server and Selenium open source?

No open-source release is listed for Functionize MCP server. Selenium is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Functionize MCP server or Selenium

- [agent-browser vs Functionize MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-functionize-mcp.md)
- [agent-browser vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-selenium.md)
- [Airtop vs Functionize MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-functionize-mcp.md)
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- [Anchor Browser vs Functionize MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-functionize-mcp.md)
- [Anchor Browser vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anchor-browser-vs-selenium.md)
- [Browser Use vs Functionize MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-functionize-mcp.md)
- [Browser Use vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browser-use-vs-selenium.md)
- [Browserbase vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-selenium.md)
- [Browserless vs Functionize MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-functionize-mcp.md)
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- [Functionize MCP server vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/functionize-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
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- [Hyperbrowser vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-selenium.md)
- [Notte vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/notte-vs-selenium.md)
- [Playwright MCP vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-selenium.md)
- [Pomerado vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pomerado-vs-selenium.md)
- [Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-selenium.md)
- [Puppeteer vs Selenium](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-vs-selenium.md)
- [Selenium vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/selenium-vs-skyvern.md)
- [Selenium vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/selenium-vs-steel.md)
- [Selenium vs TinyFish](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/selenium-vs-tinyfish.md)
- [Browserbase vs Functionize MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-functionize-mcp.md)

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