# Hyperbrowser vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)

> Hyperbrowser scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)'s 30.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) leads on transparency & trust. Both do browser automation. Hyperbrowser accepts x402.…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.min.md (~880 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.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

Hyperbrowser scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)'s 30.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) leads on transparency & trust. Both do browser automation. Hyperbrowser accepts x402. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) doesn't.

- Hyperbrowser: grade B, 66.9/100, rank #205 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hyperbrowser.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hyperbrowser.json
- Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server): grade F, 30.6/100, rank #619 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/puppeteer-reference-server-archived.json

## Which one, for what

### Hyperbrowser (B)

Good for: Agents that need a cloud browser by the minute plus cheap fetch and search, especially wallet-holding agents with no account.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 65 against 12
- Schema & documentation, 68 against 41
- Agent ergonomics, 67 against 47
- Security & auth, 44 against 22
- Payments & pricing, 94 against 60
- Maintenance & community, 79 against 0

Also in its favour:
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) loses 4 points for them

Watch for: The official MCP server's last npm release is 1.0.25 of 13 April 2025, and it isn't in the official MCP registry

### Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) (F)

Good for: Nothing new.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 75 against 64

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

Watch for: Archived on 29 May 2025 with no security guarantees, and deprecated on npm


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Hyperbrowser | Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 12 | Hyperbrowser +53 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 68 | 41 | Hyperbrowser +27 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 47 | Hyperbrowser +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 44 | 22 | Hyperbrowser +22 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 94 | 60 | Hyperbrowser +34 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 0 | Hyperbrowser +79 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 75 | Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **66.9 · B** | **30.6 · F** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Hyperbrowser | Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | S2 Labs Inc. | Model Context Protocol (archived) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.hyperbrowser.ai` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | yes | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under S2 Labs' terms of service. The Node and Python SDKs and the MCP server are MIT, and HyperAgent is AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 7 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2025-05-12 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2021-09-08 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2023-03-15 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 89k npm/wk, 73k PyPI/wk | 294 stars, 25k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 1/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Hyperbrowser.** Sessions, Fetch and Search can be bought by x402 at api.hyperbrowser.ai with USDC on Base or Solana and no account, and unit prices are public. The official MCP server was last published in April 2025, no request rate limits or SLA are published, and the privacy notice covers only the website.

**Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server).** Seven tools in about 700 tokens, every input with a `required` list. Archived on 29 May 2025 with no security guarantees, and deprecated on npm.

## Before you call either

### Hyperbrowser

1. With a wallet and no key, POST to https://api.hyperbrowser.ai/x402/session and read the `PAYMENT-REQUIRED` header. Sessions are prepaid for 5 to 60 minutes with no refund
2. Save the x402 creation response. It holds the only copy of the connection tokens, and `managementToken` is what stops the session
3. Stop sessions explicitly in cleanup code. Browser time bills per second until the timeout
4. Use Fetch at $0.001 a page for static pages and keep browser sessions for pages that need interaction
5. Add `&keepAlive=true` to `wsEndpoint` to reconnect after a CDP disconnect. Treat that URL as a secret because it carries the session token

### Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)

1. Don't install it for new work. playwright-mcp covers the same tasks with snapshots and annotations
2. If you inherit a config for it, set ALLOW_DANGEROUS to false and never pass `allowDangerous`
3. Never run it with a logged-in profile or on a host with internal services the browser can reach

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Hyperbrowser or Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)?

Hyperbrowser scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)'s 30.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) leads on transparency & trust.

### Do Hyperbrowser and Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) need an API key?

Hyperbrowser takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) needs no key. An agent can also pay Hyperbrowser per call over x402, with no account.

### Can an agent call Hyperbrowser and Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) without installing anything?

Hyperbrowser has a hosted endpoint at https://api.hyperbrowser.ai. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

### Are Hyperbrowser and Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) open source?

No open-source release is listed for Hyperbrowser. Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Hyperbrowser or Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)

- [Airtop vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/airtop-vs-hyperbrowser.md)
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- [Browserbase vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Browserless vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserless-vs-hyperbrowser.md)
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- [Hyperbrowser vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-skyvern.md)
- [Hyperbrowser vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperbrowser-vs-steel.md)
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- [Playwright MCP vs Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playwright-mcp-vs-puppeteer-reference-server-archived.md)
- [Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Skyvern](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-skyvern.md)
- [Puppeteer (archived MCP reference server) vs Steel](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/puppeteer-reference-server-archived-vs-steel.md)
- [Browserbase vs Hyperbrowser](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/browserbase-vs-hyperbrowser.md)

## Disclosure

- MCP started at Anthropic, which makes the Claude models our research agents and review panel run on (Anthropic donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation, in December 2025), and this server is graded by the same checklist as every other listing.