Compare · Browser Automation
Browser Use vs Browserbase MCP Server
Browser Use exposes 2 tools and adds about 1,623 tokens to every model turn. Browserbase exposes 17 tools and adds about 3,366. Browserbase costs 2.1× as much context. Measured by connecting to each server and counting its tool list, not from the README.
 Browser Usebrowser-use |  Browserbasebrowserbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Context tax | ~1,623 tok/turn(leaner) | ~3,366 tok/turn |
| Tools | 2 | 17 |
| Cost per 1,000 turns (Claude Sonnet 5.5, uncached) | $3.25 | $6.73 |
| Security score | 100/100 | 82/100 |
| Cold start | 4,325 ms | 2,399 ms |
| Runs | Local (stdio) | Local or hosted |
| Needs keys | None declared | BROWSERBASE_API_KEY, BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID, GEMINI_API_KEY |
| Freshness | Active | Abandoned |
| GitHub stars | 118k | 3.4k |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Official MCP registry | Yes | Yes |
Install in Claude Code
Browser Use
claude mcp add browser-use -- uvx browser-use --cli-mcp
Browserbase
claude mcp add browserbase -e BROWSERBASE_API_KEY='<browserbase-api-key>' -e BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID='<browserbase-project-id>' -e GEMINI_API_KEY='<gemini-api-key>' -- npx -y @browserbasehq/mcp-server-browserbase
Tools
By name, from each server's live tool list. The same name can still behave differently.
Only in Browser Use · 2
- browser_exec
- browser_screenshot
In both · 0
- none
Only in Browserbase · 17
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_session_create
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_session_list
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_session_close
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_navigate_session
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_act_session
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_extract_session
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_observe_session
- multi_browserbase_stagehand_get_url_session
- browserbase_stagehand_get_all_urls
- browserbase_session_create
- browserbase_session_close
- browserbase_stagehand_navigate
- browserbase_stagehand_act
- browserbase_stagehand_extract
- browserbase_stagehand_observe
- browserbase_screenshot
- browserbase_stagehand_get_url
Questions
- Which uses fewer tokens, Browser Use or Browserbase?
- Browser Use: its tool definitions take about 1,623 tokens per turn against 3,366 for Browserbase (2.1× more). Tool definitions are resent on every model turn.
- Do Browser Use and Browserbase have the same tools?
- No tool names overlap: Browser Use has 2 tools and Browserbase has 17.
- Are Browser Use and Browserbase hosted or local?
- Browser Use: local (stdio). Browserbase: local or hosted.
Token counts use the o200k tokenizer on each server's tool definitions as an agent receives them; clients that load tools lazily pay less. Prices are Claude Sonnet 5.5 input at $2/MTok. Want to check one yourself? Run npx mcpskillhub test <package> — how it works.