Stoic Browser vs Playwright MCP

Giving your coding agent a browser: an automation server, or your signed-in workspaces.

Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Playwright MCP site

The short answer

Playwright MCP is the free, open-source default for letting an agent drive a browser, and it is excellent for testing and scraping. Stoic Browser fits when the agent should act in your real, signed-in product accounts, with scopes, expiring credentials and an activity log, and when the same browser is the one you use every day.

Playwright MCP: free (Apache-2.0), headless or headed, Chromium, Firefox or WebKit
Stoic Browser: MCP access scoped to chosen workspaces, 4 capability presets, credentials that expire
Playwright MCP states it is not a security boundary; Stoic Browser enforces scopes in the app
Stoic Browser adds a browser for you, recorded automations and schedules

What each one is

Stoic Browser

Stoic Browser is a desktop browser for founders who run more than one product. Each product gets a workspace with its own logins, your installed coding agents (Claude Code, Codex and 14 more) work inside those workspaces, outside agents can drive them over MCP, and recorded chores replay on a schedule. Free for 2 workspaces; Pro is $29 once.

Playwright MCP

Playwright MCP is Microsoft's open-source MCP server that lets an agent drive a browser through Playwright, using the accessibility tree rather than screenshots. It keeps logins in a persistent profile by default, can run isolated sessions, and has an extension mode that connects to tabs in your Chrome or Edge. It works with VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and most other MCP clients.

Side by side

Feature	Stoic Browser	Playwright MCP
Basics
Price	Free · Pro $29 one-time	Free, Apache-2.0
Platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	Anywhere Node.js 18+ runs
A browser you use yourself	Yes	Drives one; extension mode reuses your Chrome or Edge tabs
Chrome extensions	No	n/a
Agent access
Outside agents can drive it (MCP)	Built in: 4 presets, scoped to chosen workspaces	It is an MCP server
Where the AI comes from	Your own coding CLIs (16) or a local model	Whichever MCP client you connect
Separate logins per product	A separate session per workspace	One persistent profile per instance, or isolated sessions
Scoped, expiring credentials	7, 30 or 90 days, revocable	No
Limits on what the agent may do	Tool scopes, allowed domains, undoable change log	Not a security boundary, per its README
Headless	Hidden panes, plus a headless mode	Yes
Automation
Scheduled, repeatable browser jobs	Recorded automations and Crawl Mode, every 15 min to daily	No
Record what you do	Into editable automation steps	Into Playwright code
Other browser engines	No	Chromium, Firefox, WebKit

Which to choose

Choose Stoic Browser if

The agent should use your real, signed-in accounts, one product at a time
Each MCP client should see only the workspaces you choose, with a credential you can revoke
You want a log of every call and change, and steps you can undo
Some of the work should run on a schedule without you

Choose Playwright MCP if

You're testing your own web app or scraping public pages
You need Firefox or WebKit, CI or Docker
You want a free, open-source server you can script and self-host

Questions

Something missing? Write to hello@stoicsoft.com.

Can I use both?

Yes, and many people should: Playwright MCP for testing and throwaway sessions, Stoic Browser when the agent needs to act in a signed-in product account.

Does the agent see my passwords?

No. MCP connections drive a hidden pane in the workspace you allow, which is already signed in. When a site asks for a password mid-run, Stoic Browser pauses and hands the sign-in to you.

Free for 2 workspaces. No account needed. macOS, Windows and Linux.

Download Stoic Browser

Sources

microsoft/playwright-mcp