Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) vs Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)

A side-by-side comparison of two Browser Automation servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) Run Apify's RAG Web Browser and 5,000+ Actors as MCP tools — web search and scrape to clean markdown. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) Official Browserbase cloud-browser MCP built on Stagehand — natural-language act/extract/observe. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Browser Automation	Browser Automation
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	600	3.0k
Last commit	1 month ago	16 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server`	`npx -y @browserbasehq/mcp`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) if you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser)

Install / run

npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify-actors-mcp-rag-web-browser": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@apify/actors-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-api-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)

Install / run

npx -y @browserbasehq/mcp

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserbase-mcp-stagehand": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@browserbasehq/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<your-gemini-api-key>",
        "BROWSERBASE_API_KEY": "<your-browserbase-api-key>",
        "BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID": "<your-browserbase-project-id>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) or Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) — which is better?

Pick Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) if you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) and Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) and Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Apify Actors MCP (RAG Web Browser) →View Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) →More comparisons →