Safari MCP vs Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)

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

	Safari MCP Native Safari browser automation for AI agents on macOS — 80 tools, your real logged-in browser, no Chrome. Unverified stdio (local) No auth JavaScript	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	JavaScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	API key
GitHub stars	116	3.0k
Last commit	5 days ago	18 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx safari-mcp`	`npx -y @browserbasehq/mcp`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Safari MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add Safari MCP

Install / run

npx safari-mcp

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "safari-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "safari-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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": {
        "BROWSERBASE_API_KEY": "<your-browserbase-api-key>",
        "BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID": "<your-browserbase-project-id>",
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<your-gemini-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Safari MCP or Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) — which is better?

Pick Safari MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both Safari MCP 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 Safari MCP 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 Safari MCP →View Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) →More comparisons →