Comparison
browser-use vs firecrawl
Verdict
Pick browser-use if browser-use is a Python-based repository for AI agents designed for browser automation using Playwright; pick firecrawl if firecrawl is a web data API for large-scale web scraping, searching, and data extraction tasks, supporting AI agents for intelligent web interaction and data retrieval.
Markdown twin · browser-use alternatives · firecrawl alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 30, 2026
26views this month
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | browser-use | firecrawl |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (2d since push) As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (0d since push) As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Sep 18, 2026 · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Sep 18, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- browser-use
- Agents that use the browser
- firecrawl
- The web data API to search, scrape, and interact at scale.
Stars
- browser-use
- 115k
- firecrawl
- 182k
Forks
- browser-use
- 13k
- firecrawl
- 9.8k
Open issues
- browser-use
- 439
- firecrawl
- 641
Language
- browser-use
- Python
- firecrawl
- TypeScript
Adopt for
- browser-use
- browser-use is a Python-based repository for AI agents designed for browser automation using Playwright.
- firecrawl
- Firecrawl is a web data API for large-scale web scraping, searching, and data extraction tasks, supporting AI agents for intelligent web interaction and data retrieval.
Persona
- browser-use
- -
- firecrawl
- -
Runtime
- browser-use
- -
- firecrawl
- -
License
- browser-use
- MIT
- firecrawl
- AGPL-3.0 for the main project, MIT License for SDKs and some UI components.
Last pushed
- browser-use
- Sep 15, 2026
- firecrawl
- Sep 18, 2026
Categories
- browser-use
- AI Agents, Developer Tools
- firecrawl
- AI Agents, Data & Retrieval
Trust and health
Days since push
- browser-use
- 2d
- firecrawl
- 0d
Open issues (now)
- browser-use
- 439
- firecrawl
- 641
Stars delta
- browser-use
- +5.7k (30d)
- firecrawl
- +14k (30d)
Open issues delta
- browser-use
- +82 (30d)
- firecrawl
- +133 (30d)
Full report
- browser-use
- Trust report
- firecrawl
- Trust report
Typed relationship
browser-use alternative firecrawlBoth `browser-use` and `firecrawl` are tools used for interacting with the web at scale, albeit with different focuses: browser automation in `browser-use` vs. scraping and searching capabilities in `firecrawl`.
Choose browser-use if…
- browser-use is primarily Python; firecrawl is TypeScript.
- License: browser-use is MIT, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0.
- Both `browser-use` and `firecrawl` are tools used for interacting with the web at scale, albeit with different focuses: browser automation in `browser-use` vs. scraping and searching capabilities in `firecrawl`.
- Tags unique to browser-use: ai-tools, browser-automation, llm, playwright.
- Also covers Developer Tools.
- browser-use ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- When you need to automate browser actions with AI agents and prefer using Playwright for its robust capabilities in handling modern web applications.
When NOT to use browser-use
- If your project requires a different browser automation tool that is not Playwright, as browser-use is specifically tailored for Playwright integration.
- When detailed documentation and integrations provided by browser-use do not align with your project's specific needs or if you prefer a more generalized approach to browser automation.
Choose firecrawl if…
- firecrawl is primarily TypeScript; browser-use is Python.
- License: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, browser-use is MIT.
- Pricing: Pricing details are not provided in the repository data..
- Requirements: Users must respect websites' policies when scraping and comply with robots.txt directives..
- Both `browser-use` and `firecrawl` are tools used for interacting with the web at scale, albeit with different focuses: browser automation in `browser-use` vs. scraping and searching capabilities in `firecrawl`.
- Tags unique to firecrawl: ai, ai-crawler, ai-scraping, ai-search.
- Also covers Data & Retrieval.
- When you need to perform large-scale web scraping and data extraction tasks with support for AI-driven web interactions.
When NOT to use firecrawl
- If your project requires a tool that does not support AI-driven interactions and you prefer a simpler, more straightforward scraping solution.
- When you are looking for a solution that does not come with the AGPL-3.0 license, as this might not be compatible with your project's licensing requirements.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (browser-use/browser-use) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (browser-use/browser-use) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (browser-use/browser-use) · observed Sep 15, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- GitHub stars (firecrawl/firecrawl) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (firecrawl/firecrawl) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (firecrawl/firecrawl) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- License file (AGPL-3.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Sep 18, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: browser-use 115k · firecrawl 182k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between browser-use and firecrawl?
- browser-use: Agents that use the browser. firecrawl: The web data API to search, scrape, and interact at scale.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose browser-use over firecrawl?
- Choose browser-use over firecrawl when browser-use is primarily Python; firecrawl is TypeScript; License: browser-use is MIT, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0; Both
browser-useandfirecrawlare tools used for interacting with the web at scale, albeit with different focuses: browser automation inbrowser-usevs. scraping and searching capabilities infirecrawl; Tags unique to browser-use: ai-tools, browser-automation, llm, playwright; Also covers Developer Tools; browser-use ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; When you need to automate browser actions with AI agents and prefer using Playwright for its robust capabilities in handling modern web applications. - When should I choose firecrawl over browser-use?
- Choose firecrawl over browser-use when firecrawl is primarily TypeScript; browser-use is Python; License: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, browser-use is MIT; Pricing: Pricing details are not provided in the repository data.; Requirements: Users must respect websites' policies when scraping and comply with robots.txt directives.; Both
browser-useandfirecrawlare tools used for interacting with the web at scale, albeit with different focuses: browser automation inbrowser-usevs. scraping and searching capabilities infirecrawl; Tags unique to firecrawl: ai, ai-crawler, ai-scraping, ai-search; Also covers Data & Retrieval; When you need to perform large-scale web scraping and data extraction tasks with support for AI-driven web interactions. - When should I avoid browser-use?
- If your project requires a different browser automation tool that is not Playwright, as browser-use is specifically tailored for Playwright integration. When detailed documentation and integrations provided by browser-use do not align with your project's specific needs or if you prefer a more generalized approach to browser automation.
- When should I avoid firecrawl?
- If your project requires a tool that does not support AI-driven interactions and you prefer a simpler, more straightforward scraping solution. When you are looking for a solution that does not come with the AGPL-3.0 license, as this might not be compatible with your project's licensing requirements.
- Is browser-use or firecrawl more popular on GitHub?
- firecrawl has more GitHub stars (181,801 vs 115,057). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are browser-use and firecrawl open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (browser-use: MIT, firecrawl: AGPL-3.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to browser-use or firecrawl?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at browser-use alternatives and firecrawl alternatives (browser-use markdown twin, firecrawl markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, browser-use or firecrawl?
- browser-use: Very active. firecrawl: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for browser-use and firecrawl?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: browser-use trust report; firecrawl trust report.