head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs Brave
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,197 GitHub stars, 3,990 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Brave has 23,659 stars, 3,214 forks, 10,752 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 121% (52,197 vs 23,659 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Brave is written in various languages under MPL-2.0. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Brave 14%. Brave was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| chrome-devtools-mcp | Brave | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 24K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick chrome-devtools-mcp if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Brave if
- You want the Brave feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- You evaluated both and Brave fits your workflow better
About chrome-devtools-mcp
chrome devtools mcp is an Apache 2.0 TypeScript Model Context Protocol server, distributed on npm, that gives coding agents such as Claude, Cursor, Copilot and Antigravity control over and visibility into a live Chrome browser through the full Chrome DevTools toolset.
read the full chrome-devtools-mcp overview →
About Brave
Brave is a Chromium based web browser for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, released under the MPL 2.0 licence, and this repository is the project's public issue tracker, release channel, and developer wiki rather than the home of its source code.
read the full Brave overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or Brave more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,197 GitHub stars and Brave has 23,659. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and Brave free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Brave under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and Brave?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and Brave in various languages. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, chrome-devtools-mcp or Brave?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (52,197 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Brave if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.