head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs Zen Browser
chrome-devtools-mcp has 54,665 GitHub stars, 5,250 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zen Browser has 45,517 stars, 1,946 forks, 689 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 20% (54,665 vs 45,517 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Zen Browser is written in C++ under MPL-2.0. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Zen Browser 4%. Zen Browser was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Zen Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 55K | ★ 46K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick chrome-devtools-mcp if
- You weight community size — 55K 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 Zen Browser if
- You want the Zen Browser feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Zen Browser fits your workflow better
About chrome-devtools-mcp
Chrome DevTools for agents Chrome DevTools for agents ( chrome devtools mcp ) lets your coding agent (such as Antigravity, Claude, Cursor or Copilot) control and inspect a live Chrome browser. It acts as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, giving your AI coding assistant access to the full power of Chrome DevTools for reliable automation, in depth debugging, and performance analysis. A [CLI][cli] is also provided for use without MCP. [Tool reference][tool reference] [Changelog][changelog] [Contributing][contributing] [Troubleshooting][troubleshooting] [Design Principles][design principles] Key features Get…
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About Zen Browser
Zen Browser Zen is a firefox based browser with the aim of pushing your productivity to a new level! Download • Website • Documentation • Release Notes Firefox Versions Release Is currently built using Firefox version 155.0.1 ! Twilight Is currently built using Firefox version RC 155.0.1 ! Contributing If you'd like to report a bug, please do so on our GitHub Issues page and for feature requests, you can use GitHub Discussions. Zen is an open source project, and we welcome contributions from the community! Please take a look at the contribution guidelines before getting started! Partners Thanks to all the…
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or Zen Browser more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 54,665 GitHub stars and Zen Browser has 45,517. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and Zen Browser free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zen Browser under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and Zen Browser?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and Zen Browser in C++. 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 Zen Browser?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (54,665 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Zen Browser if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.