Writ vs Firecrawl.
Firecrawl reads public pages into clean markdown. Writ reads and acts, log in, fill, submit, buy, on your own account, callable as an API and an MCP tool.
Choose Firecrawl when the job is to read public pages and hand an LLM clean markdown or JSON, it is excellent at that. Choose Writ when you need to act on a site, not just read it: log in, fill forms, submit, or buy on your own authorized account, and when you want every workflow callable as a REST endpoint and an MCP tool.
What each is built for.
What Firecrawl is great at
Firecrawl is excellent at turning public pages into clean, LLM-ready text quickly. It has a simple, developer-friendly API for read-only crawling, an open-source core you can self-host, and it handles the messy parts of extraction - boilerplate stripping, markdown conversion - so your model gets tidy input.
What Writ adds
Writ reads and acts. It runs a real browser on your own account, so it can log in, pass 2FA, fill forms, click through multi-step flows, submit, and buy - then return structured output. Every workflow is a REST endpoint and an MCP tool, and it can run on your own machine to reach systems a crawl API never could.
Read the page vs. act on the page.
Firecrawl's unit is the page read: give it a URL, get clean markdown or structured JSON. Writ's unit is the authenticated workflow: log in as you, navigate, take an action, and return a result. Firecrawl is the right tool when the data is public and reading is the whole job. Writ is for when the data is behind a login, or the task is to do something - and you want it callable as an API and an MCP tool.
Side by side, honestly.
Cells reflect each tool's primary, documented focus. A dash means it isn't the focus, not a flaw - partial support is marked, not hidden.
| Capability | Writ | Firecrawl |
|---|---|---|
| Turn a site into a REST API | Yes | Partial |
| MCP tool / server | Yes | Yes |
| Works behind login | Yes | No |
| 2FA: TOTP + mailbox OTP | Yes | No |
| Verification on your own accounts | Yes | No |
| Record / describe / discover a workflow | Yes | Partial |
| 30+ step types | Yes | No |
| Monitors → act (watch-and-act) | Yes | Partial |
| Prepare an action for approval (confirm-gate) | Yes | No |
| Runs on YOUR account & credentials | Yes | No |
| Run on your own machine, no compute charge | Yes | Partial |
| Reaches intranet / localhost / VPN-only | Yes | Partial |
| BYO AI keys, stored locally, unbilled | Yes | Partial |
| Installable workflow templates | Yes | No |
| Direct HTTP optimization with browser fallback | Yes | Partial |
| Prepaid $ wallet, spend caps, no surprise bill | Yes | Partial |
| Self-host / open path | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise compliance & data controls | Partial | Partial |
Reviewed July 2026. Competitor facts are stated at the structural level (read vs. act, login support, where runs execute, open-source core), not exact prices, which change often.
Where Firecrawl is the better fit.
When Firecrawl is the right call.
If your job is to read public pages and hand an LLM clean text, Firecrawl is purpose-built for it and very good. Its crawling API is simple, fast, and developer-friendly, and the open-source core means you can self-host. You don't need a browser-automation platform to get clean markdown - and for that job, Firecrawl is the lighter tool.
Often, the answer is both.
Many teams keep Firecrawl for read-only crawling and add Writ for the authenticated actions a crawl API can't take - calling both from the same code.
When to choose which.
Choose Writ if
- You need to act on a site, not just read it - log in, fill forms, click through, submit, or buy.
- The data sits behind a login with 2FA, on your own authorized account.
- You want every workflow callable as a REST endpoint and an MCP tool that takes actions, not only reads.
- You want to run on your own machine at no compute charge, or reach an internal / VPN-only system a crawl API cannot.
- You want a detected change to trigger a workflow (watch-and-act), not just a one-shot read.
Choose Firecrawl if
- —You only need to read public pages and feed clean, LLM-ready text to a model.
- —You want a simple, developer-friendly API purely for read-only crawling at scale.
- —You specifically want an open-source crawling core you can self-host.
Using Writ alongside (or instead of) Firecrawl.
- 01
Separate read from act
Decide which jobs are pure reading (Firecrawl does these well) and which need an authenticated action.
- 02
Keep Firecrawl where it fits
For read-only public crawling you're happy with, there's no need to switch - the two work side by side.
- 03
Record the action flows in Writ
For anything that logs in, fills a form, submits, or buys, record it once (or describe it to AI) on your own account.
- 04
Publish endpoints + MCP tools
Expose each Writ workflow at /v1/firecrawl/run and as an MCP tool, then call it from the same code that calls Firecrawl.
Common questions.
Is Writ a good Firecrawl alternative?
It depends on the job. Firecrawl is excellent at turning public pages into clean markdown/JSON for an LLM. Writ is for when you need to act - log in, fill, submit, or buy - on your own authorized account, and want that callable as an API and MCP tool. Many teams use both.
Does Writ do web data extraction like Firecrawl?
Yes. Writ workflows include an extract step that returns typed, structured fields from a page. The difference is that Writ runs the full authenticated flow first - login, navigation, forms - so it can extract data a read-only crawl cannot reach.
Can Firecrawl log in and take actions?
Firecrawl is built for read-only crawling and is limited behind a login; it does not click, fill, submit, or buy. Writ runs a real browser on your own account, so it completes authenticated, multi-step actions and returns structured output.
Does Writ run on my own account?
Yes. Workflows run on your own accounts and credentials, in the cloud or on your own machine with no compute charge. Writ runs on your own accounts, with your own credentials and data, on sites you are authorized to use.
Read the page - then act on it.
See how Writ compares to Firecrawl on your own workflow - get started free, or book a demo.