Alpaca MCP Server vs Freqtrade-MCP

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

	Alpaca MCP Server Alpaca's official trading server for stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto in plain English. Verified stdio (local) API key Python	Freqtrade-MCP Control a Freqtrade crypto trading bot through its REST API from any MCP-compatible AI agent. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Stale Python
Category	Finance & Payments	Finance & Payments
Language	Python	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	820	121
Last commit	2 months ago	8 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`	`pip install freqtrade-client mcp[cli]`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

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

Add Alpaca MCP Server

Install / run

uvx alpaca-mcp-server

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alpaca-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "alpaca-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALPACA_API_KEY": "<your-alpaca-api-key>",
        "ALPACA_SECRET_KEY": "<your-alpaca-secret-key>",
        "ALPACA_PAPER_TRADE": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

Add Freqtrade-MCP

Install / run

pip install freqtrade-client mcp[cli]

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freqtrade-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/your/path/to/freqtrade-mcp",
        "run",
        "__main__.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FREQTRADE_API_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
        "FREQTRADE_USERNAME": "your_username",
        "FREQTRADE_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Alpaca MCP Server or Freqtrade-MCP — which is better?

Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Freqtrade-MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Can I use both Alpaca MCP Server and Freqtrade-MCP?

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 Alpaca MCP Server and Freqtrade-MCP work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Alpaca MCP Server →View Freqtrade-MCP →More comparisons →