Alpaca MCP Server vs Web3 Research 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	Web3 Research MCP Deep research for crypto tokens — free and fully local, across CoinGecko, DeFiLlama, and more. Unverified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript
Category	Finance & Payments	Finance & Payments
Language	Python	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	820	159
Last commit	2 months ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`	`npx -y @smithery/cli install web3-research-mcp --client claude`
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 Web3 Research MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key.

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 Web3 Research MCP

Install / run

npx -y @smithery/cli install web3-research-mcp --client claude

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web3-research-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "web3-research-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Alpaca MCP Server or Web3 Research 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 Web3 Research MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Can I use both Alpaca MCP Server and Web3 Research 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 Web3 Research 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 Web3 Research MCP →More comparisons →