Apify Actors vs Fetch (Reference)

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

	Apify Actors Official Apify MCP server — search and scrape the web via thousands of ready-made Actors; local or remote. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	Fetch (Reference) Official MCP reference server that fetches a URL and returns its content as clean Markdown, with chunking. Verified stdio (local) No auth Python
Category	Search & Web	Search & Web
Language	TypeScript	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	1.3k	87k
Last commit	4 days ago	10 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server`	`uvx mcp-server-fetch`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Apify Actors if you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Fetch (Reference) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Add Apify Actors

Install / run

npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify-actors": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@apify/actors-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Fetch (Reference)

Install / run

uvx mcp-server-fetch

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-reference": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-server-fetch"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

FAQ

Apify Actors or Fetch (Reference) — which is better?

Pick Apify Actors if you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Fetch (Reference) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Can I use both Apify Actors and Fetch (Reference)?

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 Apify Actors and Fetch (Reference) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Apify Actors →View Fetch (Reference) →More comparisons →