Exa Search vs Ref MCP

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

	Exa Search Exa's neural web search and crawling MCP server — runs locally via npx or as a hosted remote endpoint. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	Ref MCP Token-efficient documentation search and reading for coding agents across public and private docs. Unverified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Search & Web	Search & Web
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	4.6k	1.1k
Last commit	2 months ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y exa-mcp-server`	`npx ref-tools-mcp@latest`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Exa Search if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Pick Ref MCP if you prefer its approach (token-efficient documentation search and reading for coding agents across public and private docs).

Add Exa Search

Install / run

npx -y exa-mcp-server

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "<your-exa-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Ref MCP

Install / run

npx ref-tools-mcp@latest

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ref-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "ref-tools-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "<sign up to get an api key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Exa Search or Ref MCP — which is better?

Pick Exa Search if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Ref MCP if you prefer its approach (token-efficient documentation search and reading for coding agents across public and private docs).

Can I use both Exa Search and Ref 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 Exa Search and Ref MCP work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Exa Search →View Ref MCP →More comparisons →