MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) vs Firecrawl

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

	MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) Google's official MCP server with prebuilt BigQuery tools, querying datasets via Application Default Credentials. Verified stdio (local) OAuth Go	Firecrawl Official Firecrawl MCP server — scrape, crawl, map, search, and structured extraction for any LLM client. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Databases	Search & Web
Language	Go	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	OAuth	API key
GitHub stars	16k	6.6k
Last commit	11 days ago	6 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`brew install mcp-toolbox && toolbox --prebuilt bigquery --stdio`	`npx -y firecrawl-mcp`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Pick Firecrawl if you prefer its approach (official firecrawl mcp server — scrape, crawl, map, search, and structured extraction for any llm client).

Add MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery)

Install / run

brew install mcp-toolbox && toolbox --prebuilt bigquery --stdio

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-toolbox-for-databases-bigquery": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/toolbox",
      "args": [
        "--prebuilt",
        "bigquery",
        "--stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BIGQUERY_PROJECT": "<your-gcp-project-id>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Firecrawl

Install / run

npx -y firecrawl-mcp

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "firecrawl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "firecrawl-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "<your-firecrawl-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) or Firecrawl — which is better?

Pick MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Firecrawl if you prefer its approach (official firecrawl mcp server — scrape, crawl, map, search, and structured extraction for any llm client).

Can I use both MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) and Firecrawl?

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 MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) and Firecrawl work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) →View Firecrawl →More comparisons →