Grafana MCP Server vs Kubernetes MCP Server

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

	Grafana MCP Server Grafana's official server for dashboards, Prometheus/Loki queries, alerts, and incidents. Verified stdio (local) API key Go	Kubernetes MCP Server Popular community server wrapping kubectl and Helm for cluster management via natural language. Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript
Category	DevOps & Cloud	DevOps & Cloud
Language	Go	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	2.1k	1.4k
Last commit	8 days ago	6 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`docker run --rm -i -e GRAFANA_URL -e GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN grafana/mcp-grafana -t stdio`	`npx -y mcp-server-kubernetes`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

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

Pick Kubernetes MCP Server if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Add Grafana MCP Server

Install / run

docker run --rm -i -e GRAFANA_URL -e GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN grafana/mcp-grafana -t stdio

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grafana-mcp-server": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "GRAFANA_URL",
        "-e",
        "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN",
        "grafana/mcp-grafana",
        "-t",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GRAFANA_URL": "https://your-grafana-instance.example.com",
        "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN": "<your-grafana-service-account-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Requires Docker to be installed and running.

Add Kubernetes MCP Server

Install / run

npx -y mcp-server-kubernetes

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kubernetes-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-server-kubernetes"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALLOW_ONLY_NON_DESTRUCTIVE_TOOLS": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Grafana MCP Server or Kubernetes MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Grafana MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Kubernetes MCP Server if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Can I use both Grafana MCP Server and Kubernetes MCP Server?

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 Grafana MCP Server and Kubernetes MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Grafana MCP Server →View Kubernetes MCP Server →More comparisons →