Alpaca Trading MCP Server vs Alpaca MCP Server

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

	Alpaca Trading MCP Server Manage your Alpaca stock and crypto portfolio, place trades, and access market data via MCP. Unverified stdio (local) API key Stale Python	Alpaca MCP Server Alpaca's official trading server for stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto in plain English. Verified stdio (local) API key Python
Category	Finance & Payments	Finance & Payments
Language	Python	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	32	820
Last commit	11 months ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`pip install -e .`	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Alpaca Trading MCP Server if you prefer its approach (manage your alpaca stock and crypto portfolio, place trades, and access market data via mcp).

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

Add Alpaca Trading MCP Server

Install / run

pip install -e .

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alpaca-trading-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/alpaca-mcp-server",
        "run",
        "src/server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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.

FAQ

Alpaca Trading MCP Server or Alpaca MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Alpaca Trading MCP Server if you prefer its approach (manage your alpaca stock and crypto portfolio, place trades, and access market data via mcp). Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both Alpaca Trading MCP Server and Alpaca 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 Alpaca Trading MCP Server and Alpaca MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Alpaca Trading MCP Server →View Alpaca MCP Server →More comparisons →