Fetch (Reference) vs MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery)

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

	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	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
Category	Search & Web	Databases
Language	Python	Go
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	OAuth
GitHub stars	87k	16k
Last commit	10 days ago	13 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx mcp-server-fetch`	`brew install mcp-toolbox && toolbox --prebuilt bigquery --stdio`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

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

Pick MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) if you need the broadest set of tools.

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.

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>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

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

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

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

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

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

View Fetch (Reference) →View MCP Toolbox for Databases (BigQuery) →More comparisons →