Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) vs Alpaca MCP Server

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

	Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) Plaid's official remote MCP server for integration diagnostics, analytics, and docs via OAuth. Verified SSE (remote) OAuth Stale TypeScript	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	TypeScript	Python
Transport	SSE (remote)	stdio (local)
Auth	OAuth	API key
GitHub stars	0	820
Last commit	unknown	28 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`Add remote MCP URL https://api.dashboard.plaid.com/mcp/sse (OAuth)`	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) if you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install.

Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

Add Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote)

Install / run

Add remote MCP URL https://api.dashboard.plaid.com/mcp/sse (OAuth)

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plaid-dashboard-mcp-remote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.dashboard.plaid.com/mcp/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop connects to remote servers through the `mcp-remote` proxy (installed on first run via npx). Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

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

Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) or Alpaca MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) if you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install. Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

Can I use both Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) 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 Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) 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 Plaid Dashboard MCP (Remote) →View Alpaca MCP Server →More comparisons →