Polygon.io 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.

	Polygon.io MCP Server Official Polygon.io server with tools for stocks, options, forex, and crypto market data. Verified stdio (local) API key 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	360	820
Last commit	1 month ago	28 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx --from git+https://github.com/polygon-io/mcp_polygon@v0.4.0 mcp_polygon`	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Polygon.io MCP Server if you prefer its approach (official polygon.io server with tools for stocks, options, forex, and crypto market data).

Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Add Polygon.io MCP Server

Install / run

uvx --from git+https://github.com/polygon-io/mcp_polygon@v0.4.0 mcp_polygon

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "polygon-io-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/polygon-io/mcp_polygon@v0.4.0",
        "mcp_polygon"
      ],
      "env": {
        "POLYGON_API_KEY": "<your-polygon-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

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

Polygon.io MCP Server or Alpaca MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Polygon.io MCP Server if you prefer its approach (official polygon.io server with tools for stocks, options, forex, and crypto market data). Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Can I use both Polygon.io 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 Polygon.io 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 Polygon.io MCP Server →View Alpaca MCP Server →More comparisons →