Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) vs Alpaca MCP Server

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

	Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) Official Stripe server for payments, customers, subscriptions, invoices, and billing via natural language. Verified stdio (local) API key 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	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	1.9k	820
Last commit	1 month ago	26 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @stripe/mcp --tools=all --api-key=<your-stripe-secret-key>`	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you prefer its approach (alpaca's official trading server for stocks, etfs, options, and crypto in plain english).

Add Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit)

Install / run

npx -y @stripe/mcp --tools=all --api-key=<your-stripe-secret-key>

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stripe-mcp-server-agent-toolkit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@stripe/mcp",
        "--tools=all",
        "--api-key=<your-stripe-secret-key>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) or Alpaca MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you prefer its approach (alpaca's official trading server for stocks, etfs, options, and crypto in plain english).

Can I use both Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) 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 Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) 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 Stripe MCP Server (Agent Toolkit) →View Alpaca MCP Server →More comparisons →