Alpaca MCP Server vs Polygon.io MCP Server

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

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

Verdict

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

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

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.

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.

FAQ

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

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

Can I use both Alpaca MCP Server and Polygon.io 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 MCP Server and Polygon.io MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Alpaca MCP Server →View Polygon.io MCP Server →More comparisons →