Yahoo Finance 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.

	Yahoo Finance MCP Server Query stock data, news, financials, options, and generate charts from Yahoo Finance via yfinance. Unverified stdio (local) No auth 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	None	API key
GitHub stars	158	820
Last commit	12 days ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx yfmcp@latest`	`uvx alpaca-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Yahoo Finance MCP Server if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add Yahoo Finance MCP Server

Install / run

uvx yfmcp@latest

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yahoo-finance-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "yfmcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

Yahoo Finance MCP Server or Alpaca MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Yahoo Finance MCP Server if you want zero-setup with no API key. Pick Alpaca MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both Yahoo Finance 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 Yahoo Finance 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 Yahoo Finance MCP Server →View Alpaca MCP Server →More comparisons →