Best MCP servers and agent tools

MCP servers and agent tool platforms give assistants like Claude, Cursor and Codex access to code, data, search and your apps. These are the connectors and tool layers worth installing first.

Ranked by score on our 100-point rubric (how we score). Scores are initial editorial estimates from public information, not hands-on tests. Pricing is labeled verified (checked on the vendor's official pricing page, with date) or unverified. Prefer the visual version? See the MCP & tools tier list.

Quick picks

#	Tool	Tier	Score	Free tier	Pricing
1	GitHub MCP Server Official GitHub MCP server	S	87	Yes	unverified
2	Context7 Up-to-date library docs for coding agents	A	84	Yes	unverified
3	Firecrawl Turn websites into LLM-ready data	A	80	Yes	verified
4	Exa Search engine API built for AI	A	76	Yes	verified
5	Supabase MCP Server Let agents manage your Supabase project	A	76	Yes	unverified
6	Tavily Web search API for agents	A	75	Yes	verified
7	Composio Tool integrations for AI agents	A	73	Yes	verified
8	Zapier MCP Connect agents to thousands of apps via MCP	A	72	Yes	verified
9	Smithery MCP server registry and hosting	A	71	Yes	unverified
10	Arcade Authenticated tool calling for agents	B	65	Yes	verified
11	Glama MCP Directory Searchable directory of MCP servers	B	65	Yes	unverified

The ranking

1
GitHub MCP Server
Official GitHub MCP server

open source S87/100

Lets agents read repos, manage issues and PRs, and inspect Actions through MCP; local or remote.

Best for
Your agent needs to work with GitHub issues, PRs and code.

Skip it if
You only use GitLab.

Pricing
Free and open source
unverified editorial summary, not yet confirmed on an official pricing page

Platforms
MCP

Full review → GitHub MCP Server alternatives →
2
Context7
Up-to-date library docs for coding agents

open source A84/100

MCP server and site from Upstash that feeds current, version-specific docs into your coding agent.

Best for
Your coding agent keeps hallucinating outdated APIs.

Skip it if
You work offline only.

Pricing
Free tier; paid plans for higher limits
unverified editorial summary, not yet confirmed on an official pricing page

Platforms
MCP · API

Full review → Context7 alternatives →
3
Firecrawl
Turn websites into LLM-ready data

open source A80/100

API and open-source crawler that scrapes and converts websites to clean markdown, with an MCP server.

Best for
Your agent needs clean web content.

Skip it if
You only scrape a single simple page.

Pricing
Free plan (1,000 credits/mo); Hobby $16/mo billed annually; Standard $83/mo annually
✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026

Platforms
API · MCP

Full review →
4
Exa
Search engine API built for AI

A76/100

Neural web search API with content retrieval, used as a search tool by agents; MCP available.

Best for
Your agent needs high-quality web search results.

Skip it if
You need a free unlimited search.

Pricing
Free $10 credits/month; usage-based after (Search from $4/1k requests)
✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026

Platforms
API · MCP

Full review →
5
Supabase MCP Server
Let agents manage your Supabase project

open source A76/100

Official MCP server for querying databases, managing tables, and running migrations in Supabase.

Best for
Your app runs on Supabase and you build with agents.

Skip it if
You are wary of giving agents database write access.

Pricing
Free and open source; Supabase usage billed separately
unverified editorial summary, not yet confirmed on an official pricing page

Platforms
MCP

Full review →
6
Tavily
Web search API for agents

A75/100

Search and extraction API optimized for LLM agents and RAG, with an MCP server.

Best for
You want a simple, agent-ready search tool.

Skip it if
You need deep crawling.

Pricing
Researcher free (1,000 credits/mo); pay-as-you-go $0.008/credit; Project $30/mo
✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026

Platforms
API · MCP

Full review →
7
Composio
Tool integrations for AI agents

open source A73/100

Managed integrations, delegated auth and sandboxed tool execution across 1,500+ apps, exposed as agent tools and MCP servers.

Best for
You need many authenticated app integrations for an agent.

Skip it if
You need only one or two integrations.

Pricing
Hobby $0 (100,000 tool calls/mo); Pro $29/mo with $29 usage credit
✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026

Platforms
API · MCP · SDK

Full review →
8
Zapier MCP
Connect agents to thousands of apps via MCP

A72/100

Exposes Zapier's app actions to any MCP client like Claude or Cursor.

Best for
You want your agent to act across business apps with no code.

Skip it if
You need high-volume, low-cost actions.

Pricing
Zapier Free plan; Professional from $19.99/mo
✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026

Platforms
MCP

Full review →
9
Smithery
MCP server registry and hosting

A71/100

Registry for discovering, installing and hosting thousands of MCP servers.

Best for
You want to find and install MCP servers quickly.

Skip it if
You need vetted, security-reviewed servers only.

Pricing
Free to browse and use; paid hosting tiers
unverified editorial summary, not yet confirmed on an official pricing page

Platforms
web · MCP · CLI

Full review →
10
Arcade
Authenticated tool calling for agents

B65/100

Platform for agents to take authorized actions in apps like Gmail and Slack with user-level auth.

Best for
You need secure, per-user OAuth actions for agents.

Skip it if
You are building a single-user hobby project.

Pricing
Free plan ($0, 2,000 auth events/mo); Team from $25/mo platform fee + usage
✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026

Platforms
API · MCP · SDK

Full review →
11
Glama MCP Directory
Searchable directory of MCP servers

B65/100

Large indexed directory of open-source MCP servers with metadata and security indicators.

Best for
You want to compare MCP servers before installing.

Skip it if
You want hosted, managed connectors.

Pricing
Free to browse
unverified editorial summary, not yet confirmed on an official pricing page

Platforms
web

Full review →

Head-to-head comparisons

FAQ

What is the best AI tool for MCP servers and tools for AI agents?

GitHub MCP Server ranks first with 87/100 (S-tier). Official GitHub MCP server. Use it when your agent needs to work with GitHub issues, PRs and code. Next in our ranking: Context7 (84/100, A-tier) and Firecrawl (80/100, A-tier).

Which AI tools for MCP servers and tools for AI agents have a free tier?

In our pricing data, GitHub MCP Server (unverified), Context7 (unverified), Firecrawl (verified), Exa (verified), Supabase MCP Server (unverified), Tavily (verified), Composio (verified), Zapier MCP (verified), Smithery (unverified), Arcade (verified) and Glama MCP Directory (unverified) list a free tier. "Unverified" means it is an editorial summary we have not yet confirmed on the vendor's official pricing page, so check the vendor before relying on it.

Are there open-source options for MCP servers and tools for AI agents?

Yes. GitHub MCP Server, Context7, Firecrawl, Supabase MCP Server and Composio are listed as open source or open weights. Check each project's license before commercial use.

How are these tools ranked?

Each tool is scored out of 100 on our public rubric: job fit (30), ease (15), value (15), momentum (15), openness and portability (10), trust and maturity (10) and a builder/gamer bonus (5). S-tier is 85+, A-tier 70–84, B-tier 55–69 and C-tier below 55. Current scores are initial editorial estimates from public information, not hands-on tests, and sponsors can't buy points.

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