TL;DR

• MCP (Model Context Protocol): Standard for exposing tools/data to AI agents (like REST for AI)
• Smithery: Hosted MCP servers, easiest setup, 50+ integrations. Rating: 4.4/5
• Self-hosted: Full control, any integration, requires DevOps. Rating: 4.0/5
• Anthropic Registry: Official directory, quality-vetted, smaller selection. Rating: 4.2/5
• Recommendation: Start with Smithery for common integrations, self-host for custom needs

MCP Server Providers Comparison

Integrated 15 different MCP servers into production agents. Here's what you need to know.

What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol (Anthropic, 2024): Open standard for connecting AI agents to external tools and data sources.

Before MCP:

• Custom integration code for each tool
• No standardization (every agent platform different)
• Hard to share integrations

After MCP:

• Standardized protocol (like REST API)
• Write once, use across all MCP-compatible agents
• Growing ecosystem (100+ servers available)

MCP vs Function Calling:

• Function calling: Agent decides which tool to use
• MCP: Standard way to expose tools (implementation of function calling)

Analogy: MCP is like REST for AI agents. OpenAPI/Swagger for function schemas.

Smithery (Hosted MCP Servers)

Overview

Smithery provides hosted MCP servers. Connect to 50+ services without running infrastructure.

Website: smithery.ai

Setup: 10/10

Easiest integration (5 minutes):

import { createMcpClient } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk';

const client = createMcpClient({
  url: 'https://mcp.smithery.ai/github',
  auth: {
    apiKey: process.env.SMITHERY_API_KEY,
    githubToken: process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN
  }
});

// List available tools
const tools = await client.listTools();
// [{name: "create_issue", description: "Create GitHub issue", ...}]

// Use tool
const result = await client.callTool('create_issue', {
  repo: 'acme/product',
  title: 'Bug in checkout',
  body: 'Users report 500 error...'
});

No self-hosting, no infrastructure management.

Available Integrations: 9/10

50+ MCP servers:

Development:

• GitHub (issues, PRs, repos)
• GitLab
• Linear (project management)
• Sentry (error tracking)

Productivity:

• Google Drive
• Gmail
• Slack
• Notion

Data:

• PostgreSQL
• MongoDB
• Supabase
• Airtable

AI/ML:

• OpenAI
• Anthropic
• Pinecone (vector DB)

Missing: Some niche tools (custom CRMs, legacy systems).

Workaround: Self-host custom MCP server for missing integrations.

Pricing: 7/10

Free tier: 1K tool calls/month

Pro: $29/month (10K tool calls)

Enterprise: Custom pricing (100K+ calls, SLA, dedicated support)

Cost per call: $0.003 (vs self-hosted ~$0.001 for infrastructure)

Trade-off: Pay premium for convenience (no DevOps overhead).

Security: 8/10

• API key authentication
• Service credentials encrypted (AES-256)
• SOC 2 Type II (in progress)
• Data isolation (your credentials never shared)

Missing: Self-hosting option (can't keep credentials fully in-house).

Best For

✅ Getting started with MCP quickly ✅ Using common integrations (GitHub, Slack, Notion) ✅ Teams without DevOps capacity ✅ Budget allows $30-100/month

❌ Need custom integrations (limited to Smithery's catalog) ❌ Data sovereignty requirements (can't self-host) ❌ Very high volume (>100K calls/month, self-hosting cheaper)

Rating: 4.4/5

Self-Hosted MCP Servers

Overview

Run MCP servers on your own infrastructure. Full control, any integration.

Official SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Setup: 6/10

More complex (1-4 hours):

1. Write MCP server:

// mcp-server-custom-crm.ts
import { McpServer } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk';

const server = new McpServer({
  name: 'custom-crm',
  version: '1.0.0'
});

// Define tool
server.addTool({
  name: 'lookup_customer',
  description: 'Lookup customer by email',
  inputSchema: {
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      email: { type: 'string' }
    },
    required: ['email']
  },
  handler: async ({ email }) => {
    // Call your CRM API
    const customer = await crmApi.getCustomer(email);
    return { customer };
  }
});

// Start server
server.listen(3000);

2. Deploy:

# Docker
docker build -t mcp-server-custom-crm .
docker run -p 3000:3000 mcp-server-custom-crm

# Or use Railway/Fly.io/Vercel

3. Connect agent:

const client = createMcpClient({
  url: 'http://localhost:3000'
});

Advantage: Can integrate anything (REST APIs, databases, internal tools).

Disadvantage: You manage infrastructure, monitoring, scaling.

Available Integrations: 10/10

Unlimited -you can integrate any service:

• Internal tools (custom CRMs, ERPs)
• Legacy systems (SOAP APIs)
• Databases (any SQL/NoSQL)
• File systems
• Hardware (IoT devices)

Official MCP servers (self-host):

• mcp-server-filesystem
• mcp-server-postgres
• mcp-server-github
• 100+ community servers

Pricing: 9/10

Infrastructure costs:

• Small MCP server (1 CPU, 512MB RAM): $5-10/month
• Medium (2 CPU, 2GB RAM): $20-40/month

Development time:

• Writing server: 2-8 hours (per integration)
• Maintenance: 1-2 hours/month (updates, monitoring)

Total cost (3 custom integrations):

• Initial: 18 hours × £50/hr = £900
• Ongoing: £30/month (infrastructure) + 3hrs/month × £50/hr = £180/month

vs Smithery: Break-even at ~6 months if using 3+ integrations heavily.

Security: 10/10

• Full data control (nothing leaves your infrastructure)
• Custom authentication (OAuth, mTLS, API keys)
• Network isolation (VPC, private subnets)
• Audit logs (you control all logging)

Best for compliance-heavy industries (healthcare, finance).

Best For

✅ Custom integrations not available elsewhere ✅ Data sovereignty requirements ✅ High volume (>100K calls/month) ✅ Have DevOps team

❌ Need fast time-to-market (Smithery faster) ❌ Common integrations (Smithery already has them) ❌ Small team, no DevOps capacity

Rating: 4.0/5 (powerful but requires expertise)

Anthropic MCP Registry

Overview

Official directory of vetted MCP servers from Anthropic.

Website: github.com/anthropics/mcp-servers

Setup: 8/10

Clone and run:

# Example: Brave Search MCP server
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/mcp-servers.git
cd mcp-servers/brave-search

# Install
npm install

# Configure
export BRAVE_API_KEY=...

# Run
npm start

Connect agent:

const client = createMcpClient({
  url: 'http://localhost:3000'
});

Advantage: Quality-vetted by Anthropic, well-documented.

Disadvantage: Self-hosting required (not as easy as Smithery).

Available Integrations: 7/10

20+ official servers:

• Brave Search
• Google Drive
• Google Maps
• Slack
• GitHub
• PostgreSQL
• SQLite
• Filesystem

Smaller than Smithery (20 vs 50), but higher quality (official support).

Pricing: 10/10

Free (open-source, Apache 2.0 license)

Infrastructure costs: Same as self-hosted (~£5-40/month depending on usage)

Security: 10/10

Same as self-hosted:

• Full data control
• Self-hosted (no third-party)
• Open-source (audit code)

Best For

✅ Want official Anthropic-supported servers ✅ Open-source preference ✅ Can self-host ✅ Integrations available in registry (20+ servers)

❌ Need 100+ integrations (Smithery has more) ❌ Want zero ops (Smithery fully managed) ❌ Custom integrations (must write yourself)

Rating: 4.2/5 (excellent quality, smaller selection)

Decision Framework

Choose Smithery if:

• Need fast setup (<1 hour)
• Using common integrations (50+ available)
• No DevOps team
• Budget £30-100/month

Choose Self-Hosted if:

• Need custom integrations
• Data sovereignty critical
• High volume (>100K calls/month)
• Have DevOps expertise

Choose Anthropic Registry if:

• Want official servers
• Open-source preference
• Can self-host
• Integrations you need are available (check registry first)

Integration Comparison

Real Implementation Example

Use case: Support agent needs GitHub, Slack, and custom CRM access.

Option 1: Smithery (recommended)

• GitHub: Use Smithery hosted server
• Slack: Use Smithery hosted server
• Custom CRM: Write self-hosted MCP server
• Total setup time: 6 hours (5 hours for CRM server, 1 hour for Smithery)
• Monthly cost: £30 (Smithery) + £10 (self-hosted CRM) = £40/month

Option 2: Fully Self-Hosted

• All three: Write/deploy self-hosted servers
• Total setup time: 15 hours (5 hours × 3 integrations)
• Monthly cost: £30 (infrastructure)

Option 3: Anthropic Registry

• GitHub: Use official server (self-host)
• Slack: Use official server (self-host)
• Custom CRM: Write server
• Total setup time: 8 hours (3 hours setup official servers, 5 hours CRM)
• Monthly cost: £20 (infrastructure)

Recommendation: Option 1 (Smithery) for fastest time-to-market.

Cost Comparison (10K tool calls/month)

Total Cost of Ownership (first year):

• Smithery: £348 + 1hr (cheapest TCO)
• Self-Hosted: £360 + 51hrs
• Anthropic Registry: £240 + 32hrs

Winner on TCO: Smithery (unless engineering time is free).

Security Comparison

Winner on security: Self-hosted/Anthropic Registry (full control).

Recommendation

Default choice: Smithery for 80% of use cases (fast setup, common integrations).

Upgrade to self-hosted when:

1. Need custom integration not in Smithery catalog
2. Data sovereignty required (healthcare, finance)
3. High volume (>100K calls/month, self-hosting cheaper)

Use Anthropic Registry when:

• Want official servers
• Can self-host
• Integrations available (check registry)

Hybrid approach (best of both worlds):

• Use Smithery for common integrations (GitHub, Slack, Notion)
• Self-host for custom integrations (internal CRM, legacy systems)

Sources:

• Smithery Documentation
• MCP Specification
• Anthropic MCP Servers
• Awesome MCP Servers