The Best MCP Servers in 2026

Quick list: top MCP servers by use case

Each row was checked on 5 October 2026 against the vendor's own docs or GitHub repo. Every server is published by the company named, except Filesystem, which is a reference implementation. Star counts further down come from the GitHub API on the same day.

Local means the server runs on your computer. Remote means you paste a URL and sign in. Remote vs local MCP servers covers the trade-offs.

Developer tools

GitHub MCP Server

GitHub's own server reads and manages repos, issues, pull requests and Actions. The remote version lives at https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/, so there is nothing to install. A local version ships as a Docker image, and a --read-only flag leaves the write tools out.

The repo had about 33,400 stars on 5 October 2026.

Filesystem (reference server)

Filesystem lets a model read and write files in the folders you allow. It runs locally only. It is one of seven reference servers kept by the MCP steering group, alongside Everything, Fetch, Git, Memory, Sequential Thinking and Time.

The README is blunt about their purpose: they are teaching examples, not production software. The older reference servers for GitHub, Slack, PostgreSQL, Sentry and Brave Search are archived. Use the vendor's own server for those.

Playwright MCP

Microsoft's server drives a real browser. It reads pages through Playwright's accessibility tree instead of screenshots, so it needs no vision model. You run it locally with npx @playwright/mcp@latest, and a --port flag serves it over HTTP.

One caveat comes from the README itself. For coding agents, Microsoft now points to its Playwright CLI with skills as the more token-efficient route. The MCP server still suits long sessions that keep one browser open. About 37,800 stars.

Sentry MCP

Remote only, at https://mcp.sentry.dev/mcp, with OAuth. It searches errors, triages issues and reads performance data. Add your organization slug to the URL (/mcp/{organizationSlug}) to pin it to one org.

Figma MCP

Figma's server pulls design context, variables and components into your editor and turns selected frames into code. The remote server at https://mcp.figma.com/mcp is available on all seats and plans. The desktop server needs a Dev or Full seat on a paid plan.

Databases

Supabase's docs advise against connecting an AI client to production data, and recommend read-only mode and project scoping if you must. That advice travels well to every server in this section.

Supabase MCP

Remote at https://mcp.supabase.com/mcp. It runs SQL, lists tables, reads logs, generates TypeScript types and deploys Edge Functions. Add read_only=true to run every query as a read-only Postgres user, and project_ref=<id> to lock the server to one project.

MongoDB MCP Server

MongoDB's server explores schemas, runs queries and aggregations, and manages Atlas clusters. There are two versions. You run the local one yourself against any deployment. The Atlas Managed MCP Server is hosted by MongoDB and works with Atlas only.

MCP Toolbox for Databases (Postgres and more)

The old reference PostgreSQL server is archived. For plain Postgres, Google's open source MCP Toolbox for Databases is a maintained option: its latest release, v1.13.1, shipped on 25 September 2026. Start it with --prebuilt=postgres for a standard tool set. It also covers MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, Redis and Google Cloud databases.

You run it yourself. If your Postgres is hosted, check the host first, because Supabase and others ship their own server.

Docs and search

Context7

Context7, from Upstash, puts current, version-specific library docs into the prompt. The aim is fewer calls to APIs that changed or never existed. It has two tools, resolve-library-id and query-docs.

It runs remotely at https://mcp.context7.com/mcp, or locally. A free API key raises the rate limits. At about 62,700 stars it is the most starred single server on this list.

Brave Search MCP

Web, news, image, video and local search through the Brave Search API. It runs locally over stdio by default. Set BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT=http to serve it over HTTP. You need a Brave Search API key, and the code is MIT licensed.

Firecrawl MCP

Firecrawl searches, scrapes and crawls sites into markdown or JSON. It runs remotely at https://mcp.firecrawl.dev/v2/mcp, or locally with npx -y firecrawl-mcp.

The scrape, search and parse tools work without an API key on a rate-limited free tier. crawl, map and agent need a key. About 7,600 stars.

Productivity

Each of these is hosted by the vendor, so there is nothing to install.

Notion MCP

Hosted by Notion at https://mcp.notion.com/mcp, with OAuth. It searches, reads, creates and updates the pages and databases you can already access. Notion says its older open source notion-mcp-server is no longer actively maintained.

Slack MCP

Remote at https://mcp.slack.com/mcp. It searches Slack, reads channels and threads, sends messages and manages canvases.

Slack lists Claude.ai, Claude Code, Perplexity and Cursor as partner clients that need no code. Beyond those, only internal apps or apps published in the Slack directory may use the server, and workspace admins approve each client.

Linear MCP

Finds, creates and updates issues, projects and comments at https://mcp.linear.app/mcp. A read-only endpoint sits at https://mcp.linear.app/mcp/readonly.

Atlassian Rovo MCP Server

Connects Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket at https://mcp.atlassian.com/v2/mcp. Sign-in is OAuth 2.1, and every action runs within the signed-in user's existing permissions.

Google Workspace

Google publishes remote MCP servers for Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, Chat and the People API. They are in Developer Preview. You have to join the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program, then set up a Google Cloud project and an OAuth client.

If that is too much setup, the community server taylorwilsdon/google_workspace_mcp covers Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Chat, Forms, Tasks and Drive. It has about 3,300 stars. Google does not back it.

Business tools

Payments, CRM and commerce vendors now ship their own servers too. Before you connect one, check what it lets the model write.

Stripe MCP

Remote at https://mcp.stripe.com, with OAuth or an agent API key. Instead of one tool per endpoint, Stripe exposes stripe_api_read and stripe_api_write, plus search_stripe_documentation.

Two details matter. Stripe makes a human confirm certain writes, such as refunds and outbound payments, through a link before they run. And from 31 October 2026 the server stops accepting full-access secret keys and restricted keys without the Agent tag.

HubSpot MCP

HubSpot's remote server left beta on 13 April 2026 and is generally available to all HubSpot accounts. It lives at https://mcp.hubspot.com and uses OAuth 2.1 with PKCE through a HubSpot app.

It reads and writes contacts, companies, deals, tickets and engagements such as calls, emails, meetings, notes and tasks. Campaigns, landing pages and blog posts are read-only. Everything stays within the user's HubSpot permissions.

Shopify

Shopify has three separate things, for three audiences.

• Merchants get official integrations for Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Muse. You install each from inside the AI tool. The Claude connector creates and updates products, collections and discount codes, sets inventory, and reads orders, customers and analytics. It cannot refund or cancel an order, and it connects one store at a time.
• Developers get the Dev MCP server. It runs locally with npx -y @shopify/dev-mcp@latest, serves docs and API schemas, and needs no sign-in.
• Shopping agents get catalog, cart and checkout servers under Shopify's Universal Commerce Protocol at https://{shop}/api/ucp/mcp. The catalog and cart tools on the older Storefront MCP endpoint have been removed.

Where PopMCP fits

We run PopMCP, so weigh this section with that in mind. It is not in the table above because it is not a vendor's own server.

PopMCP is a hosted MCP layer for business tools. It puts 100+ integrations, such as Shopify, Klaviyo, Meta Ads, GA4, Xero, QuickBooks and HubSpot, behind one URL: https://app.popmcp.com/mcp. Browse them on the MCP servers page.

It is the better pick when:

• You need more than one account of the same tool. Each client or brand gets its own workspace.
• You want one sign-in and one access model across ten tools, not ten separate setups.
• You need more of an API than the curated set. HubSpot has 1,000+ operations in PopMCP and QuickBooks has 133, reached through helper tools such as hubspot_search_tools and hubspot_raw_operation.

The vendor's own server is the better pick when:

• You use one tool, on one account, and its tool set covers you. A single Shopify store in Claude is a good example.
• You want a human approval step on risky writes. Stripe's server has one. PopMCP does not hold writes for review. A write runs when the model calls it.
• Your security team needs a SOC 2 report from every vendor. PopMCP does not claim one.

PopMCP does not drive a browser, read local files or fetch library docs. Use the servers above for those. For a fuller checklist, see how to choose an MCP provider.

How to pick MCP servers for your own stack

1. Start from the tools you open every day. Every connected server adds tool definitions to the model's context, and that space is limited. See MCP token limits.
2. Check who publishes it. Look at the repo owner or the vendor's docs. A community server can cover more ground than the official one, but nobody is obliged to fix it.
3. Prefer remote with OAuth for SaaS tools. That keeps API keys out of config files on laptops.
4. Use the read-only switch where one exists. Supabase has read_only=true, Linear has a /readonly endpoint and GitHub has --read-only.
5. For community servers, read the release history. A last release from a year ago tells you what to expect when the API changes.

Looking for a server that is not on this list? MCP server directories compared covers where to search and how to vet what you find.