Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison
Alpaca vs Tldraw
In-depth architectural comparison of the Alpaca and Tldraw MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Alpaca
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Tldraw
Developer Tools · Local stdio
Quality: 52/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Alpaca if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose Tldraw if your workspace requires Developer Tools integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's
mcpServers manifest.Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
A
Choose Alpaca when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
- Primary tools included: alpaca_snapshot, alpaca_bars, alpaca_intraday_vwap.
T
Choose Tldraw when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Feature & Specification Comparison
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
Alpaca Tools (3)
alpaca_snapshot
Real-time US stock snapshot with extended-hours coverage: latest trade price, bid/ask quote, today's OHLCV, previous close, change and change % vs previous close, plus the latest minute bar with its VWAP — during pre-market and after-hours the minute bar IS the live extended-hours price. Answers "p…
alpaca_bars
Historical US stock OHLCV bars with per-bar VWAP and trade count. Timeframes 1Min/5Min/15Min/1Hour/1Day; intraday bars include pre-market and after-hours sessions on the IEX feed. Each bar: {t, o, h, l, c, v, vwap, trades}. Use start/end ISO timestamps or a lookback shorthand like "2h", "5d". Multi…
alpaca_intraday_vwap
Current session VWAP for US stocks — is the price above or below VWAP right now? Fetches today's 1-minute bars from 04:00 ET (pre-market included), computes the cumulative volume-weighted average price, and compares it to the latest trade. Returns current_price, session_vwap, above_vwap, and sessio…
Tldraw Tools (0)
No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Alpaca Configuration
Tldraw Configuration