A side-by-side look at the Apify MCP Server and Brave Search MCP Server MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Apify MCP Server for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose Brave Search MCP Server for search & data extraction over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
title, readOnlyHint, true.BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT.query, country, search_lang.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 64/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Freemium |
| Required env vars | None listed | BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 10,672 | 1,496 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 9 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 10 | 54 |
| Full listing | View Apify MCP Server | View Brave Search MCP Server |
titlereadOnlyHinttrueget-datasetfetch-actor-detailsapify--web-fetchopenWorldHintcall-actorsearch-actorsfetch-apify-docsquerycountrysearch_langui_langcountoffsetsafesearchfreshnesstext_decorationsspellcheckresult_filtergogglesPaste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@apify/actors-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"brave-brave-search-mcp-server": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp"
}
}
}