Better Design vs Aria Icons
A side-by-side look at the Better Design and Aria Icons MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Better Design for developer tools work over a hosted endpoint; choose Aria Icons for developer tools as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Better Design when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
Choose Aria Icons when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Quality signal | 36/100 · Fair | 49/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner |
Tools & capabilities
Better Design tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Aria Icons tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste 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.
Better Design
{
"mcpServers": {
"better-design": {
"url": "https://better-design.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}
Aria Icons
{
"mcpServers": {
"aria-icons": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"aria-icons@latest"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Better Design is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Aria Icons belongs to Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Better Design for developer tools work and Aria Icons for developer tools.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Better Design has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Aria Icons is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add better-design and aria-icons as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Better Design has a quality signal of 36/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Aria Icons has 49/100 (Fair) with 2 views, 0 installs and 87 GitHub stars.