Sec vs Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP
A side-by-side look at the Sec and Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Sec for finance & fintech work as a local process; choose Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP for finance & fintech as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Sec when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Finance & Fintech domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_companies, get_company_filings, get_company_facts.
Choose Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Finance & Fintech domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
REF_API_KEY. - You want tools like
query, url.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Finance & Fintech | Finance & Fintech |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 63/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | REF_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 1,183 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 3 | 2 |
| Full listing | View Sec | View Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Sec tools 3
search_companiesSearch SEC EDGAR for companies by name or ticker symbol. Returns matching company names and their CIK numbers, which are needed for other SEC tools.get_company_filingsGet recent SEC filings for a company by CIK number, ticker, or company name. Returns filing dates, form types, and accession numbers. Optionally filter by form type (e.g., "10-K", "10-Q", "8-K").get_company_factsGet XBRL financial facts for a company by CIK number, ticker, or company name. Returns latest_annual — revenue, net income, operating income, total assets, liabilities, equity, cash, EPS and shares for the most recent fiscal year (10-K), resolved to whichever XBRL concept the filer currently reports under — plus per-concept detail with the fiscal year and period end on every figure. Concepts the filer has retired (e.g. a pre-ASC-606 Revenues tag) are kept for history but flagged stale and sorted last.
Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP tools 2
queryurl
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.
Sec
{
"mcpServers": {
"sec": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-sec"
]
}
}
}
Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref-tools-ref-tools-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"ref-tools-mcp@latest"
],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": "YOUR_REF_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Sec is categorized under Finance & Fintech and uses a local stdio subprocess. Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP belongs to Finance & Fintech and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Sec for finance & fintech work and Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP for finance & fintech.
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.
Sec has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. 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 sec and ref-tools-ref-tools-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Sec has a quality signal of 56/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP has 63/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1,183 GitHub stars.