The Real Cost vs FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp)
A side-by-side look at the The Real Cost and FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
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The Real CostFinance & Fintech · Local subprocess (stdio)Free US money calculators with the math shown, from The Real Cost. Education only.53GoodAuth: no auth requiredVerdict: choose The Real Cost for finance & fintech work as a local process; choose FinanceRateCalc (frc 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?
TChoose The Real Cost when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Finance & Fintech domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
credit_card_payoff, debt_consolidation, loan_cost_by_term.
Choose FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Finance & Fintech domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
get_national_fha_stats, get_lender_denial_stats, list_lenders.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | T The Real Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Finance & Fintech | Finance & Fintech |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 81/100 · Excellent |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Verified |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 8 views 2 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 6 | 5 |
| Full listing | View The Real Cost | View FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) |
Tools & capabilities
The Real Cost tools 6
credit_card_payoffMonths and total interest to clear a card balance paying only the minimum, versus a fixed monthly payment.debt_consolidationCurrent debts versus one consolidation loan, including the origination fee (taken out of the loan, soloan_cost_by_termMonthly payment, total interest and total paid for one loan over several terms.crypto_trade_costTrading fee, spread and network fees on a buy and a later sale at the same price, the price riseemergency_fundGoal = monthly expenses x months to cover. Months to reach it, and the monthly amount needed to reachlist_guidesNo inputs. Returns the ten guides (title, subtitle, pages, what each covers, price), the complete
FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) tools 5
get_national_fha_statsNational FHA denial statistics from the 2025 federal record (denial rate on decisioned applications, volumes). Historical observation computed from the public CFPB HMDA 2025 record (denominator: actions 1,2,3; loan_type 2). Not a prediction about any individual application, and not a recommendation for or against any lender. Attribution: FinanceRateCalc (financeratecalc.com), CC BY 4.0.get_lender_denial_statsFHA denial statistics for one lender by name, slug, or LEI: actual denial rate, peer-median comparison, mix-adjusted expected rate. Top-100 FHA lenders by volume are covered. Historical observation computed from the public CFPB HMDA 2025 record (denominator: actions 1,2,3; loan_type 2). Not a prediction about any individual application, and not a recommendation for or against any lender. Attribution: FinanceRateCalc (financeratecalc.com), CC BY 4.0.list_lendersList covered FHA lenders sorted by denial rate (highest/lowest) or volume. Useful to see how widely the same federal program is applied across doors (2025 span: 1.8% to 78.7%). Historical observation computed from the public CFPB HMDA 2025 record (denominator: actions 1,2,3; loan_type 2). Not a prediction about any individual application, and not a recommendation for or against any lender. Attribution: FinanceRateCalc (financeratecalc.com), CC BY 4.0.get_state_denial_statsFHA denial statistics for a US state (two-letter code), including the small-loan vs large-loan gap where published. Historical observation computed from the public CFPB HMDA 2025 record (denominator: actions 1,2,3; loan_type 2). Not a prediction about any individual application, and not a recommendation for or against any lender. Attribution: FinanceRateCalc (financeratecalc.com), CC BY 4.0.get_door_effect_summaryThe Door Effect: variance decomposition across 859,090 FHA decisions — 38% of explainable variation in denial outcomes is attributable to lender identity rather than the applicant's file, plus mix-adjusted strictest/most-lenient lender tables. Historical observation computed from the public CFPB HMDA 2025 record (denominator: actions 1,2,3; loan_type 2). Not a prediction about any individual application, and not a recommendation for or against any lender. Attribution: FinanceRateCalc (financeratecalc.com), CC BY 4.0.
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.
The Real Cost
{
"mcpServers": {
"the-real-cost": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"--from",
"git+https://github.com/NoBanks/therealcost-mcp",
"therealcost-mcp"
]
}
}
}
FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp)
{
"mcpServers": {
"financeratecalc-frc-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"frc-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
The Real Cost is categorized under Finance & Fintech and uses a local stdio subprocess. FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) belongs to Finance & Fintech and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick The Real Cost for finance & fintech work and FinanceRateCalc (frc 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.
The Real Cost is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) 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 the-real-cost and financeratecalc-frc-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, The Real Cost has a quality signal of 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. FinanceRateCalc (frc Mcp) has 81/100 (Excellent) with 8 views, 2 installs and 0 GitHub stars.