MCP Server Frameworks Comparison

Quick Selection Guide

This guide helps you quickly choose a framework based on its primary strengths:

Feature Comparison

Compare the frameworks side-by-side across various features.

Feature	`@modelcontextprotocol/sdk`	`Cloudflare agents`	`fastmcp`	`mcp-framework`
Primary Goal	Core MCP Implementation	Stateful Edge AI Agents	MCP Server w/ Sessions	DX-focused MCP Framework
MCP Compliance	Official Standard	High (Agent-focused)	High	High (Uses official SDK)
Architecture	Low-level Primitives	Actor Model (Workers)	Session-centric	Convention over Config
Transports	`stdio`, `HTTP (SSE)`	`HTTP (SSE)`, `WebSockets`	`SSE`, `stdio`	`stdio`, `SSE`, `HTTP Stream`
State Management	Manual	Built-in (Durable Objects)	Session-based	Manual/Per-Request
Authentication	Manual	Via Cloudflare Access/OAuth	Built-in	Built-in (SSE)
Developer Experience (DX)	Foundational	High (Integrated CF)	High (Specific Features)	High (CLI, Conventions)
CLI Tooling	None	`wrangler`	Testing utilities	Yes (`mcp`)
Deployment	Local/Any Server	Cloudflare Workers	Local/Any Server	Local/Any Server

Feature	`@modelcontextprotocol/sdk`	`Cloudflare agents`	`fastmcp`	`mcp-framework`
Primary Goal	Core MCP Implementation	Stateful Edge AI Agents	MCP Server w/ Sessions	DX-focused MCP Framework
MCP Compliance	Official Standard	High (Agent-focused)	High	High (Uses official SDK)
Architecture	Low-level Primitives	Actor Model (Workers)	Session-centric	Convention over Config
Transports	`stdio`, `HTTP (SSE)`	`HTTP (SSE)`, `WebSockets`	`SSE`, `stdio`	`stdio`, `SSE`, `HTTP Stream`
State Management	Manual	Built-in (Durable Objects)	Session-based	Manual/Per-Request
Authentication	Manual	Via Cloudflare Access/OAuth	Built-in	Built-in (SSE)
Developer Experience (DX)	Foundational	High (Integrated CF)	High (Specific Features)	High (CLI, Conventions)
CLI Tooling	None	`wrangler`	Testing utilities	Yes (`mcp`)
Deployment	Local/Any Server	Cloudflare Workers	Local/Any Server	Local/Any Server

Feature	@modelcontextprotocol/sdk	Cloudflare agents	fastmcp	mcp-framework	Notes
Protocol Compliance
MCP Specification Conformance	◯	◯	◯	◯	All implementations follow MCP spec
Tools Support	◯	◯	◯	◯
Resources Support	◯	△	◯	◯	Cloudflare: Limited support, coming soon
Prompts Support	◯	△	◯	◯	Cloudflare: In development
Sampling Support	◯	△	◯	△	`fastmcp`: Explicit sampling support
Transport Options
`stdio`	◯	✗	◯	◯	Cloudflare: Designed for remote use only
`HTTP/SSE`	◯	◯	◯	◯	Standard remote transport
Streamable HTTP	△	◯	△	△	Evolving transport method, `mcp-framework` has experimental support
WebSocket Support	✗	△	✗	✗	Cloudflare: Planned for future
Deployment
Local Deployment	◯	✗	◯	◯	`agents` requires remote adapter for local
Remote Deployment	◯	◯	◯	◯
Cloud Integration	△	◯	△	✗	Cloudflare: Native Workers integration
Authentication & Security
Basic Authentication	Manual	Via Cloudflare Access	◯	△ (SSE Only)	`fastmcp`: Built-in support
OAuth Support	Manual	◯	Manual	✗	Cloudflare: Built-in OAuth provider
Session Management	Manual	◯ (Durable Objects)	◯	Manual	`fastmcp`: Core feature
Developer Experience
Documentation Quality	◯	◯	◯	△	`mcp-framework`: Improving
Examples & Templates	◯	◯	◯	△	`mcp-framework`: Relies on CLI
TypeScript Support	◯	◯	◯	◯	All are TS-first
Type Safety	◯	◯	◯	◯	Strong typing via Zod/TS
CLI Testing Tools	✗	◯ (`wrangler`)	◯	◯ (`mcp`)	`mcp-framework` CLI for scaffolding/running
Hot Reloading	✗	◯ (`wrangler dev`)	△	△ (`mcp dev`)	Framework dependent
Features
Progress Notifications	◯	△	◯	△
Error Handling	Basic	Framework-level	◯	Framework-level	`fastmcp`: Comprehensive handling
Logging	Basic	Integrated (CF)	◯	Basic	`fastmcp`: Built-in logging
CORS Support	Manual	◯	◯	△ (SSE Only)	Necessary for web clients
Image Content Support	◯	◯	◯	△	Standard in MCP
Automated SSE Pings	Manual	◯	◯	✗	Keep-alive for SSE
Cancellation Support	◯	◯	◯	△	Standard in MCP
Ecosystem
Community Support	◯ (Official)	◯ (Cloudflare)	◯ (Active)	△ (Growing)
Active Development	◯	◯	◯	◯	All are actively maintained
Production Readiness	◯	◯	◯	◯	All are used in production
External Services Integration	Manual	◯ (Workers)	Manual	Manual	Cloudflare shines here

Legend:

◯ Full support / Built-in: Feature is well-implemented and documented.
△ Partial / Manual / Basic: Feature exists but may require manual setup, is basic, or is under development.
✗ No support: Feature is not supported or not applicable.

Deployment Models: Local vs. Remote

Understand the trade-offs between running your MCP server locally or remotely.

Local MCP Servers

Run directly on the user’s machine, typically communicating via stdio.

Primary Communication Method: stdio (Standard Input/Output) Best suited for: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, fastmcp, mcp-framework

Framework Deep Dive

Explore the core philosophy, features, typical use cases, and code examples for each framework.

Overview & Philosophy

Understand the main goal and design principles behind each framework.

Goal: Provide the official, foundational TypeScript implementation of the MCP specification.
Philosophy: Offer low-level primitives (Server, Resource, Tool, Prompt) for maximum control and strict spec adherence. Does not impose structure beyond the MCP core.
Nature: A library/SDK, not a full framework. Forms the base for other frameworks like mcp-framework.

Key Features

Highlighting the standout features of each framework.

Spec Compliance: Full, official implementation of the MCP specification.
Core Primitives: Exports fundamental classes/interfaces (Server, Resource, Tool, Prompt).
Transport Flexibility: Supports stdio and HTTP/SSE.
Extensibility: Designed as a base for other frameworks or direct use.
Minimalist: No built-in session management, auto-discovery, or advanced features; requires manual implementation.

Code Examples

Illustrative examples of defining a simple “add” tool in each framework.

import { Server } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";

const AddToolSchema = {
  name: "add",
  description: "Add two numbers together",
  parameters: z.object({
    a: z.number(),
    b: z.number(),
  }),
};

const server = new Server({ name: "sdk-example-server", version: "1.0.0" }, {
  capabilities: { tools: {} } 
});

server.setToolHandler(AddToolSchema, async (params) => {
  const { a, b } = params;
  const sum = a + b;
  return {
    content: [{ type: "text", text: String(sum) }]
  };
});

const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);
console.log("SDK Server connected via stdio");

import { Server } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";

const AddToolSchema = {
  name: "add",
  description: "Add two numbers together",
  parameters: z.object({
    a: z.number(),
    b: z.number(),
  }),
};

const server = new Server({ name: "sdk-example-server", version: "1.0.0" }, {
  capabilities: { tools: {} } 
});

server.setToolHandler(AddToolSchema, async (params) => {
  const { a, b } = params;
  const sum = a + b;
  return {
    content: [{ type: "text", text: String(sum) }]
  };
});

const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);
console.log("SDK Server connected via stdio");

import { McpAgent } from "agents/mcp"; 
import { z } from "zod";

export class AdditionAgent extends McpAgent {
  server = new McpServer({ name: "cloudflare-agent-adder", version: "1.0.0" });

  async init() {
    this.server.tool(
      "add",
      { 
        a: z.number().describe("First number to add"),
        b: z.number().describe("Second number to add")
      },
      async ({ a, b }) => { 
        const sum = a + b;
        return {
          content: [{ type: "text", text: String(sum) }],
        };
      }
    );
  }
}

import { FastMCP } from "fastmcp";
import { z } from "zod";

const server = new FastMCP({
  name: "fastmcp-addition-server",
  version: "1.0.0",
});

server.addTool({
  name: "add",
  description: "Add two numbers together",
  parameters: z.object({
    a: z.number().describe("First number to add"),
    b: z.number().describe("Second number to add"),
  }),
  execute: async (args: { a: number; b: number }): Promise<string> => {
    const sum = args.a + args.b;
    return String(sum); 
  },
});

server.start({
  transportType: "stdio",
}).then(() => {
  console.log("FastMCP Server started via stdio");
}).catch(console.error);

import { Tool } from "mcp-framework";
import { z } from "zod";

export class AdditionTool extends Tool {
  name = "add";
  description = "Add two numbers together";

  parameters = z.object({
    a: z.number().describe("First number to add"),
    b: z.number().describe("Second number to add")
  });

  async execute({ a, b }: { a: number; b: number }): Promise<string> {
    const sum = a + b;
    return String(sum); 
  }
}

Best For

Summarizing the ideal scenarios for choosing each framework.

Best For:

Production Implementations: Where stability and official support are key.
Strict Compliance: Projects needing precise adherence to the MCP spec.
Framework Builders: As a foundation for creating higher-level MCP frameworks.
Maximum Control: When fine-grained control over server behavior is required.
Learning MCP: Understanding the core protocol mechanics.

Making Your Choice: Key Questions

Consider these factors when selecting your framework:

Further Resources

Official documentation and repositories for each framework.

Contents

Comparison of MCP Server Frameworks

MCP Server Frameworks Comparison

Quick Selection Guide

Feature Comparison

Deployment Models: Local vs. Remote

Local MCP Servers

Local MCP Servers

Remote MCP Servers

Framework Deep Dive

Overview & Philosophy

Key Features

Code Examples

Best For

Making Your Choice: Key Questions

Further Resources

Contents

​ MCP Server Frameworks Comparison

​ Quick Selection Guide

​ Feature Comparison

​ Deployment Models: Local vs. Remote

​ Local MCP Servers

​ Local MCP Servers

​ Remote MCP Servers

​ Framework Deep Dive

​ Overview & Philosophy

​ Key Features

​ Code Examples

​ Best For

​ Making Your Choice: Key Questions

​ Further Resources

MCP Server Frameworks Comparison

Quick Selection Guide

Feature Comparison

Deployment Models: Local vs. Remote

Local MCP Servers

Local MCP Servers

Remote MCP Servers

Framework Deep Dive

Overview & Philosophy

Key Features

Code Examples

Best For

Making Your Choice: Key Questions

Further Resources