# MCP Tools (mcptools) alternatives > Looking for an alternative to MCP Tools (mcptools)? Below are the mcp servers in our index that do a similar job — open-source options are ranked by real maintained adoption (GitHub stars and recent commit activity), never by sponsorship. MCP Tools (mcptools) is open source, so the list below includes both other self-hostable projects and commercial products. Browse on the web: https://agentsearchengine.app/alternatives/mcptools ## Open-source alternatives (ranked by adoption) 1. [MCP Inspector (official)](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/mcp-inspector) — The official developer tool for inspecting and testing MCP servers from a web UI, CLI or terminal UI. · Free · Infrastructure · 11k★ · TypeScript · active today · best for checking what an mcp server exposes and how it responds while you build it - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; MCP Inspector (official) in TypeScript. 2. [agentgateway](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/agentgateway) — An open-source Rust proxy for agent-to-LLM, agent-to-tool (MCP) and agent-to-agent (A2A) traffic. · Open source · Infrastructure · 5.0k★ · Rust · Apache-2.0 · active today · best for teams running many agents who need central policy, spend control and telemetry for llm, tool and agent calls - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; agentgateway in Rust. 3. [ContextForge (IBM MCP Context Forge)](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/contextforge) — IBM's open-source gateway and registry that federates MCP, A2A and REST/gRPC APIs behind one governed endpoint. · Open source · Infrastructure · 4.5k★ · Python · Apache-2.0 · active today · best for platform teams that need one governed entry point for many mcp servers, agents and apis - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; ContextForge (IBM MCP Context Forge) in Python. 4. [Snyk Agent Scan](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/snyk-agent-scan) — Discover and scan the agents, MCP servers and skills on your machine for prompt injection and vulnerabilities. · Open source · Infrastructure · 3.1k★ · Python · Apache-2.0 · active today · best for auditing which mcp servers and skills are installed on a machine and whether any are risky - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; Snyk Agent Scan in Python. 5. [mcp-proxy](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/mcp-proxy) — Bridge MCP transports: run a remote SSE or streamable HTTP server over stdio, or expose a stdio server over HTTP. · Open source · Infrastructure · 2.8k★ · Python · MIT · active 2 months ago · best for making a local stdio server reachable over the network, or the reverse - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; mcp-proxy in Python. 6. [MCPHub](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/mcphub) — A self-hosted MCP gateway and control plane for connecting, routing and operating many MCP servers. · Open source · Infrastructure · 2.5k★ · TypeScript · Apache-2.0 · active today · best for sharing one set of mcp servers across claude code, cursor, cherry studio and other clients - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; MCPHub in TypeScript. 7. [MCPJam Inspector](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/mcpjam-inspector) — An open-source testing and evaluation platform for MCP servers, MCP apps and ChatGPT apps. · Open source · Infrastructure · 2.2k★ · TypeScript · active today · best for server authors checking that their mcp server behaves the same in chatgpt, claude and cursor - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; MCPJam Inspector in TypeScript. 8. [MCP Bundles (MCPB)](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/mcpb) — A format and CLI for packaging local MCP servers as one-click installable bundles for desktop apps. · Open source · Infrastructure · 2.1k★ · TypeScript · active 3 months ago · best for distributing a local mcp server to non-technical users with one-click install - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; MCP Bundles (MCPB) in TypeScript. 9. [mcp-remote](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/mcp-remote) — Connect MCP clients that only support local stdio servers to remote MCP servers, with OAuth support. · Open source · Infrastructure · 1.6k★ · TypeScript · MIT · active 2 days ago · best for using a hosted mcp server from a client that only accepts command-based servers - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** MCP Tools (mcptools) is written primarily in Go; mcp-remote in TypeScript. 10. [Docker MCP Gateway](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/docker-mcp-gateway) — The docker mcp CLI plugin and gateway behind Docker Desktop's MCP Toolkit, for running MCP servers in containers. · Open source · Infrastructure · 1.6k★ · Go · MIT · active 6 days ago · best for running third-party mcp servers in isolated containers from a curated catalogue - **vs MCP Tools (mcptools):** Best for running third-party MCP servers in isolated containers from a curated catalogue. Showing the 10 closest of 163 mcp servers indexed here. Complete list: https://agentsearchengine.app/category/mcp-servers ## FAQ **What is the best alternative to MCP Tools (mcptools)?** MCP Inspector (official) is the most widely-adopted open-source alternative in our index (11k GitHub stars). The full ranked list is above — the best fit depends on your language, license, and budget. **Is there a free or open-source alternative to MCP Tools (mcptools)?** Yes. MCP Inspector (official), agentgateway, and ContextForge (IBM MCP Context Forge) are open-source mcp servers you can self-host for free — you still pay for the infrastructure you run them on and any model or API usage. See the ranked open-source list above. **How are these MCP Tools (mcptools) alternatives ranked?** Every product in the mcp servers category is a candidate. Open-source alternatives are ranked by maintained adoption — GitHub stars plus recent commit activity — so you see what's genuinely used, not abandoned. Commercial products are listed separately and alphabetically, because stars don't measure commercial adoption. Sponsored placement is always labeled and never affects the ranking. --- Source: [Agent Search Engine](https://agentsearchengine.app) — https://agentsearchengine.app/alternatives/mcptools