MCP registries compared 2026
Use the official MCP Registry when you publish a server, a directory such as Glama, PulseMCP or mcp.so when you browse, and the Docker MCP Catalog when you want signed container images. None of them is a trust check. The MCP Census is not a registry: it reads the registries and public evidence and returns PASS, REVIEW, BLOCK or UNKNOWN for a named server.
Who runs each one, and what it lists
Every statement about another site comes from the pages in the Sources list, read on 4 November 2026. Where a page does not say, this page says “not stated”. Counts are the sites’ own, on that day, and are not Census measurements.
| Registry | Who runs it | What is listed (as shown on the page) | Where it is stronger | Where it is weaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | The MCP project. Its docs say it is backed by contributors such as Anthropic, GitHub, PulseMCP and Microsoft. Preview status. | Metadata only (server.json) pointing at npm, PyPI, Docker Hub and similar packages, or at a public remote URL. No private servers. A server count is not published on the pages I read. | Reverse-DNS namespace tied to a verified GitHub account or domain, so a name proves who published it. | Less to browse: it is built for aggregators, and its docs say host apps should consume other registries. |
| Smithery | Smithery, now part of Arcade. The page says “MCP servers, now part of Arcade”. | A public directory powered by Arcade, plus a curated set of verified servers whose pages show the vendor’s direct MCP URL. No count shown. | Arcade-built tool listings sit beside community servers. | Its connection layer is gone: the API, Connect, accounts, CLI and proxy URLs stopped on 31 October 2026. |
| Glama | Glama. The page does not name a company; the “Updated 2026-11-04 00:50” stamp is theirs. | 115,336 servers (page title, 4 November 2026). Tags include Remote 45,340, Local 43,442, Official 7,606 and Claimed 10,144. | Largest listing here, with filters, usage and download sorting, and letter grades for licence, quality and maintenance. | The page does not define “Official”, “Claimed” or the grades. |
| PulseMCP | The page does not say. The official registry docs name PulseMCP as a backer. | 21,602 servers (page, undated; the title says “21,600+ updated daily”). | Labels servers Anthropic References, Official Providers or Community. | New submissions and listing changes are paused while it reworks ingestion. |
| mcp.so | The page does not name a company. Its FAQ calls it a community-driven platform. | A directory of servers, clients, CLI tools, skills and agents, with a Remote Servers section. No total shown. | Rankings, collections, a feed and a page of remote servers with authentication notes. | Its security answer is general advice, not a check of any listing. |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Docker. Servers are packaged as Docker images and distributed through Docker Hub. | “300+” servers (Docker docs), local and remote. | Docker builds and signs local servers; they carry provenance and SBOM metadata. | Smaller than the directories; runs through Docker Desktop’s MCP Toolkit. |
| The MCP Census | Jaco Veldsman, Australia. A census and trust layer, not a registry. | 57,777 server rows (read 4 November 2026). It does not publish per-registry totals for PulseMCP, mcp.so or Docker. | Official versus lookalike, repository and package health, advisories, hosted endpoint liveness. Decision per named server. | It hosts nothing and reads no tool descriptions or code. |
Submission, hosting, security and API
| Registry | Submission | Hosting and remote servers | Security and verification | API |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Publish with the mcp-publisher CLI. Authenticate by GitHub, DNS or HTTP challenge. The package is published first and the registry checks it matches. | Metadata for public remote URLs and for packages. It hosts no artifacts. | Namespace authentication. Security scanning is delegated to package registries and aggregators; manual takedown is listed. | Yes. REST at registry.modelcontextprotocol.io, no key in the quickstart example. |
| Smithery | Not addressed on the pages I read. | Its /future page says server URLs on run.tools and server.smithery.ai stopped on 31 October 2026. | No scanning or verification claim read. It mentions a curated set of verified servers. | Its API stopped on 31 October 2026. |
| Glama | An “Add Server” button; the steps are not shown on the pages I read. | Products list “MCP Hosting” and “MCP Gateway” without describing them. Tags show Remote and Local servers. | Letter grades per server; how they are assigned is not stated. | Yes. Base URL glama.ai/api/mcp, bearer key required for directory reads, 100 requests per second per IP. |
| PulseMCP | Paused. A Submit button exists; a notice says submissions reopen after the rework. | Not described on the page I read. | No security claim on the page. | Not mentioned on the page I read. |
| mcp.so | Submit at mcp.so/submit with a repository or server URL. You review the details, and listings go live after review. | Lists remote servers and says to check their authentication requirements. | No verification claim on the home page. Its FAQ advises granting small scopes. | Not mentioned on the page I read. |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Open a pull request on the docker/mcp-registry GitHub repository. After approval it is available within 24 hours. | Local servers run as containers on your machine. Remote servers run on the provider’s infrastructure, often with OAuth. | Signed images, provenance and SBOM. The docs I read do not mention vulnerability scanning. | Not described on the pages I read. |
| The MCP Census | /submit queues a missing server for an evidence check. It does not feature it. | Hosts nothing. For a hosted endpoint it records whether a public handshake answers. | PASS, REVIEW, BLOCK or UNKNOWN from public evidence. Not a malware scan. | Yes. REST, MCP and a keyless allowance; API docs. |
Cost: none of the pages I read for the official registry, Glama, PulseMCP, mcp.so or Docker states a price for browsing or for the directory API. Smithery says every charge since 5 August is refunded and subscriptions are cancelled. The Census has a free allowance and paid plans on pricing.
Smithery has changed the most. A page I read on 15 October 2026 described it as connecting agents to tools; on 4 November its own site says that layer stopped on 31 October. If you built on Smithery’s API or proxy URLs, read its notice first. The earlier note is at MCP Census and Smithery.
What the Census sees
Read from api.mcpcensus.com/v1/coverage on 4 November 2026 at 00:56 UTC. The Census builds its list from the official registry plus servers found elsewhere, so these are servers it holds rows for, not a count of any one registry.
| Measure | Count |
|---|---|
| Server rows | 57,777 |
| Publisher proven by DNS domain | 24,337 |
| Publisher proven by GitHub organisation | 32,903 |
| Publisher not proven | 537 |
| Hosted endpoint capable | 37,521 (24,029 answered a handshake, 900 did not, 12,829 unchecked) |
| Cited by the Glama catalog | 13,054 |
| Listed in awesome-mcp-servers | 2,811 |
| Listed in Smithery | 493 |
The Glama, awesome-mcp-servers and Smithery rows are citation flags the Census records. They are not those sites’ quality scores. The Census records no flag for PulseMCP, mcp.so or the Docker catalog.
Which to use
- Publishing a server. The official registry. Directories pull from it, and the name is tied to your GitHub account or domain.
- Browsing. Glama for the widest list and an API, mcp.so for its remote server page, PulseMCP for its labels. Each is a directory; a listing is not a review.
- Signed local images. The Docker MCP Catalog, if you already use Docker Desktop.
- Before you install. Look up the exact name on the Census, then follow how to check an MCP server is safe. The older note on the official registry is registry vs census.
One-off check, no account:
census · look up a server
curl -s 'https://api.mcpcensus.com/v1/search?q=github'Questions
Which MCP registry should I use?
It depends on the job. To publish a server, use the official MCP Registry, because its namespaces are tied to a verified GitHub account or domain and other directories pull from it. To browse, use Glama, PulseMCP or mcp.so. To run signed container images, use the Docker MCP Catalog. Before you install anything, check the exact server on the MCP Census, because no registry listed here says a listing is safe.
What is the difference between Smithery, Glama and PulseMCP?
All three are directories you browse. On 4 November 2026 Smithery’s own page said its connection services (API, accounts, CLI, proxy URLs) had shut down on 31 October and that it continues as a public directory powered by Arcade. Glama showed 115,336 servers, letter grades for each server, and a documented API that needs a key. PulseMCP showed 21,602 servers and a notice that new submissions are paused.
Is the official MCP Registry the same as a marketplace?
No. Its docs say it is a metadata repository, still in preview, intended to be consumed mainly by downstream aggregators, and that host applications should consume other registries rather than it directly. It delegates security scanning to package registries and downstream aggregators.
Is the MCP Census a registry?
No. It does not host or list servers for you to install from. It reads the official registry each day, adds servers found elsewhere, and cross-checks GitHub, npm, PyPI, hosted endpoints and advisories. It returns a decision for a named server and says UNKNOWN when it has no row.
Does a listing on any of these registries mean a server is safe?
No. None of the pages I read claims that a listing is a security review. Docker says it builds and signs its local servers and ships provenance and SBOM metadata, which tells you where an image came from, not what the server does. Check the exact server, review its tools and secrets, and scan it in a sandbox if you want a second look.
Sources read on 4 November 2026
- Official MCP Registry docs: about, trust and security, spam prevention
- Official MCP Registry quickstart: publishing with mcp-publisher
- Official MCP Registry front page and REST API
- Smithery home page (banner, “now part of Arcade”)
- Smithery: what is changing, shutdown on 31 October 2026
- Glama MCP server directory (count, tags, grades, Add Server)
- Glama MCP directory API reference (key, rate limit)
- PulseMCP server directory (count, submissions notice)
- mcp.so home page and FAQ (submission, remote servers)
- Docker docs: MCP Catalog (300+, signing, provenance, SBOM, submission)
- Docker MCP Catalog on Docker Hub (contribute link)
- MCP Census coverage API, read 4 November 2026 (00:56 UTC)
Not independently tested: this page reports what each site says about itself. A page that returned nothing useful is marked “not stated”. Corrections: [email protected].