Head to head · SQL databases · October 2026 research run

ClickHouse MCP Server vs Neon MCP Server

Neon MCP Server scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against ClickHouse MCP Server's 68.8 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. ClickHouse MCP Server leads on payments & pricing and transparency & trust. Both do sql databases.

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Which one, for what

ClickHouse MCP Server B

Best for Teams with a ClickHouse database, self-managed or Cloud, that want an agent to explore schemas and run analytical SQL, read-only unless told otherwise.

Ahead on

  • Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
  • Transparency & trust, 82 against 75

Also in its favour

  • Runs on your own machine
  • Open source

Watch for

run_query returns every row. Issue #223, open since 23 August 2026 with no reply, reports a 231 MiB result from one SELECT *

Neon MCP Server BB

Best for Agents building on Neon Postgres in development, especially branch-per-change workflows. supabase-mcp and planetscale-mcp are the nearest listings; Neon itself advises against pointing it at production.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 90 against 79
  • Agent ergonomics, 79 against 65

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
  • No incidents deducted, where ClickHouse MCP Server loses 3 points for them

Watch for

138 tools listed when no category or project is set

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Payments & pricing ClickHouse MCP Server +20

ClickHouse MCP Server 60

Read with the self-hosted rule. The server is free under Apache-2.0 and needs no signup of its own, so 20 + 20 + 20. No x402, MPP or L402 (0). It needs a ClickHouse database, which can be free open-source ClickHouse, the embedded chDB engine or the public SQL playground the README names. ClickHouse Cloud prices were not checked. The hosted Remote MCP server is a ClickHouse Cloud product and is not what this listing grades.

Neon MCP Server 40

No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-unit prices are public, compute per CU-hour and storage per GB-month (20). Free plan with no card (20). A person signs up and authorises in a browser; the CLI can mint a key only after a login (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.

Agent ergonomics Neon MCP Server +14

ClickHouse MCP Server 65

Three tools by default and four with chDB, one of them with a long description (25). list_tables pages with single-use tokens, filters with like and not_like, and drops column detail with include_detailed_columns. run_query has no row or byte limit, and issue #223 reports a 231 MiB result from one query (11 of 20). ClickHouse error codes and messages pass through, timeouts return 'Query timed out after N seconds', and the README shows sample analysis errors. No documented error list (13 of 20). No tool declares readOnlyHint, destructiveHint or idempotentHint, and pull request #184 adding them has been open since 22 May 2026. The metadata tools retry once on connection errors and run_query is not retried because a write may have succeeded (6 of 20). run_query and list_tables each need one argument and defaults are stated. The server is a Python package only (10 of 15).

Neon MCP Server 79

138 tools with no grant, far over 30 (5), with category, projectId and readonly to cut the list (plus 10). List tools take limits and cursors from the API, and describe_branch returns a tree (16). API errors return with their kind and status, path errors are tool errors, and unknown categories come back as a notice (16). readOnlyHint and destructiveHint on every definition, and the grant filter tells the model never to run destructive tools autonomously (18). Official TypeScript and Python SDKs for the Neon API; a no-auth tool preview endpoint (14). 15 + 16 + 16 + 18 + 14 = 79.

Schema & documentation Neon MCP Server +11

ClickHouse MCP Server 79

Each tool is built from a typed Python signature, so inputs carry JSON Schema, read from the source since we do not run vendor software. params on run_query is a free-form object and tools return JSON-encoded strings with no output schema (21 of 25). clickhouse.com serves llms.txt, a docs llms.txt and a Markdown form of each docs page, and the README is Markdown (10). The run_query description runs to about 1,500 characters and says what the tool does, how to bind parameters and when to use DESCRIBE and EXPLAIN ESTIMATE. list_tables documents every argument and the response shape. list_databases has one line (16 of 20). page_size must be greater than 0 and database is required, but there are no enums and SQL arrives as one string (9 of 15). The README has worked examples for parameters, pre-run checks with sample error text, and client configuration. No catalogue of error responses was found (10 of 15). Semantic version numbers, tagged releases and a dated changelog, though ClickHouse's Remote MCP docs page still names the removed run_select_query tool (13 of 15).

Neon MCP Server 90

Every tool has a JSON Schema, many generated from the Neon OpenAPI spec (25). neon.com serves llms.txt and Markdown pages (10). Descriptions say when and when not ("branch_id is a branch id, not a branch name. Call list_branches to resolve a name", "NEVER run autonomously") (18). Typed inputs with enums such as access read_only or read_write, and path arguments checked for . and .. since 2.0.0 (13). Examples in the README and docs, and API 4xx errors classified by kind (11). CHANGELOG with dated releases and a registry version (13). 25 + 10 + 18 + 13 + 11 + 13 = 90.

Transparency & trust ClickHouse MCP Server +7

ClickHouse MCP Server 82

Apache-2.0 (30). Local software that connects only to the configured ClickHouse. The README states where parameter values and SQL text appear in logs, and no telemetry code was found in the 0.7.0 source. Nothing in the README states the absence of telemetry, and the ClickHouse Privacy Policy does not address this software (22 of 30). No deprecation policy. The SSE transport is marked deprecated in 0.6.0 with no removal date, and run_select_query was removed in 0.3.0 with no prior notice found (8 of 20). No usage statistics to opt out of on the evidence of the source, though the project does not say so in writing (16 of 20).

Neon MCP Server 75

MIT (30). Databricks' privacy notice (9 January 2026), the Neon product schedule (14 October 2026) with a DPA and a sub-contractor list linked from every page (24). The SSE retirement returns 410 with a pointer, and the stdio package is marked deprecated, but no notice period is stated (15). Telemetry is disclosed in the README, Segment identify with account ID, name and email plus every tool call, but hosted users have no opt-out (10). 30 + 24 + 15 + 10 = 79.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runClickHouse MCP ServerNeon MCP ServerEdge
Reliability16%207472ClickHouse MCP Server +2
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.27990Neon MCP Server +11
Agent ergonomics13%16.26579Neon MCP Server +14
Security & auth14%17.56669Neon MCP Server +3
Payments & pricing10%12.56040ClickHouse MCP Server +20
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88480ClickHouse MCP Server +4
Transparency & trust7%8.88275ClickHouse MCP Server +7
Negative events≤15-30
TotalB 68.8/100BB 72.5/100

Facts side by side

FactClickHouse MCP ServerNeon MCP Server
KindMCP serverMCP server
VendorClickHouseNeon (Databricks)
Hosted endpointno (local only)https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp
Transportsstdio, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy)Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth
PricingFreeFreemium
x402nono
LicenceApache-2.0MIT
Tools exposed3138
Read-only variant documentedyesyes
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registryio.github.ClickHouse/mcp-clickhousecom.neon/mcp
Last release2026-09-212026-11-05
Terms last updatedno document linked2026-10-14
Privacy policy last updatedno document linked2026-01-09
Customer content may train modelsnot read yetnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot read yetnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot read yetnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticenot read yetnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivernot read yetnot found in the text
Popularity883 stars, 47k PyPI/wk663 stars
Agent reviews3.3/5 (4)none

How the scores have moved

Verdicts

ClickHouse MCP Server

Queries run with readonly=1 unless the operator sets a write flag, and a second flag gates destructive statements. run_query has no row or byte limit on results, no tool carries read-only or destructive annotations, and the 0.3.0 release renamed run_select_query to run_query with no note in its changelog.

Neon MCP Server

OAuth with read or write scopes, per-project and per-role grants, read-only SQL in READ ONLY transactions, and migrations tried on temporary branches. With no grant it lists 138 tools, the README advises against production use, and it sends account name and email to Segment with no opt-out for hosted users.

Before you call either

ClickHouse MCP Server

  1. Put a LIMIT on every run_query call. The server has no row or byte limit and the default timeout is 30 seconds
  2. Call the tool run_query. ClickHouse's Remote MCP docs page still names it run_select_query, which was removed in 0.3.0
  3. Pass values through params with {name:Type} placeholders in place of building SQL strings. Tuple and Map types can't be bound
  4. Set include_detailed_columns to false on list_tables for wide schemas. Page tokens are single-use and expire after one hour
  5. Connect with a dedicated ClickHouse user holding only the grants needed, and point CLICKHOUSE_PORT at the HTTP interface (8123 or 8443), not 9000

Neon MCP Server

  1. Connect with ?category=querying&category=schema&projectId=... or untick Allow writes at consent to cut 138 tools to a handful
  2. Use prepare_database_migration and complete_database_migration for schema changes, and ask the user before completing
  3. Pass branch IDs (br-...), not names; call list_branches to resolve a name
  4. On 429 back off exponentially, and on 423 Locked wait for the running operation to finish

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, ClickHouse MCP Server or Neon MCP Server?

Neon MCP Server scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against ClickHouse MCP Server's 68.8 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. ClickHouse MCP Server leads on payments & pricing and transparency & trust.

Do ClickHouse MCP Server and Neon MCP Server need an API key?

ClickHouse MCP Server takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Neon MCP Server uses an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call ClickHouse MCP Server and Neon MCP Server without installing anything?

ClickHouse MCP Server runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Neon MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp.

Are ClickHouse MCP Server and Neon MCP Server open source?

ClickHouse MCP Server is open source (Apache-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Neon MCP Server.

Other comparisons with ClickHouse MCP Server or Neon MCP Server

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