# ClickHouse MCP Server vs PlanetScale MCP Server

> PlanetScale scores 66.4 (B) to ClickHouse's 64.6 (B) for sql databases. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-planetscale-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-planetscale-mcp.md (~2,550 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-planetscale-mcp.min.md (~830 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-planetscale-mcp.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

PlanetScale MCP Server scores 66.4 (B) on agent readiness against ClickHouse MCP Server's 64.6 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. ClickHouse MCP Server leads on reliability, payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do sql databases.

- ClickHouse MCP Server: grade B, 64.6/100, rank #345 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clickhouse-mcp-server.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clickhouse-mcp-server.json
- PlanetScale MCP Server: grade B, 66.4/100, rank #292 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/planetscale-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/planetscale-mcp.json
- Best database, file and memory tools for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/data/index.md
- All 43 databases comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/data/index.md

## Which one, for what

### ClickHouse MCP Server (B)

Good 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:
- Reliability, 74 against 63
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 15
- Maintenance & community, 94 against 80
- Transparency & trust, 82 against 70

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 *`

### PlanetScale MCP Server (B)

Good for: Agents that inspect and tune an existing PlanetScale database, using Insights, schema recommendations, error patterns and logs, with SQL when granted.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 65
- Security & auth, 77 against 66

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- No incidents deducted, where ClickHouse MCP Server loses 8 points for them

Watch for: DELETE and DDL confirmation is a `confirm_destructive` flag the model sets, not a prompt the client shows the person


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | ClickHouse MCP Server | PlanetScale MCP Server | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 74 | 63 | ClickHouse MCP Server +11 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 82 | PlanetScale MCP Server +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 74 | PlanetScale MCP Server +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 77 | PlanetScale MCP Server +11 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 15 | ClickHouse MCP Server +45 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 94 | 80 | ClickHouse MCP Server +14 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 70 | ClickHouse MCP Server +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **64.6 · B** | **66.4 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | ClickHouse MCP Server | PlanetScale MCP Server |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | ClickHouse | PlanetScale |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://mcp.pscale.dev/mcp/planetscale` |
| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy) | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Proprietary hosted service under PlanetScale's Terms of Service. The 13 tools in planetscale/mcp-server are Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 3 | 25 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.ClickHouse/mcp-clickhouse` | `io.github.planetscale/mcp-server` |
| Last release | 2026-09-21 | 2026-10-08 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 883 stars, 47k PyPI/wk | none |

## 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.

**PlanetScale MCP Server.** OAuth scopes set no, read-only or full database access per organisation or database, each query runs on a credential created and deleted for that call, and an insights-only endpoint drops both SQL tools. Destructive statements are gated by a flag the model sets itself, no rate limit was found, and every plan needs a card.

## 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

### PlanetScale MCP Server

1. Use `https://mcp.pscale.dev/mcp/planetscale-insights-only` when the task needs no SQL. It omits both query tools
2. Pass `organization`, `database` and `branch` on every query call. Record them in `AGENTS.md` to skip the listing calls
3. Show the person the exact DELETE or DDL statement and get approval before setting `confirm_destructive: true`
4. Keep queries under 50 seconds and add your own `LIMIT`. The query tools cancel at 50 seconds and return every row
5. For a service token send `Authorization: Bearer pscale_tkn_...` with the secret only. The `id:secret` form is rejected

## Questions

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

PlanetScale MCP Server scores 66.4 (B) on agent readiness against ClickHouse MCP Server's 64.6 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. ClickHouse MCP Server leads on reliability, payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

### Do ClickHouse MCP Server and PlanetScale MCP Server need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

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

ClickHouse MCP Server runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. PlanetScale MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.pscale.dev/mcp/planetscale.

### Are ClickHouse MCP Server and PlanetScale MCP Server open source?

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


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-planetscale-mcp.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-planetscale-mcp.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "clickhouse-mcp-server", "b": "planetscale-mcp"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare clickhouse-mcp-server planetscale-mcp`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clickhouse-mcp-server.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/planetscale-mcp.json

## Other comparisons with ClickHouse MCP Server or PlanetScale MCP Server

- [ClickHouse MCP Server vs Postgres MCP Pro](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-postgres-mcp-pro.md)
- [ClickHouse MCP Server vs PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-postgres-reference-server-archived.md)
- [ClickHouse MCP Server vs Snowflake-managed MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-snowflake-managed.md)
- [ClickHouse MCP Server vs Supabase API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-supabase-mcp.md)
- [PlanetScale MCP Server vs Postgres MCP Pro](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/planetscale-mcp-vs-postgres-mcp-pro.md)
- [PlanetScale MCP Server vs PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/planetscale-mcp-vs-postgres-reference-server-archived.md)
- [PlanetScale MCP Server vs Snowflake-managed MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/planetscale-mcp-vs-snowflake-managed.md)
- [PlanetScale MCP Server vs Supabase API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/planetscale-mcp-vs-supabase-mcp.md)
- [ClickHouse MCP Server vs MongoDB MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-mongodb-mcp.md)
- [ClickHouse MCP Server vs Redis MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clickhouse-mcp-server-vs-redis-mcp.md)
- [MongoDB MCP Server vs PlanetScale MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mongodb-mcp-vs-planetscale-mcp.md)
- [PlanetScale MCP Server vs Redis MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/planetscale-mcp-vs-redis-mcp.md)