# Cloudviz API vs Mural MCP

> Mural MCP scores 42 (E) on agent readiness against Cloudviz API's 37.9 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Cloudviz API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do diagram create. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-mural-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-mural-mcp.md (~2,000 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-mural-mcp.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-mural-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: 2026-10-06

Mural MCP scores 42 (E) on agent readiness against Cloudviz API's 37.9 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Cloudviz API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do diagram create.

- Cloudviz API: grade F, 37.9/100, rank #439 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudviz.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudviz.json
- Mural MCP: grade E, 42/100, rank #422 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mural-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mural-mcp.json

## Which one, for what

### Cloudviz API (F)

Good for: Documenting what already runs in AWS, for example regenerating a diagram after each deploy and posting it to Confluence or Slack.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 58 against 30
- Agent ergonomics, 50 against 26
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 10

Watch for: AWS only, and API access starts at the $49 a month Team plan

### Mural MCP (E)

Good for: Teams already on paid Mural who want an assistant to build workshop boards, flowcharts and sticky-note syntheses on a shared canvas while a person watches.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 35 against 20
- Security & auth, 72 against 53
- Maintenance & community, 75 against 5
- Transparency & trust, 63 against 47

Watch for: Public preview, with Mural's service levels and support obligations excluded


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cloudviz API | Mural MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 20 | 35 | Mural MCP +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 58 | 30 | Cloudviz API +28 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 50 | 26 | Cloudviz API +24 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 53 | 72 | Mural MCP +19 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 10 | Cloudviz API +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 5 | 75 | Mural MCP +70 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 47 | 63 | Mural MCP +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **37.9 · F** | **42 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cloudviz API | Mural MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | Cloudviz | Tactivos, Inc. (d/b/a Mural) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.cloudviz.io` | `https://mcp-canvas.mural.co/mcp` |
| Transports | HTTP | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary hosted service under Mural's Terms of Service. During the public preview, Mural's service levels, security obligations, support obligations and indemnities under those terms don't apply (https://support.mural.co/s/article/MCP-preview) |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | `co.mural/mural` |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-05 |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | 2/5 (1) |

## Verdicts

**Cloudviz API.** Diagrams come from the live AWS account through a read-only cross-account role with a per-customer external ID. AWS only, and API access starts at the $49 a month Team plan.

**Mural MCP.** Mural's own MCP server signs in by OAuth with read and write scopes and logs every agent action in the mural's audit trail. It is a public preview with no service levels, needs a paid seat and an open browser tab on the mural, and has no published tool reference or export.

## Before you call either

### Cloudviz API

1. Call `GET /aws/accounts/` first to get the Cloudviz account ID, then request `/aws/accounts/{account-id}/{region}/{format}`
2. On a 202, wait and repeat the same GET until the diagram is ready
3. Ask for `jsonSnapshot` or `jsonDiagram` (there is no plain `json` format) when the agent has to reason over resources
4. Use a read-only key unless the agent has to add, change or delete AWS accounts

### Mural MCP

1. Ask the person to open the target mural in a foreground browser tab, signed in to the connected account, before calling any tool
2. Work on one mural at a time and name it explicitly when switching
3. Request only murals:read when the task only reads a board
4. Deletes go through without a server-side prompt. Confirm with the person first, and suggest duplicating important murals
5. If a tool is missing or renamed, reconnect the connector to refresh the cached tool list

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Cloudviz API or Mural MCP?

Mural MCP scores 42 (E) on agent readiness against Cloudviz API's 37.9 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Cloudviz API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics and payments & pricing.

### Do Cloudviz API and Mural MCP need an API key?

Cloudviz API needs an API key. Mural MCP uses an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Cloudviz API and Mural MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Cloudviz API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.cloudviz.io and Mural MCP at https://mcp-canvas.mural.co/mcp.


## For agents

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

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