{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "datadog-mcp", "name": "Datadog MCP Server", "vendor": "Datadog", "vendorUrl": "https://docs.datadoghq.com/mcp_server/", "kind": "mcp", "category": "observability", "summary": "Datadog's hosted MCP server for querying monitors, logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, incidents and more, with 30-plus toolsets, a sandboxed code-execution toolset, OAuth 2.0 or key auth, and per-call permission checks on writes.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/datadog-mcp", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/datadog-mcp.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/datadog-mcp.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/datadog-mcp.json", "repo": "https://github.com/datadog-labs/mcp-server", "license": "MIT", "transports": [ "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp", "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "OAuth 2.0 (recommended, with an optional read-only grant that hides write tools), personal or service access tokens as a Bearer header, or `DD-API-KEY` plus `DD-APPLICATION-KEY` headers. A local `datadog_mcp_cli` binary gives you stdio where remote auth isn't possible. EU endpoint at mcp.datadoghq.eu. Users need the `mcp_read` and `mcp_write` permissions, and an organisation setting can block MCP writes.", "pricing": "byo-plan", "pricingNotes": "No separate charge stated. Datadog plan prices are public and a free plan exists. MCP use is capped by a default quota of 100,000 tool calls a month per organisation (raised from 50,000 on 2026-08-28) and a burst limit of 50 calls per 10 seconds. Whether the free plan includes MCP isn't stated (https://github.com/datadog-labs/mcp-server/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md).", "priceSummary": "Your plan", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No payments. Access follows the Datadog account.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 43, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.datadoghq.com/mcp_server/", "capabilities": [ "observability.metrics", "observability.logs", "observability.traces", "observability.incidents" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "oauth", "toolsets", "enterprise", "preview-parts" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-25", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 56.6, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 566, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 78, "maintenance": 68, "payments": 20, "reliability": 53, "schema": 60, "security": 76, "transparency": 67 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -4, "negativeNotes": [ "-3: breaking changes shipped the day they were announced, with no notice period. Detection-rule tools replaced and removed on 2026-06-17, `service` and `family` removed from `explore_profiling_call_graph` on 2026-06-26, `start_at` removed from `search_datadog_spans` on 2026-08-20 and the `traces` extension removed from `execute_code` on 2026-09-24. Each is labelled in the changelog, so we deduct at the low end (https://github.com/datadog-labs/mcp-server/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md).", "-1: until 2026-09-22, `ddsql_upsert_saved_query` created or updated saved queries even when an organisation had disabled MCP writes. Fixed and disclosed in the changelog, so a small deduction (https://github.com/datadog-labs/mcp-server/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)." ], "verdict": "OAuth read-only grants, `mcp_read` and `mcp_write` permissions and an organisation-level block on MCP writes. Tools and parameters are removed the day they're announced, with no notice period.", "bestFor": "Agents that triage production issues across metrics, logs, traces and monitors in a Datadog org. sentry-mcp is narrower and deeper on errors, pagerduty-mcp covers on-call.", "strengths": [ "OAuth read-only grants, `mcp_read` and `mcp_write` permissions and an organisation-level block on MCP writes", "Toolsets, a sandboxed `execute_code` toolset and `whoami` and `toolsets` resources keep the schema in proportion", "Dated public changelog with 42 entries since 3 July 2026", "Published burst limit and monthly quota", "SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and FedRAMP High, with a private HackerOne bounty" ], "weaknesses": [ "Tools and parameters are removed the day they're announced, with no notice period", "Not in the official MCP registry and no MCP component on the status page", "Tool schemas and descriptions aren't readable without an account", "No security.txt, and the write-protection setting missed one tool until 22 September 2026", "Whether the free plan includes MCP isn't stated" ], "agentNotes": [ "Use https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp. The /api/unstable/ path in older configs is no longer the documented one", "Set `toolsets` to the two or three you need, for example core plus logs, and read the `toolsets` resource first", "Pass `limit` and `custom_attributes` on span searches, and page with `cursor`. `start_at` is gone", "Expect a permission error when the org blocks MCP writes or the OAuth grant is read-only. That's the boundary working", "Budget calls. The org shares 100,000 a month and 50 per 10 seconds" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 2.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 56.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 78, "maintenance": 68, "payments": 20, "reliability": 53, "schema": 60, "security": 76, "transparency": 56 }, "provenanceScore": 78 }, "connect": { "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http datadog https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "datadog": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp" } } }, "headless": { "mcpServers": { "datadog": { "headers": { "DD-API-KEY": "${DD_API_KEY}", "DD-APPLICATION-KEY": "${DD_APPLICATION_KEY}" }, "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/observability.metrics", "tool": "https://letme.dev/datadog-mcp" }, "area": "developer", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Datadog, Inc.", "domain": "datadoghq.com", "domainRegistered": "2010-07-09", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://datadoghq.com/legal/terms/", "privacy": "https://datadoghq.com/legal/privacy/", "statusPage": "https://status.datadoghq.com", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-26", "score": 78 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/datadog-mcp.json", "live": { "slug": "datadog-mcp", "probe": { "target": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp", "method": "mcp-initialize", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:40.860036236Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 315, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 265, "p95ms24h": 296, "samples24h": 260, "samples30d": 3254, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-27", "probes": 132, "ok": 132 }, { "date": "2026-09-28", "probes": 285, "ok": 285 }, { "date": "2026-09-29", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 114, "ok": 114 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.datadoghq.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T10:41:33.012696226Z" }, "githubStars": 45, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://datadoghq.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:37.963166081Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "datadoghq.com", "registered": "2010-07-09", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/datadoghq.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:05:16.528122118Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://datadoghq.com/legal/privacy/", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:50.902376243Z", "changedAt": "2026-09-29T13:08:28.35407782Z", "fingerprint": "84e6d2939140" }, { "url": "https://datadoghq.com/legal/terms/", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:53.45092361Z", "changedAt": "2026-09-29T13:08:30.925940141Z", "fingerprint": "bb8932f6911c" } ], "mcpTools": { "url": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T21:33:28.271407006Z", "status": "auth", "note": "asks for credentials before listing its tools", "changedAt": "2026-09-28T21:55:38.616526541Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T10:42:40.860036236Z" } }, "answer": "Grafana MCP Server scores 74.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Datadog MCP Server's 56.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Datadog MCP Server leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "grafana-mcp-server", "name": "Grafana MCP Server", "vendor": "Grafana Labs", "vendorUrl": "https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/developer-resources/mcp/", "kind": "mcp", "category": "observability", "summary": "Grafana Labs' open-source MCP server for Grafana. It runs locally or self-hosted and gives agents dashboards, datasource queries (Prometheus, Loki, Tempo, Pyroscope and others), alerting, incidents and OnCall on a self-managed Grafana or Grafana Cloud.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/grafana-mcp-server", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/grafana-mcp-server.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/grafana-mcp-server.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/grafana-mcp-server.json", "repo": "https://github.com/grafana/mcp-grafana", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "stdio", "sse", "streamable-http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "mcp-grafana" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "grafana/mcp-grafana" }, { "registry": "go", "name": "github.com/grafana/mcp-grafana/v2" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "The server signs in to Grafana with a service account token (`GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN`, or a file path in `GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN_FILE` that is re-read on each request), or with `GRAFANA_USERNAME` and `GRAFANA_PASSWORD`. An admin creates the token in Grafana, self-serve, and Grafana RBAC sets what it can do. The README lists the permissions each tool needs. Over streamable HTTP a caller can send its own token in `X-Grafana-Service-Account-Token`, and `--server-auth-token` makes callers present a bearer token to the server itself. stdio needs no caller credential.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and open source under Apache-2.0, with nothing to buy for the server. It needs a Grafana instance, which can be self-managed open-source Grafana or Grafana Cloud. Grafana Cloud prices were not checked. The separate hosted Grafana Cloud MCP server counts towards Grafana Assistant usage (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the README, the docs or the changelog (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 119, "popularity": { "githubStars": 3535, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 151923, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/developer-resources/mcp/", "llmsTxt": "https://grafana.com/llms.txt", "registryName": "io.github.grafana/mcp-grafana", "capabilities": [ "observability.metrics", "observability.logs", "observability.traces", "observability.incidents", "work.oncall" ], "tags": [ "official", "local", "open-source", "self-hosted", "mcp", "go", "docker", "helm", "grafana", "llms-txt", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-07", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 74.5, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 69, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 95, "payments": 60, "reliability": 91, "schema": 81, "security": 65, "transparency": 79 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "-3: before 0.17.2 (13 July 2026) a URL in the then undocumented `X-Grafana-URL` request header caused the server's environment service account token, API key, basic auth or extra headers to be sent to a host the caller chose, on the HTTP transports. Fixed and described in the changelog, whose entry links a placeholder pull request number, and no advisory was published, so a reduced deduction (https://github.com/grafana/mcp-grafana/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)." ], "verdict": "Every tool carries typed inputs and read-only, destructive and idempotent annotations, and `--disable-write` cuts the default 79 tools to 62. Writes and a general `grafana_api_request` tool are on by default, the default tool list is about 107 KB, and usage statistics have been sent to Grafana Labs by default since 2.0.0.", "bestFor": "Teams on Grafana, self-managed or Cloud, that want an agent to read dashboards and query Prometheus, Loki, Tempo and Pyroscope, and to work with alert rules, incidents and OnCall.", "strengths": [ "All 79 default tools in 2.0.2 declare typed JSON Schema inputs and `readOnlyHint`, `destructiveHint` and `idempotentHint` annotations", "`--disable-write`, `--disable-query`, per-category flags and Loki enforced matchers narrow what the server can do, with a per-tool table of required RBAC permissions", "17 tagged releases between 13 July and 7 October 2026, with a Keep a Changelog file that labels breaking changes", "Unit, integration and end-to-end workflows all passed on main on 8 October 2026", "Dashboard summary, JSONPath property reads, jq filtering and a 100-line Loki default keep responses small" ], "weaknesses": [ "The default set is 79 tools and about 107 KB of definitions, and 119 tools with every category on", "Write tools and `grafana_api_request`, which can call any Grafana API path, are enabled unless the operator turns them off", "Anonymous usage statistics went from off by default in 1.5.0 (17 September 2026) to on by default in 2.0.0", "A credential-forwarding flaw fixed in 0.17.2 on 13 July 2026 has no published advisory, and the repository has no SECURITY.md", "No prompt-injection guidance for log lines and dashboard content. Issue #680 on the subject has been open since 24 March 2026" ], "agentNotes": [ "Start with `--disable-write` unless the task needs writes, and add `--disable-api` to remove `grafana_api_request`", "Pass `--enabled-tools` with only the categories needed. The default list loads 79 tools", "Use `get_dashboard_summary` or `get_dashboard_property` with a JSONPath before `get_dashboard_by_uid`, which returns the whole dashboard JSON", "Set `GRAFANA_USAGE_STATS=disabled` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` to stop the four-hourly usage report to stats.grafana.org", "Use streamable HTTP, not SSE, when each caller needs its own token or organisation, and set `--server-auth-token` on any non-loopback address" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 74.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 95, "payments": 60, "reliability": 91, "schema": 81, "security": 65, "transparency": 81 }, "provenanceScore": 76 }, "connect": { "install": "uvx mcp-grafana", "config": { "mcpServers": { "grafana": { "args": [ "mcp-grafana" ], "command": "uvx", "env": { "GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN": "\u003cyour service account token\u003e", "GRAFANA_URL": "http://localhost:3000" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/observability.metrics", "tool": "https://letme.dev/grafana-mcp-server" }, "area": "developer", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Raintank Inc., d/b/a Grafana Labs", "domain": "grafana.com", "domainRegistered": "2014-05-27", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://grafana.com/legal/privacy-policy/", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/grafana/mcp-grafana/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "No terms document governs this software beyond the Apache-2.0 licence, so `terms` is left out.", "The privacy policy (last updated 10 July 2026) names Raintank Inc., d/b/a Grafana Labs, 165 Broadway, 23rd Floor, New York, and says its open-source and commercial software may report usage statistics.", "grafana.com/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. Reports go to an Intigriti disclosure programme or security@grafana.com, with no bounties (https://grafana.com/legal/report-a-security-issue/).", "RDAP for grafana.com gives a registration date of 2014-05-27.", "The server runs on the owner's machine. Usage reports go to stats.grafana.org, a second Grafana Labs domain." ], "score": 76 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/grafana-mcp-server.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "MCP server", "b": "MCP server", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Datadog", "b": "Grafana Labs", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "Streamable HTTP, stdio", "b": "stdio, SSE (legacy), Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Your plan", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "119", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "not listed", "b": "io.github.grafana/mcp-grafana", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-09-25", "b": "2026-10-07", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "2026-07-10", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "43 stars", "b": "3.5k stars, 152k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "2.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Grafana MCP Server scores 74.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Datadog MCP Server's 56.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Datadog MCP Server leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Datadog MCP Server or Grafana MCP Server?" }, { "answer": "Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Datadog MCP Server and Grafana MCP Server need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Datadog MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp. Grafana MCP Server runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.", "question": "Can an agent call Datadog MCP Server and Grafana MCP Server without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Datadog MCP Server. Grafana MCP Server is open source (Apache-2.0).", "question": "Are Datadog MCP Server and Grafana MCP Server open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 76 against 65" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install" ], "goodFor": "Agents that triage production issues across metrics, logs, traces and monitors in a Datadog org. sentry-mcp is narrower and deeper on errors, pagerduty-mcp covers on-call.", "slug": "datadog-mcp", "watchFor": "Tools and parameters are removed the day they're announced, with no notice period" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 91 against 53", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 81 against 60", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 95 against 68", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 79 against 67" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Teams on Grafana, self-managed or Cloud, that want an agent to read dashboards and query Prometheus, Loki, Tempo and Pyroscope, and to work with alert rules, incidents and OnCall.", "slug": "grafana-mcp-server", "watchFor": "The default set is 79 tools and about 107 KB of definitions, and 119 tools with every category on" } ], "job": { "capability": "observability.metrics", "name": "Observability metrics" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-honeycomb-mcp.json", "title": "Datadog MCP Server vs Honeycomb MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-honeycomb-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-honeycomb-mcp.json", "title": "Grafana MCP Server vs Honeycomb MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-honeycomb-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-pagerduty-mcp.json", "title": "Datadog MCP Server vs PagerDuty MCP Server", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-pagerduty-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-pagerduty-mcp.json", "title": "Grafana MCP Server vs PagerDuty MCP Server", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-pagerduty-mcp" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 38, "datadog-mcp": 53, "edge": "grafana-mcp-server", "grafana-mcp-server": 91, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 21, "datadog-mcp": 60, "edge": "grafana-mcp-server", "grafana-mcp-server": 81, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 4, "datadog-mcp": 78, "edge": "datadog-mcp", "grafana-mcp-server": 74, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "datadog-mcp": 76, "edge": "datadog-mcp", "grafana-mcp-server": 65, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 40, "datadog-mcp": 20, "edge": "grafana-mcp-server", "grafana-mcp-server": 60, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 27, "datadog-mcp": 68, "edge": "grafana-mcp-server", "grafana-mcp-server": 95, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 12, "datadog-mcp": 67, "edge": "grafana-mcp-server", "grafana-mcp-server": 79, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Grafana MCP Server scores 74.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Datadog MCP Server's 56.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Datadog MCP Server leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do observability metrics.", "verdicts": { "datadog-mcp": "OAuth read-only grants, `mcp_read` and `mcp_write` permissions and an organisation-level block on MCP writes. Tools and parameters are removed the day they're announced, with no notice period.", "grafana-mcp-server": "Every tool carries typed inputs and read-only, destructive and idempotent annotations, and `--disable-write` cuts the default 79 tools to 62. Writes and a general `grafana_api_request` tool are on by default, the default tool list is about 107 KB, and usage statistics have been sent to Grafana Labs by default since 2.0.0." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server.min.md" }, "markdown": "Grafana MCP Server scores 74.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Datadog MCP Server's 56.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Datadog MCP Server leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do observability metrics.\n\n- Datadog MCP Server: grade C, 56.6/100, rank #566 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/datadog-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/datadog-mcp.json\n- Grafana MCP Server: grade BB, 74.5/100, rank #69 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/grafana-mcp-server.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/grafana-mcp-server.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Datadog MCP Server (C)\n\nGood for: Agents that triage production issues across metrics, logs, traces and monitors in a Datadog org. sentry-mcp is narrower and deeper on errors, pagerduty-mcp covers on-call.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 76 against 65\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n\nWatch for: Tools and parameters are removed the day they're announced, with no notice period\n\n### Grafana MCP Server (BB)\n\nGood for: Teams on Grafana, self-managed or Cloud, that want an agent to read dashboards and query Prometheus, Loki, Tempo and Pyroscope, and to work with alert rules, incidents and OnCall.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 91 against 53\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 81 against 60\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 95 against 68\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 79 against 67\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: The default set is 79 tools and about 107 KB of definitions, and 119 tools with every category on\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Datadog MCP Server | Grafana MCP Server | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 53 | 91 | Grafana MCP Server +38 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 60 | 81 | Grafana MCP Server +21 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 74 | Datadog MCP Server +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 76 | 65 | Datadog MCP Server +11 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 60 | Grafana MCP Server +40 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 68 | 95 | Grafana MCP Server +27 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 79 | Grafana MCP Server +12 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **56.6 · C** | **74.5 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Datadog MCP Server | Grafana MCP Server |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |\n| Vendor | Datadog | Grafana Labs |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | Streamable HTTP, stdio | stdio, SSE (legacy), Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Your plan | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |\n| Tools exposed | none | 119 |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.grafana/mcp-grafana` |\n| Last release | 2026-09-25 | 2026-10-07 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-07-10 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | |\n| Popularity | 43 stars | 3.5k stars, 152k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Datadog MCP Server.** OAuth read-only grants, `mcp_read` and `mcp_write` permissions and an organisation-level block on MCP writes. Tools and parameters are removed the day they're announced, with no notice period.\n\n**Grafana MCP Server.** Every tool carries typed inputs and read-only, destructive and idempotent annotations, and `--disable-write` cuts the default 79 tools to 62. Writes and a general `grafana_api_request` tool are on by default, the default tool list is about 107 KB, and usage statistics have been sent to Grafana Labs by default since 2.0.0.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Datadog MCP Server\n\n1. Use https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp. The /api/unstable/ path in older configs is no longer the documented one\n2. Set `toolsets` to the two or three you need, for example core plus logs, and read the `toolsets` resource first\n3. Pass `limit` and `custom_attributes` on span searches, and page with `cursor`. `start_at` is gone\n4. Expect a permission error when the org blocks MCP writes or the OAuth grant is read-only. That's the boundary working\n5. Budget calls. The org shares 100,000 a month and 50 per 10 seconds\n\n### Grafana MCP Server\n\n1. Start with `--disable-write` unless the task needs writes, and add `--disable-api` to remove `grafana_api_request`\n2. Pass `--enabled-tools` with only the categories needed. The default list loads 79 tools\n3. Use `get_dashboard_summary` or `get_dashboard_property` with a JSONPath before `get_dashboard_by_uid`, which returns the whole dashboard JSON\n4. Set `GRAFANA_USAGE_STATS=disabled` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` to stop the four-hourly usage report to stats.grafana.org\n5. Use streamable HTTP, not SSE, when each caller needs its own token or organisation, and set `--server-auth-token` on any non-loopback address\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Datadog MCP Server or Grafana MCP Server?\n\nGrafana MCP Server scores 74.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Datadog MCP Server's 56.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Datadog MCP Server leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Do Datadog MCP Server and Grafana MCP Server need an API key?\n\nBoth take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Datadog MCP Server and Grafana MCP Server without installing anything?\n\nDatadog MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp. Grafana MCP Server runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.\n\n### Are Datadog MCP Server and Grafana MCP Server open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Datadog MCP Server. Grafana MCP Server is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"datadog-mcp\", \"b\": \"grafana-mcp-server\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare datadog-mcp grafana-mcp-server`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/datadog-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/grafana-mcp-server.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Datadog MCP Server or Grafana MCP Server\n\n- [Datadog MCP Server vs Honeycomb MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-honeycomb-mcp.md)\n- [Grafana MCP Server vs Honeycomb MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-honeycomb-mcp.md)\n- [Datadog MCP Server vs PagerDuty MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-pagerduty-mcp.md)\n- [Grafana MCP Server vs PagerDuty MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-pagerduty-mcp.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Datadog MCP Server vs Grafana MCP Server", "url": "" } ], "description": "Grafana MCP Server scores 74.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Datadog MCP Server's 56.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Datadog MCP Server leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do observability metrics. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Datadog MCP Server C 56.6", "Grafana MCP Server BB 74.5", "scores" ], "h1": "Datadog MCP Server vs Grafana MCP Server", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server.png", "path": "/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Datadog MCP Server vs Grafana MCP Server for AI agents", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-grafana-mcp-server" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2050, "slim": 780 }, "version": 1 }