# Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Mural MCP

> Diagrams.so API + MCP scores 60.1 (C) on agent readiness against Mural MCP's 42 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mural MCP leads on reliability and security & auth. Both do diagram create. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mural-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mural-mcp.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mural-mcp.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-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

Diagrams.so API + MCP scores 60.1 (C) on agent readiness against Mural MCP's 42 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mural MCP leads on reliability and security & auth. Both do diagram create.

- Diagrams.so API + MCP: grade C, 60.1/100, rank #259 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/diagrams-so.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/diagrams-so.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

### Diagrams.so API + MCP (C)

Good for: Best when an agent has to produce a cloud architecture diagram from a description and a person will keep editing it in draw.io.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 30
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 26
- Payments & pricing, 32 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 75 against 63

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment

### 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 30
- Security & auth, 72 against 67

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


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Diagrams.so API + MCP | Mural MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 30 | 35 | Mural MCP +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 30 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +55 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 26 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +59 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 67 | 72 | Mural MCP +5 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 32 | 10 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +22 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 75 | Mural MCP +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 63 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.1 · C** | **42 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Diagrams.so API + MCP | Mural MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | Diagrams.so (RedHold LLC) | Tactivos, Inc. (d/b/a Mural) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2` | `https://mcp-canvas.mural.co/mcp` |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | 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) |
| Tools exposed | 23 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | `io.github.RedHold/diagrams-so-mcp` | `co.mural/mural` |
| Last release | 2026-08-19 | 2026-10-05 |
| Popularity | 0 stars, 172 npm/wk, 3 PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (2) | 2/5 (1) |

## Verdicts

**Diagrams.so API + MCP.** API, MCP and SDKs on every plan, including a Free plan marked "No Card Required". No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment.

**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

### Diagrams.so API + MCP

1. Send an Idempotency-Key on generate, edit, fix and re-layout. If a billable call times out, check `get_usage_history` before retrying
2. Generation is synchronous and can run for minutes. The SDKs default to a 450 s timeout, or use `POST /diagrams/stream`
3. Call `list_capabilities` first. `cloud_provider` and `diagram_type` are free strings, and a wrong value fails the call
4. `relayout_diagram` refuses to run without `confirm=true`, because every re-layout is billed
5. Test keys (dgz_test_) spend the same credits as live keys

### 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, Diagrams.so API + MCP or Mural MCP?

Diagrams.so API + MCP scores 60.1 (C) on agent readiness against Mural MCP's 42 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mural MCP leads on reliability and security & auth.

### Do Diagrams.so API + MCP and Mural MCP need an API key?

Diagrams.so API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Mural MCP uses an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Diagrams.so API + MCP and Mural MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Diagrams.so API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2 and Mural MCP at https://mcp-canvas.mural.co/mcp.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Diagrams.so API + MCP or Mural MCP

- [Cloudviz API vs Diagrams.so API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-diagrams-so.md)
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- [Mural MCP vs Structurizr + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mural-mcp-vs-structurizr.md)
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