# Gumloop vs Paragon ActionKit + MCP

> Gumloop scores 61.6 (C) on agent readiness against Paragon ActionKit + MCP's 47.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Paragon ActionKit + MCP leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do automation workflows. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-paragon
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-paragon.md (~2,200 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-paragon.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gumloop-vs-paragon.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

Gumloop scores 61.6 (C) on agent readiness against Paragon ActionKit + MCP's 47.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Paragon ActionKit + MCP leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do automation workflows.

- Gumloop: grade C, 61.6/100, rank #419 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gumloop.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gumloop.json
- Paragon ActionKit + MCP: grade D, 47.5/100, rank #741 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paragon.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paragon.json

## Which one, for what

### Gumloop (C)

Good for: A team that wants hosted agents with connectors, approvals and triggers, driven or configured by an outside agent through the API or MCP server.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 82 against 60
- Schema & documentation, 83 against 73
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 0
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 48

Watch for: API keys and the `gumloop_api` OAuth scope need the Pro plan at $37 a month. The 14-day trial needs a card

### Paragon ActionKit + MCP (D)

Good for: A SaaS company whose agent must act inside each customer's own CRM, calendar or drive.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 65 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 62 against 57

Watch for: No published prices and no self-serve paid plan


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Gumloop | Paragon ActionKit + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 82 | 60 | Gumloop +22 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 73 | Gumloop +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 41 | Gumloop +25 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 50 | 65 | Paragon ActionKit + MCP +15 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 0 | Gumloop +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 48 | Gumloop +29 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 62 | Paragon ActionKit + MCP +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **61.6 · C** | **47.5 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Gumloop | Paragon ActionKit + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | AgentHub Inc. | Paragon |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.gumloop.com/api/v1` | `https://actionkit.useparagon.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Gumloop's terms of service. The Python SDK and CLI repository and the npm package are Apache-2.0 | proprietary |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-09-23 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2025-05-23 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2023-01-19 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 188 npm/wk, 2.9k PyPI/wk | 48 stars, 175k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Gumloop.** Gumloop's REST API has a public OpenAPI file with 105 operations, Markdown docs and a changelog with 28 dated releases since 9 July 2026. API keys need the $37 Pro plan, the trial needs a card, the key can travel in the URL, and self-serve content may be used to train Gumloop's models.

**Paragon ActionKit + MCP.** Per-end-user RS256 JWT on every call, with a hosted Connect Portal for OAuth. No published prices and no self-serve paid plan.

## Before you call either

### Gumloop

1. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer` and, for a personal key, add the `x-auth-key` header with the user ID. Do not put `api_key` in the URL
2. Create sessions with `POST /agents/{agent_id}/sessions`, then poll `GET /sessions/{session_id}`. A 202 means processing or queued, and the reply is not in the response
3. Supply your own `session_id` when creating a session. A repeat returns 409, which makes a retry safe
4. For streamed output send the same body with `stream: true` to `ws.gumloop.com`. `api.gumloop.com` answers 400 to it
5. Treat a webhook trigger URL as a password. It returns `{"success": true}` at once and never carries the agent's output

### Paragon ActionKit + MCP

1. Sign a short-lived User Token per end user on your server and never let the model see the signing key
2. Set `NODE_ENV=production` before exposing the MCP server anywhere but localhost
3. Fetch the tool list once per session with `categories` set, and cache it
4. Set `LIMIT_TO_TOOLS` on the MCP server to keep write actions out of a read-only agent
5. Proxy API requests count as tasks, so prefer ActionKit tools for routine actions

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Gumloop or Paragon ActionKit + MCP?

Gumloop scores 61.6 (C) on agent readiness against Paragon ActionKit + MCP's 47.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Paragon ActionKit + MCP leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Do Gumloop and Paragon ActionKit + MCP need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call Gumloop and Paragon ActionKit + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Gumloop has a hosted endpoint at https://api.gumloop.com/api/v1 and Paragon ActionKit + MCP at https://actionkit.useparagon.com.


## For agents

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

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