Head to head · Exchange market data · October 2026 research run
MEXC API vs Upbit Open API
MEXC API scores 56.3 (C) on agent readiness against Upbit Open API's 54.7 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Upbit Open API leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance & community. Both do exchange market data.
Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents · All 210 exchanges comparisons
Which one, for what
MEXC API C
Best for Spot and futures for agents in served countries that want a vendor-built MCP server with read-only and confirmation modes.
Ahead on
- Security & auth, 65 against 59
- Payments & pricing, 31 against 15
Also in its favour
- Runs on your own machine
Watch for
No sandbox or testnet; only an order-validation endpoint
Best for KRW-market trading for agents acting for a verified Korean account, with first-party SDKs, a CLI and skills but no MCP.
Ahead on
- Agent ergonomics, 70 against 64
- Maintenance & community, 83 against 75
Watch for
No MCP server; the agent route is the CLI through skills, which need a terminal
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Payments & pricing MEXC API +16
MEXC API 31
No machine payment protocol (0). Fees published without login on MEXC's own fee guide (20 October 2026) and a 2024 announcement, with a separate API futures schedule; the fee page itself is drawn by script (16 of 20). Public market data needs no key or card; trading needs a verified and funded account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign up in a browser, and futures need identity verification (0). 0 + 16 + 15 + 0 = 31.
Upbit Open API 15
No machine payment protocol (0). The fee schedule is on upbit.com, which disallows every crawler path, so no price is recorded (0 of 20, unchecked). Public quotation endpoints need no key, card or account; trading needs a verified Korean account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign up, pass identity checks and issue keys on the PC web site (0). 0 + 0 + 15 + 0 = 15.
Maintenance & community Upbit Open API +8
MEXC API 75
Read as a closed service. Last dated change 23 October 2026 in both the spot and futures logs (30). Spot entries on 14 August, 24 August, 11 September and 23 October 2026, futures on 1 September, 11 September, 19 October and 23 October (20). An API support Telegram group, a ticket form and dated changelogs; GitHub issues not read (10 of 15). The official SDK repository was last pushed in February 2024 while the CLI is current (10 of 15). The CLI ships platform binaries with no dependencies and no public repository or CI; the SDK is stale (5 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 75.
Upbit Open API 83
Read as a closed service. SDK v1.1.0 on 20 October 2026 (30). The CLI 1.0.0 on 1 September, the rate-limit update of 7 October, the SDK on 20 October and the path-format notice for 16 November 2026 (20). open-api@upbit.com answers in turn on weekdays per the support notice, notices carry dates, and the six upbit-official repositories show no open issues (12 of 15). Current official SDKs in Python, TypeScript and Go (15). Apache-2.0 repositories pushed in October 2026; CI not checked (6 of 10). 30 + 20 + 12 + 15 + 6 = 83.
Agent ergonomics Upbit Open API +6
MEXC API 64
Graded on the REST API with the CLI's MCP mode. Responses take limit parameters and the MCP read-only market subset is 22 tools, but a full spot MCP category lists 123 tools (15 of 25). startTime, endTime and limit on history, symbol filters on open orders (14 of 20). Numeric codes with messages, a 30035 order-limit code added 23 October 2026, 5xx guidance (14 of 20). newClientOrderId is optional with no idempotency guarantee; the CLI adds --dry-run and a confirmation step (10 of 20). Few required parameters; SDKs in five languages whose repository was last pushed in February 2024 (11 of 15). 15 + 14 + 14 + 10 + 11 = 64.
Upbit Open API 70
Graded on the REST API with the CLI. Candle counts, list limits and the CLI's --max-items and --transform size responses (16 of 25). Paging and filters on orders and history (15 of 20). error.name codes to branch on, which the November 2026 notice tells clients to use, and 418 with its block length (15 of 20). An order-test endpoint and a CONFIRM gate in the skills; an order identifier for idempotent placement was not checked (11 of 20). Few required parameters, SDKs in three languages and a CLI, but keys need the PC web site and a registered IP (13 of 15). 16 + 15 + 15 + 11 + 13 = 70.
Security & auth MEXC API +6
MEXC API 65
Granular permissions (account read, trade, withdraw, transfer), per-pair restriction, up to 10 linked IPs, 90-day expiry without an IP, renewal and revocation in the account, 30 keys per account (26 of 30). A read-only MCP mode that hides write tools, a confirmation step before orders and transfers in the CLI and MCP, and --yes that agents are told not to add; nothing server-side confirms an API order (17 of 20). The API returns exchange data, and the CLI security page warns that agents may be led by web pages or files into unwanted actions (12 of 15). CLI confirmations are logged and reported to MEXC with no operator access described; an apiKeyInfo endpoint shows key settings (6 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy or bug bounty found; a proof-of-reserves page exists (4 of 20). 26 + 17 + 12 + 6 + 4 = 65.
Upbit Open API 59
Keys limited to chosen functions, a mandatory public IPv4 allow-list, a JWT per request with a fresh nonce, keys listed with expiry through the API, and a withdrawal safe-lock on by default (27 of 30). Read-only keys, the default withdrawal lock lifted only in the app, and skills that require a typed CONFIRM before writes (17 of 20). The API returns exchange data and announcements, no third-party content (10 of 15). An API key list endpoint; no per-call log for the operator (5 of 15). No disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found; security.txt on upbit.com could not be fetched under its robots.txt (0 of 20). 27 + 17 + 10 + 5 + 0 = 59.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | MEXC API | Upbit Open API | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 43 | 42 | MEXC API +1 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 64 | 66 | Upbit Open API +2 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 64 | 70 | Upbit Open API +6 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 65 | 59 | MEXC API +6 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 31 | 15 | MEXC API +16 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 75 | 83 | Upbit Open API +8 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 58 | 54 | MEXC API +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | C 56.3/100 | C 54.7/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | MEXC API | Upbit Open API |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MEXC (Comoros) Ltd | Dunamu Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio | |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | 299 | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-23 | 2026-10-20 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-13 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-06-01 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not read yet |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not read yet |
| Popularity | 315 stars | 91 stars |
Verdicts
MEXC API
MEXC publishes granular key permissions, per-pair key limits, weighted rate limits with Retry-After and a dated changelog, and its official CLI runs a read-only-capable MCP server with confirmation before any fund movement. There is no sandbox or status page, API futures orders pay a higher fee schedule, and the user agreement excludes the US, UK, EU members and others.
Upbit Open API
Upbit's Open API has a mandatory IP allow-list, scoped keys with a default withdrawal lock, per-group rate limits with 429 and 418 signalling, an order-test endpoint, official SDKs, a CLI and agent skills with a CONFIRM gate. There is no MCP server, sandbox or status page, and the fees and terms sit on a host our crawler may not read.
Before you call either
MEXC API
- Use a key limited to SPOT_ACCOUNT_READ and SPOT_DEAL_WRITE, the pairs you trade and your IP addresses; keys without a linked IP expire after 90 days
- Start the MCP server as
mexc mcp spot --read-onlyunless the task trades, and never pass--yes; orders and transfers wait for the person's confirmation - Call POST /api/v3/order/test before a live order, since there is no sandbox
- On 429 or 418 wait for Retry-After; order placement and cancellation share 12 requests a second per UID, and repeated breaches ban the IP for up to 3 days
- Treat a 5xx on an order as unknown, not failed, and query the order before retrying; set newClientOrderId so the order can be found
Upbit Open API
- Ask the person for a key with only the functions the task needs and your server's public IPv4 address registered; a private or unregistered IP is refused
- Sign every request with a fresh JWT (HS512, new nonce, SHA512 query hash) and branch on error.name, not error.message
- Run POST /v1/orders/test before a live order; it costs nothing and shares the 8-a-second order-test group
- Read Remaining-Req and keep orders under 12 a second per pocket; on 429 wait for the next second and on 418 wait out the stated block
- Leave the withdrawal safe-lock on unless the person lifts it in the app, and send paths with single slashes and no trailing slash before 16 November 2026
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, MEXC API or Upbit Open API?
MEXC API scores 56.3 (C) on agent readiness against Upbit Open API's 54.7 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Upbit Open API leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance & community.
Do MEXC API and Upbit Open API need an API key?
Both need an API key.
Can an agent call MEXC API and Upbit Open API without installing anything?
MEXC API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. No hosted endpoint is listed for Upbit Open API.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/mexc-vs-upbit.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/mexc.json·/api/v1/tools/upbit.json - From a terminal
anchor compare mexc upbit(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "mexc", "b": "upbit"}at/mcp, no key