Head to head · Databases · October 2026 research run
PlanetScale MCP Server vs ReqRes MCP server
PlanetScale MCP Server scores 69.6 (B) on agent readiness against ReqRes MCP server's 48.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. ReqRes MCP server leads on payments & pricing. Both do databases.
Best database, file and memory tools for AI agents · All 111 databases comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for Agents that inspect and tune an existing PlanetScale database, using Insights, schema recommendations, error patterns and logs, with SQL when granted.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 78 against 30
- Schema & documentation, 82 against 61
- Security & auth, 77 against 33
- Maintenance & community, 80 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 72 against 47
Watch for
DELETE and DDL confirmation is a confirm_destructive flag the model sets, not a prompt the client shows the person
Best for Coding agents that need a throwaway or starter backend for a prototype, with no account to set up.
Ahead on
- Payments & pricing, 50 against 15
Also in its favour
- No key needed to call it
Watch for
A sponsored line in every successful result unless ?sponsor=0
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.
Reliability PlanetScale MCP Server +48
PlanetScale MCP Server 78
Graded as a hosted service. Status page at planetscalestatus.com on incident.io with per-region components (20). Its incident feed, readable on 1 November, lists six incidents since 3 August, each partial. Postgres management pages and API endpoints returned 500 errors from 12:17 to 12:24 UTC on 2 September, Vitess databases in four GCP regions lost connectivity on 5 September, branch creation was delayed in GCP europe-west-1 on 28 September, AWS us-east-1 cross-zone networking failed on 9 October, us-east-1 dashboard metrics had a gap on 20 October, and on 26 October "certain branches" of Vitess lost connectivity and credential changes were delayed for about 1 hour 40 minutes, which touches the query tools' per-call credentials. Minor only (20). The API reference's rate-limit page gives 600 requests a minute for the PlanetScale API, "subject to change". The MCP docs don't say whether tool calls count against it. Twelve of the tools are generated from the API's own operations, and supabase-mcp, cloudflare-mcp, github-mcp-server and stripe-mcp take their vendor API's published limit for the server (15). The OpenAPI file and the rate-limit page list a 429 response with no Retry-After or backoff guidance, and no idempotency key for writes. The 50-second query limit is documented (3). The SLA commits to 99.99 per cent for single-region and 99.999 per cent for multi-region clusters with service credits, and excludes single-node clusters and beta functions (10). The docs give the MCP server no beta or preview label and the registry entry is 1.0.0 (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 3 + 10 + 10 = 78.
ReqRes MCP server 30
status.reqres.in wasn't reachable (0). No history (5). Free-plan limits published with numbers (250 requests a day, 3 collections, 100 records) (15). No retry guidance (0). No SLA found (0). Not labelled beta (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 30.
Security & auth PlanetScale MCP Server +44
PlanetScale MCP Server 77
OAuth with each client registered as an OAuth application, scopes that set no, read-only or full access per organisation or per database, a separate payment-method scope, and service tokens with per-permission grants for headless use. Each query runs on a database credential created for the call and deleted after it (30). Read queries use a reader password on Vitess and a pg_read_all_data role on Postgres that does not bypass row-level security. An insights-only endpoint has no SQL tools, and since 8 October 2026 administrators can cap members' grants at none, read-only or read and write. TRUNCATE and UPDATE or DELETE without WHERE are blocked. DELETE and DDL need confirm_destructive, which the model sets itself, and the check is a regular expression on the start of the statement. Write queries run as the postgres role or a Vitess admin password. Read and write is the default (16). Query results return database content to the model. The docs warn about write access to production, and no prompt-injection guidance or result wrapping was found (4). Organisation audit log and security log on all plans, service tokens showing the IP address they were last used from since 26 October, every MCP query tagged source=planetscale-mcp in Insights, and a list of installed OAuth apps with revoke (13). Vulnerability disclosure policy with security@planetscale.com, SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 with HIPAA, PCI DSS for PlanetScale Managed. security.txt returned 404 on 1 November and no bug bounty was found (14). Total 77.
ReqRes MCP server 33
No credential to start, and project keys returned by the tool (15 of 30). Writes on the agent's own project only (12 of 20). Every successful result ends with a sponsored message, labelled and 'never written as an instruction', which still puts third-party text in the model's context (3 of 15). No audit log (0). No security programme found (3 of 20). 15 + 12 + 3 + 0 + 3 = 33.
Payments & pricing ReqRes MCP server +35
PlanetScale MCP Server 15
No x402, MPP or L402 in the MCP docs, the pricing page or the source (0). Monthly prices for every cluster size are public without a login, as a Markdown page and as a read-only SQL catalogue, from $5 a month for a single-node Postgres PS-5. Storage, backup and egress rates were not on the page read, and there is no per-call price (15). No free tier or trial was found, and the billing docs say all plans need a valid payment method on file (0). A person signs up in a browser and authorises OAuth or creates a service token in organisation settings (0). Total 15.
ReqRes MCP server 50
No machine payment protocol (0). Plan prices public (10). Free plan (20). An agent creates a project with no person (20). 0 + 10 + 20 + 20 = 50.
Maintenance & community PlanetScale MCP Server +30
PlanetScale MCP Server 80
The changelog's newest MCP entry is 9 October 2026 (planetscale_get_branch_metrics), and the repository's last commit is 11 October 2026 (30). Commits on 13 days from 18 August to 11 October added query tags, payment tools, annotations, Neki support and branch metrics, and the changelog has MCP or OAuth entries on 28 September, 8 October and 9 October (20). Closed hosted service with a dated public changelog, a support desk and a Discord community. The repository's issues and pull requests were not read (10). Listed in the official MCP registry as io.github.planetscale/mcp-server, a GitHub-verified namespace, still at version 1.0.0 published 15 April 2026 (15). Dependencies are current (@modelcontextprotocol/sdk ^1.30, zod 4) and the repository has unit tests, but no CI workflow is published (5). Total 80.
ReqRes MCP server 50
Registry entry in.reqres/reqres updated 16 October 2026 (30). No dated releases found (0). Blog and docs; no changelog (5 of 15). Official registry entry under its own namespace (15). No package to read (0). 30 + 0 + 5 + 15 + 0 = 50. Registry presence read from Anchor Terminal's own daily import of the official MCP registry (/api/v1/registry.json, 6 November 2026), not the registry's API.
Transparency & trust PlanetScale MCP Server +25
PlanetScale MCP Server 72
The tools PlanetScale maintains by hand are public under Apache-2.0. The hosted server, its OAuth layer and the 12 generated tools are closed, under the Terms of Service of 25 August 2026 (22). Privacy Policy of 23 July 2026, a DPA covering all plans and a data-locality statement in the security docs. Retention is described without periods, and the DPA was not read (20). The Terms of Service promise at least six months' notice before material functionality is discontinued, with exceptions. The docs say the local pscale mcp server has been removed, with no date (14). Customers choose the cloud region and the security docs refer to sub-processors, but the list was not read. The MCP endpoint's response headers name Gram, Speakeasy's hosting platform, and no page read says how tool calls are handled there (10). Total 66.
ReqRes MCP server 47
Closed service under readable terms; operating company not named in the parts read (10 of 30). You own your data, unclaimed agent projects are deleted after 72 hours, and the terms say the free service can end with reasonable notice (22 of 30). That notice clause and the 72-hour rule are dated commitments (10 of 20). Subprocessors not found (5 of 20). 10 + 22 + 10 + 5 = 47.
Schema & documentation PlanetScale MCP Server +21
PlanetScale MCP Server 82
The 14 tools in planetscale/mcp-server have typed zod input schemas, and the other 12 are generated from the public OpenAPI file at planetscale.com/docs/openapi.yaml, 304 operations (25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page (10). The custom descriptions state purpose, limits and when to ask the person, for example the 50-second limit, row-level security on Postgres reads and the Checkout sequence for the payment tools. The generated tools are one-line summaries (17). Enums for log levels and summary fields, clamped limits and required fields. organization, database and branch are free strings and SQL is free text by nature (12). The docs give example prompts and a permissions table per tool. Tool errors are plain text beginning Error: with the API status code (10). The product changelog is dated and carries MCP entries, but the server has no version history of its own. The package is 0.0.0, the repository has no tags or changelog, and the registry entry has stayed at 1.0.0 since 15 April 2026 (8). Total 82. The tool definitions were read from the source and the docs, not from the live server, which answered 401 without a token on 9 October.
ReqRes MCP server 61
Seven tools read from tools/list with JSON Schema inputs (25). llms.txt (10). A tool table says what each does (12 of 20). Records and fields are free-form objects (5 of 15). Worked flow on the MCP page, no error docs (6 of 15). Registry 1.0.0, no changelog (3 of 15). 25 + 10 + 12 + 5 + 6 + 3 = 61.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | PlanetScale MCP Server | ReqRes MCP server | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 78 | 30 | PlanetScale MCP Server +48 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 82 | 61 | PlanetScale MCP Server +21 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 74 | 76 | ReqRes MCP server +2 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 77 | 33 | PlanetScale MCP Server +44 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 15 | 50 | ReqRes MCP server +35 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 80 | 50 | PlanetScale MCP Server +30 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 72 | 47 | PlanetScale MCP Server +25 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | B 69.6/100 | D 48.8/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | PlanetScale MCP Server | ReqRes MCP server |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | PlanetScale | ReqRes |
| Hosted endpoint | https://mcp.pscale.dev/mcp/planetscale | https://reqres.in/mcp |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under PlanetScale's Terms of Service. The 13 tools in planetscale/mcp-server are Apache-2.0 | none |
| Tools exposed | 26 | 7 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | io.github.planetscale/mcp-server | in.reqres/reqres |
| Last release | 2026-10-11 | none |
| Terms last updated | no date given | not read yet |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | not read yet |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | none |
How the scores have moved
ReqRes MCP server
No score change since it was listed.
Verdicts
PlanetScale MCP Server
OAuth scopes set no, read-only or full database access per organisation or database, each query runs on a credential created and deleted for that call, and an insights-only endpoint drops both SQL tools. Destructive statements are gated by a flag the model sets itself, no limit is stated for the MCP server, and every plan needs a card.
ReqRes MCP server
ReqRes' MCP server is the quickest way for a coding agent to stand up a real hosted backend, with no account, seven annotated tools and paginated records. Every result carries a sponsored line by default, the free tier is small, and unclaimed projects vanish after 72 hours.
Before you call either
PlanetScale MCP Server
- Use
https://mcp.pscale.dev/mcp/planetscale-insights-onlywhen the task needs no SQL. It omits both query tools - Pass
organization,databaseandbranchon every query call. Record them inAGENTS.mdto skip the listing calls - Show the person the exact DELETE or DDL statement and get approval before setting
confirm_destructive: true - Keep queries under 50 seconds and add your own
LIMIT. The query tools cancel at 50 seconds and return every row - For a service token send
Authorization: Bearer pscale_tkn_...with the secret only. Theid:secretform is rejected
ReqRes MCP server
- Add ?sponsor=0 to the server URL to keep ads out of context
- Give the user the claim link so the project survives 72 hours
- Use the public key in frontend code and keep the manage key server-side
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, PlanetScale MCP Server or ReqRes MCP server?
PlanetScale MCP Server scores 69.6 (B) on agent readiness against ReqRes MCP server's 48.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. ReqRes MCP server leads on payments & pricing.
Do PlanetScale MCP Server and ReqRes MCP server need an API key?
PlanetScale MCP Server takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. ReqRes MCP server needs no key.
Can an agent call PlanetScale MCP Server and ReqRes MCP server without installing anything?
Yes. PlanetScale MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.pscale.dev/mcp/planetscale and ReqRes MCP server at https://reqres.in/mcp.
Other comparisons with PlanetScale MCP Server or ReqRes MCP server
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- PlanetScale MCP Server vs Snowflake-managed MCP server
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- ClickHouse MCP Server vs ReqRes MCP server
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- MongoDB MCP Server vs PlanetScale MCP Server
- Neon MCP Server vs ReqRes MCP server
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- PlanetScale MCP Server vs Redis MCP
- Postgres MCP Pro vs ReqRes MCP server
- PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server) vs ReqRes MCP server
- ReqRes MCP server vs Snowflake-managed MCP server
- ReqRes MCP server vs Supabase API + MCP
- MCP Toolbox for Databases vs ReqRes MCP server
- MongoDB MCP Server vs ReqRes MCP server
- Redis MCP vs ReqRes MCP server
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/planetscale-mcp-vs-reqres-mcp.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/planetscale-mcp.json·/api/v1/tools/reqres-mcp.json - From a terminal
anchor compare planetscale-mcp reqres-mcp(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "planetscale-mcp", "b": "reqres-mcp"}at/mcp, no key