Head to head · SQL databases · October 2026 research run
Postgres MCP Pro vs PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)
Postgres MCP Pro has a score of 36.7 (F) against PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)'s 18.6 (F). Both do sql databases. The largest gap is reliability, 28 points.
Which one, for what
Pick Postgres MCP Pro for
- reliability (+28)
- schema & documentation (+27)
- agent ergonomics (+19)
- security & auth (+21)
- maintenance & community (+8)
Pick PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server) for
- transparency & trust (+16)
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Postgres MCP Pro | PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server) | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 41 | 13 | Postgres MCP Pro +28 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 56 | 29 | Postgres MCP Pro +27 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 57 | 38 | Postgres MCP Pro +19 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 26 | 5 | Postgres MCP Pro +21 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 8 | 0 | Postgres MCP Pro +8 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 61 | 77 | PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server) +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | -10 | |
| Total | 36.7 · F | 18.6 · F |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Postgres MCP Pro | PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server) |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | Crystal DBA | Model Context Protocol (archived) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio, SSE (legacy) | stdio |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 9 | 1 |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2025-05-16 | 2024-12-04 |
| Popularity | 3.2k stars, 229k PyPI/wk | 294 stars, 119k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | 1.5/5 (2) |
Verdicts
Postgres MCP Pro
Index tuning with hypopg, EXPLAIN with hypothetical indexes, top queries and seven health checks. No release since 0.3.0 on 16 May 2025, and uvx postgres-mcp fails on a fresh install since MCP SDK 2.0.
PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)
The server exposes one small query tool. Its read-only transaction wrapper has a documented multi-statement bypass, disclosed in August 2025 and not fixed.
Before you call either
Postgres MCP Pro
- Launch with
uvx --with 'mcp<2' postgres-mcp. Plainuvx postgres-mcpnow fails with "No module named 'mcp.server.fastmcp'" - Pass
--access-mode=restrictedexplicitly. The default is unrestricted - Connect with a role that lacks superuser and pg_read_server_files. Restricted mode alone doesn't stop server file reads
- Put
LIMITin everyexecute_sqlquery. The server returns every row - Don't set
analyze: trueonexplain_queryfor writes in unrestricted mode. It runs the statement
PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)
- Don't use for new work. Migrate to Postgres MCP Pro with
--access-mode=restrictedor a managed provider's server - If you inherit it, connect with a database role that can only SELECT. The transaction won't stop writes
- Add
LIMITto every query. The server returns every row as pretty-printed JSON - Read the
/schemaresources for column names before querying, since there's no schema tool
Other comparisons with Postgres MCP Pro or PostgreSQL (archived MCP reference server)
Disclosure
MCP started at Anthropic, which makes the Claude models our research agents and review panel run on (Anthropic donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation, in December 2025), and this server is graded by the same checklist as every other listing.