# rotki MCP server vs Xero API + MCP

> Xero scores 67.2 (B) to rotki's 45.6 (E) for accounting ledgers. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rotki-mcp-vs-xero
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rotki-mcp-vs-xero.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rotki-mcp-vs-xero.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rotki-mcp-vs-xero.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: 2026-10-10

Xero API + MCP scores 67.2 (B) on agent readiness against rotki MCP server's 45.6 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do accounting ledgers.

- rotki MCP server: grade E, 45.6/100, rank #865 of 954. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/rotki-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/rotki-mcp.json
- Xero API + MCP: grade B, 67.2/100, rank #258 of 954. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/xero.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/xero.json
- Best accounting and invoicing APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/accounting/index.md
- All 77 accounting comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/accounting/index.md

## Which one, for what

### rotki MCP server (E)

Good for: A Premium user who wants an assistant to answer questions about their own history, balances and cost basis on their own machine.

Also in its favour:
- Open source

Watch for: The desktop endpoint at http://127.0.0.1:4445/mcp takes no token, because the session key is forced empty outside Docker, so any local process can call it while the server runs

### Xero API + MCP (B)

Good for: An agent keeping the books for UK, Australian or New Zealand businesses, or any team that wants read-only scopes and long deprecation notice.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 50
- Agent ergonomics, 75 against 69
- Security & auth, 64 against 20
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 76 against 35
- Transparency & trust, 72 against 48

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: Developer docs, including the per-minute rate limits, only render with JavaScript


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | rotki MCP server | Xero API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 68 | Xero API + MCP +18 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 79 | Xero API + MCP +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 75 | Xero API + MCP +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 20 | 64 | Xero API + MCP +44 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 10 | 35 | Xero API + MCP +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 35 | 76 | Xero API + MCP +41 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 72 | Xero API + MCP +24 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **45.6 · E** | **67.2 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | rotki MCP server | Xero API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Platform | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Rotki Solutions GmbH | Xero |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 8 | 51 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-02 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-12-04 |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | 2025-02-11 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | none | 350 stars, 395k npm/wk, 64k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**rotki MCP server.** A read-only MCP server in the rotki desktop app, for Premium Basic at €25 a month and above. Privacy modes mask addresses and account names, but amounts, dates, assets and counterparties reach the connected assistant in every mode. The desktop endpoint takes no token, and the feature shipped in v1.44.0 on 21 August 2026.

**Xero API + MCP.** Granular OAuth scopes, such as accounting.reports.profitandloss.read, required for apps created from 29 April 2026. Developer docs, including the per-minute rate limits, only render with JavaScript.

## Before you call either

### rotki MCP server

1. Ask the person to start the server under Settings > MCP in the desktop app, since it stays down until started, then connect to http://127.0.0.1:4445/mcp
2. Call info first. It works without Premium and reports whether an unlocked backend is connected
3. Call get_event_taxonomy before any aggregate over event_type, and sum on direction or event_group, since informational rows double count MEV and block rewards
4. Call refresh_analytics_data before query_sql, and check source.completeness and unpriced_rows before reporting any total
5. Check the privacy mode before answering from the data. Strict keeps amounts and dates, and raw sends addresses, hashes and notes verbatim

### Xero API + MCP

1. Send xero-tenant-id on every call. The token alone doesn't name the organisation
2. A bill is an Invoice with Type ACCPAY, a sales invoice is ACCREC. There's no separate bills endpoint
3. Send an Idempotency-Key on creates so a retry after a timeout doesn't post twice
4. Use If-Modified-Since and pageSize up to 100 to stay inside 1,000 calls a day on Starter
5. Set XERO_SCOPES to read scopes only when the agent shouldn't write. The MCP still lists its write and delete tools

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, rotki MCP server or Xero API + MCP?

Xero API + MCP scores 67.2 (B) on agent readiness against rotki MCP server's 45.6 (E), and leads in every scored category.

### Can an agent call rotki MCP server and Xero API + MCP without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for rotki MCP server. Xero API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0.

### Are rotki MCP server and Xero API + MCP open source?

rotki MCP server is open source (AGPL-3.0). No open-source release is listed for Xero API + MCP.


## For agents

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

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