AWS Core vs Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP
AWS Core is an MCP server published by awslabs. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP is an MCP server published by OptimNow. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-14. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  AWS Core |  Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:f624682618e2 Forks (GitHub): 1 805 Pulls (Docker Hub): 128 530 Stars (Docker Hub): 3 Stars (GitHub): 9 776 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.42.0 Downloads/month (PyPI): 981 Downloads/week (PyPI): 273 Forks (GitHub): 18 Stars (GitHub): 61 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.28.0 Forks (GitHub): 18 Stars (GitHub): 61 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | AWS Core | Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 9 776 (better) | 61 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 128 530 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 1 805 (better) | 18 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-13 |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/aws-core-mcp-server) | Remote server (mcp.optimnow.io/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 1 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 1 |
| Licence (differs) | Apache-2.0 | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/awslabs/mcp | github.com/optimnow/cloud-finops-skills |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 2 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | Responded 14 h ago |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
AWS Core
Starting point for using the awslabs MCP servers.
Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP
Cloud cost + FinOps knowledge for AI agents: AWS/Azure/GCP optimisation, AI spend, waste playbooks.
How to run each
AWS Core As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --transport stdio aws-core-mcp-server -- docker run -i --rm mcp/aws-core-mcp-serverCloud FinOps Skill & MCP As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http cloud-finops https://mcp.optimnow.io/mcpCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Only AWS Core has
prompt_understanding
Only Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP has
find_playbooksfind_referencesget_playbookget_referencelist_playbookslist_references
Both have
None
Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP as of 2026-10-13). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: AWS Core · What it can do: Cloud FinOps Skill & MCP · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.