Gmail vs Mails.ai — Agent Email
Gmail is an MCP server published by Sallytion. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Mails.ai — Agent Email is an MCP server published by mails.ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-16. 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 |  Gmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:9d806c6ba375 Forks (GitHub): 9 Stars (GitHub): 12 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.5.0 Downloads/month (npm): 1 350 Downloads/week (npm): 502 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 | Gmail | Mails.ai — Agent Email |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 12 | No figure on GitHub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 9 | No figure on GitHub |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-16 |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (yashtekwani/gmail-mcp) | Remote server (api.mails.ai/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 3 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 6, secrets among them: 1 | 2, secrets among them: 1 |
| Licence | Not stated | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/sallytion/gmail-mcp | Not stated |
| 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 7 h ago, requires a key |
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
Gmail
A Model Context Protocol server for Gmail operations using IMAP/SMTP with app password authentication. Supports listing messages, searching emails, and sending messages. To create your app password, visit your Google Account settings under Security > App Passwords. Or visit the link https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.
Mails.ai — Agent Email
A real inbox for AI agents: send, receive and thread email, behind a prompt-injection firewall.
How to run each
Gmail As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "EMAIL_PASSWORD=<YOUR_EMAIL_PASSWORD>" --transport stdio gmail-mcp -- docker run -i --rm -e EMAIL_PASSWORD yashtekwani/gmail-mcpRequires: EMAIL_PASSWORD (secret)
Mails.ai — Agent Email As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http agent-email https://api.mails.ai/mcpRequires: MAILS_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only Mails.ai — Agent Email has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of Mails.ai — Agent Email publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only Gmail asks for
EMAIL_ADDRESSEMAIL_PASSWORD (secret)IMAP_HOSTIMAP_PORTSMTP_HOSTSMTP_PORT
Only Mails.ai — Agent Email asks for
MAILS_API_KEY (secret)MAILS_BASE_URL
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Gmail · What it can do: Mails.ai — Agent Email · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.