Needle Remote vs io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp
Needle Remote is an MCP server published by docker. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp is an MCP server published by tavily-ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 3 (Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, npm registry (MCP servers)). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-28. 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 |  Needle Remote |  io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: not stated No figure published Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: sha256:e8bbe2860c85 Forks (GitHub): 306 Pulls (Docker Hub): 56 828 Stars (Docker Hub): 8 Stars (GitHub): 2 463 Not marked · First seen |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.15 Downloads/month (npm): 89 437 Downloads/week (npm): 11 971 Forks (GitHub): 306 Stars (GitHub): 2 463 Not marked · First seen |
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.22 Downloads/month (npm): 89 437 Downloads/week (npm): 11 971 Forks (GitHub): 306 Stars (GitHub): 2 463 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 | Needle Remote | io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 3 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 2 463 |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 56 828 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 306 |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server (mcp.needle.app/mcp) | On your machine (tavily-mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | Not published | 5 |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | 2, secrets among them: 1 |
| Licence (differs) | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | Not stated | github.com/tavily-ai/tavily-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Answered with HTTP 301 (5 days ago) | no remote endpoint we check |
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
Needle Remote
Production-ready RAG service to search and retrieve data from your documents.
io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp
MCP server for advanced web search using Tavily
How to run each
Needle Remote As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http needle https://mcp.needle.app/mcpRequires: NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)
io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "TAVILY_API_KEY=<YOUR_TAVILY_API_KEY>" --transport stdio tavily-mcp -- npx -y tavily-mcpRequires: TAVILY_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only Needle Remote has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of Needle Remote publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only Needle Remote asks for
NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)
Only io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp asks for
DEFAULT_PARAMETERSTAVILY_API_KEY (secret)
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Needle Remote · What it can do: io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-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. Package data comes from the public npm registry (registry.npmjs.org). Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.