Perplexity API Platform vs io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch
Perplexity API Platform is an MCP server published by perplexity.ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 3 (Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, Community GitHub marketplaces). io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch is an MCP server published by daanielcruz. Marketplaces we read that list it: 3 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-community, Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-15. 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 |   Perplexity API Platform |  io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.2.1 Downloads/month (npm): 104 497 Downloads/week (npm): 14 694 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 1.1.0 Downloads/month (npm): 269 Downloads/week (npm): 83 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 4 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:7816f45a6f26 Forks (GitHub): 380 Pulls (Docker Hub): 80 073 Stars (Docker Hub): 17 Stars (GitHub): 2 563 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.1.0 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 4 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 | Perplexity API Platform | io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 3 | 3 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 563 (better) | 4 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 80 073 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 380 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (@perplexity-ai/mcp-server) | On your machine (@daanielcruz/gsearch-mcp) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 3 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 1 | 3, secrets among them: 2 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 1 | 3 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/ppl-ai/modelcontextprotocol | github.com/daanielcruz/gsearch-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 3 | 2 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
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
Perplexity API Platform
Real-time web search, reasoning, and research through Perplexity's API
io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch
Free Google Search with inline citations for any MCP-compatible AI tool.
How to run each
Perplexity API Platform As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio perplexity-api-platform -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-serverio.github.daanielcruz/gsearch As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "GEMINI_API_KEY=<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>" --env "GSEARCH_API_KEY=<YOUR_GSEARCH_API_KEY>" --transport stdio gsearch -- npx -y @daanielcruz/gsearch-mcpRequires: GEMINI_API_KEY (secret), GSEARCH_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only Perplexity API Platform asks for
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY (secret)PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS
Only io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch asks for
GEMINI_API_KEY (secret)GSEARCH_API_KEY (secret)GSEARCH_PROJECT
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Perplexity API Platform · What it can do: io.github.daanielcruz/gsearch · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. 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.