Perplexity API Platform vs iFlow Search
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). iFlow Search is an MCP server published by zhengyanglsun. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-20. 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 |  iFlow Search |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.2.1 Downloads/month (npm): 102 467 Downloads/week (npm): 16 084 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 0.1.0 Downloads/month (npm): 150 Downloads/week (npm): 24 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 2 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:7816f45a6f26 Forks (GitHub): 383 Pulls (Docker Hub): 80 414 Stars (Docker Hub): 17 Stars (GitHub): 2 579 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
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 | iFlow Search |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 3 (better) | 1 (worse) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 579 (better) | 2 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 80 414 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 383 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-10-17 | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (@perplexity-ai/mcp-server) | On your machine (@iflow-ai/search-mcp) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 3 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 1 | 4, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 1 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/ppl-ai/modelcontextprotocol | github.com/zhengyanglsun/iflow-search-js |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 4 | 0 |
| 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
iFlow Search
MCP server for iFlow Search web search, image search, and URL fetch tools.
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-serveriFlow Search As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "IFLOW_API_KEY=<YOUR_IFLOW_API_KEY>" --transport stdio iflow-search -- npx -y @iflow-ai/search-mcpRequires: IFLOW_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 iFlow Search 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 iFlow Search asks for
IFLOW_API_KEY (secret)IFLOW_BASE_URLIFLOW_MCP_CLIENTIFLOW_MCP_CLIENT_VERSION
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: iFlow Search · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.