Perplexity API Platform vs Web Researcher MCP
Perplexity API Platform is an MCP server published by perplexity.ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 4 (Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, npm registry (MCP servers), Community GitHub marketplaces). Web Researcher MCP is an MCP server published by zoharbabin. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). 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 |   Perplexity API Platform |  Web Researcher MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.2.1 Downloads/month (npm): 87 686 Downloads/week (npm): 18 636 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 1.50.4 Forks (GitHub): 12 Stars (GitHub): 72 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:7816f45a6f26 Forks (GitHub): 388 Pulls (Docker Hub): 81 051 Stars (Docker Hub): 17 Stars (GitHub): 2 589 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Listed Version: 1.3.0 Downloads/month (npm): 87 686 Downloads/week (npm): 18 636 Forks (GitHub): 389 Stars (GitHub): 2 592 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 | Web Researcher MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 4 (better) | 1 (worse) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 592 (better) | 72 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 81 051 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 389 (better) | 12 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-10-17 (worse) | 2026-10-24 (better) |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (@perplexity-ai/mcp-server) | On your machine (ghcr.io/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp:1.50.4) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 3 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 1 | 14, secrets among them: 9 |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | 1 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 2 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/ppl-ai/modelcontextprotocol | github.com/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 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
Web Researcher MCP
Your AI research assistant that cites real sources and stays honest
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-serverWeb Researcher MCP As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "BRAVE_API_KEY=<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>" --env "COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN=<YOUR_COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN>" --env "EXA_API_KEY=<YOUR_EXA_API_KEY>" --env "FRED_API_KEY=<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>" --env "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY=<YOUR_GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY>" --env "SEARCHAPI_API_KEY=<YOUR_SEARCHAPI_API_KEY>" --env "SERPER_API_KEY=<YOUR_SERPER_API_KEY>" --env "TAVILY_API_KEY=<YOUR_TAVILY_API_KEY>" --env "XQUIK_API_KEY=<YOUR_XQUIK_API_KEY>" --transport stdio web-researcher-mcp -- docker run -i --rm -e BRAVE_API_KEY -e COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN -e EXA_API_KEY -e FRED_API_KEY -e GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY -e SEARCHAPI_API_KEY -e SERPER_API_KEY -e TAVILY_API_KEY -e XQUIK_API_KEY ghcr.io/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp:1.50.4Requires: BRAVE_API_KEY (secret), COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN (secret), EXA_API_KEY (secret), FRED_API_KEY (secret), GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY (secret), SEARCHAPI_API_KEY (secret), SERPER_API_KEY (secret), TAVILY_API_KEY (secret), XQUIK_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 Web Researcher MCP 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 Web Researcher MCP asks for
BRAVE_API_KEY (secret)COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN (secret)EDGAR_CONTACT_EMAILEXA_API_KEY (secret)FRED_API_KEY (secret)GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY (secret)GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_IDSEARCHAPI_API_KEY (secret)SEARCH_PROVIDERSEARCH_ROUTINGSEARXNG_URLSERPER_API_KEY (secret)
Show the remaining 2
TAVILY_API_KEY (secret)XQUIK_API_KEY (secret)
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: Web Researcher MCP · 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. Package data comes from the public npm registry (registry.npmjs.org). 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.