Comparison

exa vs Mekler AI

exa is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by exa-labs. Marketplaces we read that list it: 4 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins). Mekler AI is an MCP server published by mekler.ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-05. 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

Where each is published
Marketplace	exa	Mekler AI
Claude Code: claude-plugins-official	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 409 Stars (GitHub): 5 212 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Official MCP Registry	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 409 Stars (GitHub): 5 212 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Listed Version: 0.1.14 No figure published Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:d88edd571d98 Forks (GitHub): 409 Pulls (Docker Hub): 37 607 Stars (Docker Hub): 7 Stars (GitHub): 5 212 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Claude: knowledge-work-plugins	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 409 Stars (GitHub): 5 212 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	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

exa vs Mekler AI
Fact	exa	Mekler AI
Marketplaces that list it (differs)	4 (better)	1 (worse)
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	5 212	No figure on GitHub
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	37 607	No figure on Docker Hub
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	409	No figure on GitHub
Last release (differs)	Not published	2026-10-30
Where it runs (differs)	Remote server or your machine	Remote server (api.mekler.ai/mcp)
Transport (differs)	Streamable HTTP, stdio	Streamable HTTP
Tools it declares (differs)	2	Not published
Environment variables it asks for (differs)	1, secrets among them: 1	Not published
Parts of the bundle (differs)	3	Not a bundle
Licence (differs)	MIT	Not stated
Repository (differs)	github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server	Not stated
Changes in the last 7 days (differs)	0	1
First seen	2026-10-11	2026-10-11
Endpoint at the last check (differs)	Status out of date: last check 6 days ago returned HTTP 405	Responded 25 h ago

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

exa

In its own words, on Claude Code: claude-plugins-official:

Exa AI web search, deep research, and content extraction. Provides MCP tools and research skills for comprehensive web search, people discovery, company research, academic papers, and more.

Mekler AI

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

Research, inference, data/web/email tools, and x402 conformance, service catalog and grade feeds.

How to run each

exa As a Claude Code plugin

Claude Code

/plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

Mekler AI As a remote MCP server

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http agent-discovery https://api.mekler.ai/mcp

Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.

Both endpoints responded at the last daily check. How we check endpoints

Tools each declares

Only exa has

web_fetch_exa
web_search_exa

Only Mekler AI has

confirm_ownership_proof
export_listings
get_scan_report
get_scan_status
get_service
get_trial_access
get_trial_offer
list_conformance_checks
list_grade_changes
referral_accept_terms
referral_acknowledge
referral_notices

Show the remaining 12

referral_program
referral_receipts
referral_register
referral_rotate
referral_status
retrieve_listing
rotate_trial
scan_origin
search_listings
search_services
start_ownership_proof
update_listing_preferences

Both have

None

Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (Mekler AI as of 2026-10-20). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

The marketplaces of Mekler AI publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.

What it can do: exa · What it can do: Mekler AI · Compare two other plugins

Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. 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 the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-11-05. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.