exa vs Semantic Scholar MCP Server
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). Semantic Scholar MCP Server is an MCP server published by smaniches. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, PyPI (MCP servers)). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-03. 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 |  exa |  Semantic Scholar MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 407 Stars (GitHub): 5 209 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 407 Stars (GitHub): 5 209 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 1.7.13 Downloads/month (PyPI): 2 126 Downloads/week (PyPI): 2 404 Forks (GitHub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 24 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:d88edd571d98 Forks (GitHub): 407 Pulls (Docker Hub): 37 518 Stars (Docker Hub): 7 Stars (GitHub): 5 209 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 407 Stars (GitHub): 5 209 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| PyPI (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.7.13 Downloads/month (PyPI): 2 126 Downloads/week (PyPI): 2 404 Forks (GitHub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 24 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 | exa | Semantic Scholar MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 4 (better) | 2 (worse) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 5 209 (better) | 24 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 37 518 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 407 (better) | 2 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-30 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server or your machine | On your machine (s2-mcp-server) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP, stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 2 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | 2, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 3 | Not a bundle |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server | github.com/smaniches/semantic-scholar-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 1 | 3 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Responded 4 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
exa
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.
Semantic Scholar MCP Server
MCP server for the Semantic Scholar API: search 200M+ papers, citations, authors, recommendations.
How to run each
exa As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin install exa@claude-plugins-officialSemantic Scholar MCP Server As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY=<YOUR_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>" --transport stdio semantic-scholar-mcp -- uvx s2-mcp-serverRequires: SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only exa has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of Semantic Scholar MCP Server publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only exa asks for
EXA_API_KEY (secret)
Only Semantic Scholar MCP Server asks for
SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY (secret)SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_MIN_SECONDS_BETWEEN_REQUESTS
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: exa · What it can do: Semantic Scholar MCP Server · 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. Package data comes from the Python Package Index (pypi.org). Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.