search-mcp vs web-retrieval-mcp
search-mcp is an MCP server published by ioconnex.dev. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). web-retrieval-mcp is an MCP server published by VelvetSP. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-29. 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 |  web-retrieval-mcp | |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 0.1.0 No figure published Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 0.1.2 Downloads/month (PyPI): 85 Downloads/week (PyPI): 29 Forks (GitHub): 4 Stars (GitHub): 6 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 | search-mcp | web-retrieval-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 6 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 4 |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server (search.ioconnex.dev/mcp) | On your machine (web-retrieval-mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 2, secrets among them: 2 |
| Licence | Not stated | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | Not stated | github.com/velvetsp/web-retrieval-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| 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
search-mcp
Web search and clean-text page fetch for AI agents, with SSRF protection.
web-retrieval-mcp
MCP web search + tiered web fetch for AI agents (Exa, Firecrawl), SSRF-guarded, cross-platform.
How to run each
search-mcp As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http search-mcp https://search.ioconnex.dev/mcpweb-retrieval-mcp As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "EXA_API_KEY=<YOUR_EXA_API_KEY>" --env "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=<YOUR_FIRECRAWL_API_KEY>" --transport stdio web-retrieval-mcp -- uvx web-retrieval-mcpRequires: EXA_API_KEY (secret), FIRECRAWL_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only search-mcp has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of search-mcp publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: search-mcp · What it can do: web-retrieval-mcp · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.