Best Free MCP Servers: Complete Open-Source List for 2026

The best free MCP servers give you full access to file systems, databases, version control, web content, and productivity tools without spending a cent. Every server on this list is open-source, actively maintained, and ready to connect to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any other MCP client. We have tested each one and organized them by category so you can find exactly what you need.

The MCP ecosystem has one of the best free-to-paid ratios of any developer tool ecosystem. The majority of the most capable and popular servers are completely free and open-source, released under permissive licenses like MIT and Apache 2.0. You do not need to pay for a single MCP server to build a powerful AI-assisted workflow.

This guide covers the top free MCP servers across every major category, with license details, maintenance status, and honest assessments of what each server does well. For our complete ranked list including both free and paid options, see our Best MCP Servers 2026 pillar guide.

How We Evaluate Free MCP Servers

Not all free servers are equal. We evaluate each one against four criteria:

Criterion	What It Means
Truly Free	No hidden costs, paywalls, or required paid accounts. The server itself is 100% free to use.
Open Source	Source code is publicly available under a recognized open-source license.
Actively Maintained	Regular commits, prompt issue responses, and recent releases within the last 6 months.
Production Quality	Stable, well-documented, and safe for real workflows -- not just a proof of concept.

Some servers on this list connect to services that have their own pricing (like GitHub or cloud databases), but the MCP server itself is always free. We note these distinctions below.

Filesystem and Document Servers

File access is the foundation of every MCP workflow. These servers let AI assistants read, write, search, and manage files on your local system or cloud storage.

Server	License	Stars	Status	Key Capability
@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem	MIT	10k+	Official, Active	Sandboxed read/write access to local files and directories
@nicobailon/mcp-rag-search	MIT	500+	Active	Full-text search across document collections with RAG support
@nicobailon/mcp-s3	MIT	300+	Active	Read and manage files in Amazon S3 buckets

Filesystem Server (Official)

The official Filesystem MCP server from Anthropic is the single most important free server in the ecosystem. It provides sandboxed access to files and directories, meaning the AI can only access paths you explicitly allow. Every developer using MCP should install this first.

Key features include reading and writing files, creating directories, moving and renaming files, searching file contents, and getting file metadata. The sandboxing model restricts all operations to directories you specify in the configuration, preventing the AI from accessing sensitive system files.

For a deeper look at filesystem and document servers, see our Filesystem and Document Servers guide.

RAG Search Server

The RAG search server indexes your local documents and provides semantic search over them. This is invaluable for large codebases or documentation repositories where you need the AI to find relevant context quickly. It works with Markdown, text, PDF, and code files.

Database and Vector Store Servers

Database access is the second most common MCP use case. These free servers cover relational databases, document stores, and vector databases for AI-powered search.

Server	License	Stars	Status	Key Capability
@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres	MIT	10k+	Official, Active	Query PostgreSQL databases with read-only or read-write access
@modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite	MIT	10k+	Official, Active	Full SQLite database operations including analysis
@nicobailon/mcp-mongo	MIT	400+	Active	MongoDB document operations and aggregation queries
@nicobailon/mcp-chroma	MIT	350+	Active	Chroma vector database for local embeddings and search
@nicobailon/mcp-qdrant	Apache 2.0	300+	Active	Qdrant vector database for similarity search

PostgreSQL Server (Official)

The official Postgres server supports full SQL query execution, schema introspection, and both read-only and read-write modes. It is the go-to choice for any team working with PostgreSQL databases. Configure it with your database connection string, set the appropriate access mode, and the AI can query, analyze, and even modify your data.

Note that the MCP server is free, but you need a PostgreSQL database to connect to. That database can be a free local install, a free tier from Supabase or Neon, or a paid cloud instance.

SQLite Server (Official)

SQLite is perfect for local data analysis workflows. Point this server at any SQLite file and the AI can explore the schema, run queries, and analyze results. Because SQLite databases are single files, this is one of the easiest database servers to set up -- no separate database process required.

For a comprehensive comparison of all database MCP servers, see our Database and Vector DB Servers guide.

Version Control Servers

Version control servers connect your AI assistant to Git repositories and hosting platforms, enabling code review, PR management, and repository exploration.

Server	License	Stars	Status	Key Capability
@github/mcp-server	MIT	5k+	Official (GitHub), Active	Full GitHub API access: repos, PRs, issues, code search
@nicobailon/mcp-gitlab	MIT	800+	Active	GitLab API access: repos, merge requests, pipelines
@modelcontextprotocol/server-git	MIT	10k+	Official, Active	Local Git operations: log, diff, blame, branch management

GitHub MCP Server (Official)

GitHub's official MCP server is one of the most capable free servers available. It exposes the full GitHub API through MCP tools, including repository management, pull request operations, issue tracking, code search, and Actions workflow monitoring. This server transforms how developers interact with GitHub through AI.

The server itself is completely free and open-source. It authenticates using a personal access token from your GitHub account. GitHub's own free tier includes unlimited public repositories and generous API rate limits, making this a truly free experience for most developers.

Git Server (Official)

The local Git MCP server handles operations on repositories cloned to your machine. It can read logs, show diffs, explore branches, and perform blame analysis. Combined with the filesystem server, it gives the AI full context over your codebase and its history.

Learn more in our Version Control Servers category guide.

Web and API Access Servers

These servers give your AI assistant the ability to fetch web content, browse the internet, and interact with external APIs.

Server	License	Stars	Status	Key Capability
@modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch	MIT	10k+	Official, Active	Fetch and parse web content into clean Markdown
@nicobailon/mcp-playwright	Apache 2.0	2k+	Active	Full browser automation with Playwright
@nicobailon/mcp-puppeteer	MIT	1.5k+	Active	Headless browser control for web scraping and testing
@nicobailon/mcp-brave-search	MIT	600+	Active	Web search using the Brave Search API

Fetch Server (Official)

The fetch server is deceptively simple and incredibly useful. It takes a URL, fetches the content, and converts the HTML into clean Markdown that the AI can easily process. This is essential for any workflow involving web research, documentation lookup, or API interaction.

The server handles redirects, respects robots.txt, and strips out navigation, ads, and other noise to return just the meaningful content. It supports custom headers for authenticated API requests.

Playwright and Puppeteer Servers

For tasks requiring full browser interaction -- clicking buttons, filling forms, navigating multi-page workflows -- the Playwright and Puppeteer servers provide programmatic browser control. The AI can take screenshots, extract data from dynamic pages, and automate web-based tasks.

Playwright is generally the better choice for new projects due to its broader browser support (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit) and more robust API. Both servers are completely free.

For a deep dive into browser automation, see our Browser Automation Servers guide.

Productivity and Communication Servers

These servers connect your AI assistant to productivity platforms, enabling task management, communication, and workflow automation.

Server	License	Stars	Status	Key Capability
@nicobailon/mcp-slack	MIT	800+	Active	Read and send Slack messages, manage channels
@nicobailon/mcp-google-drive	MIT	600+	Active	Access Google Drive files, search, and organize documents
@nicobailon/mcp-notion	MIT	700+	Active	Read and write Notion pages, databases, and blocks
@nicobailon/mcp-linear	MIT	400+	Active	Manage Linear issues, projects, and cycles
@nicobailon/mcp-todoist	MIT	300+	Active	Create and manage Todoist tasks and projects

Slack Server

The Slack MCP server lets your AI read channel histories, send messages, and search conversations. This is particularly powerful for AI agents that need to participate in team communication workflows. The server itself is free, but you need a Slack workspace (free tier available) and a Slack app configured with the appropriate permissions.

Notion Server

The Notion MCP server provides full access to your Notion workspace: reading pages, creating content, querying databases, and managing blocks. This turns the AI into a powerful Notion assistant that can draft documents, update project trackers, and organize information.

Like Slack, the server is free and open-source, but connects to Notion's API (free tier available with generous limits for personal use).

Developer and Code Tool Servers

These servers provide code execution, analysis, and development workflow capabilities.

Server	License	Stars	Status	Key Capability
@nicobailon/mcp-e2b	MIT	900+	Active	Sandboxed code execution in multiple languages
@nicobailon/mcp-eslint	MIT	300+	Active	Run ESLint checks and get code quality feedback
@nicobailon/mcp-docker	MIT	400+	Active	Manage Docker containers, images, and volumes

E2B Code Interpreter

E2B provides cloud-based sandboxed code execution. The AI can write Python, JavaScript, or other code and execute it in an isolated environment, getting back the results. This is essential for data analysis, prototyping, and testing.

The MCP server is free and open-source. E2B offers a free tier with generous usage limits for the execution sandbox, so most individual developers will never need to pay. Heavy usage or team accounts may require a paid plan.

For more developer tools, see our Developer Tools Servers guide.

Understanding Licenses

All servers on this list use one of these open-source licenses:

License	What It Means for You
MIT	Do anything you want. Use commercially, modify, distribute. Just include the copyright notice.
Apache 2.0	Same freedoms as MIT, plus explicit patent grants. Slightly more corporate-friendly.
ISC	Functionally identical to MIT. Very permissive.

None of the servers on this list use copyleft licenses (GPL, AGPL) that would restrict how you use them in proprietary projects.

Getting Started: The Free MCP Starter Stack

If you are new to MCP and want to set up a powerful free environment quickly, install these five servers:

Filesystem Server -- file access (essential for every workflow)
Git Server -- local version control operations
GitHub Server -- remote repository and PR management
Fetch Server -- web content access and API calls
SQLite Server -- local data storage and analysis

This combination gives your AI assistant the ability to read and write code, manage version control, browse the web, and work with structured data -- all for free.

To install and configure these servers for Claude Desktop, follow our MCP with Claude Desktop guide. For Cursor or VS Code setup, see MCP with Cursor and VS Code.

Maintaining Your Free Server Setup

Free open-source servers require some attention to keep running smoothly:

Check for updates regularly. MCP servers evolve quickly. Run your package manager's update command monthly to get bug fixes and new features.
Watch the GitHub repository. Star and watch the repositories of servers you depend on so you are notified of breaking changes or security advisories.
Read the changelogs. Before updating a server, review the changelog for breaking changes that might affect your configuration.
Back up your configuration. Keep your MCP client configuration files (like claude_desktop_config.json) in version control so you can restore your setup if something breaks.