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Evidence fieldTavily Search MCPWatchlist candidateFirecrawl MCPMCP100 Selected
Task fit
Best for
  • Web search, extract, map, and crawl workflows
  • Teams already using Tavily's hosted search APIs
  • Scraping and extracting public web pages
  • Search, crawl, map, batch, and research workflows
  • Teams already using Firecrawl API limits and governance
Not ideal for
  • Security-sensitive deployments that require a recently cleared dependency/advisory review
  • Teams that need purely local/offline search
  • Simple known-page fetches that do not justify a paid API
  • Sites whose terms or access controls prohibit automated collection
  • Workflows requiring guaranteed freshness or extraction accuracy
Avoid when
  • You cannot safely manage the API key or OAuth grant
  • Untrusted web content cannot be safely isolated from downstream actions
  • You cannot govern which URLs the agent may access
  • The workflow may collect personal, confidential, copyrighted, or access-controlled content without review
  • Unexpected API-credit consumption is unacceptable
Provenance
Provenance details

First-party MCP

Tavily · Publisher source ↗

First-party MCP

Firecrawl · Publisher source ↗

Maintenance
Maintenance details

Repo: Not documented

Package: Not documented

Repo: Aug 12, 2026

Package: Aug 12, 2026

Popularity evidence
GitHub starsNot documented

7,234

GitHub stars · checked 2026-08-14T18:46:26.000Z

Package downloads / 30 daysNo reliable download data

320,730

package downloads / 30 days · checked 2026-09-08

External adoption evidenceNot documented
  • npm: package downloads: 412,488Exact attributable signal.npm: package downloads · Rolling 30 days · checked 2026-08-14T18:46:26.000ZEvidence source ↗
Client coverage
Client coverage detailsNot documented
Claude Code✓ Local stdio
Claude Desktop✓ Local stdio
Codex✓ Local stdio
VS Code✓ Local stdio
Cursor✓ Local stdio
OpenCode✓ Local stdio
Client coverage noteLocal stdio runs on your computer. Streamable HTTP connects to a remotely hosted MCP server.
Access and data
AuthenticationHosted server supports OAuth flow or Tavily API key; API key may be supplied in URL or Authorization header.Cloud and local-package configurations use FIRECRAWL_API_KEY. Official docs also show hosted MCP URLs containing the key; environment-variable or protected input handling is safer than embedding the key in a URL.
CostTavily account/API usage pricing and quotas apply.MCP calls consume the account's standard Firecrawl API credits and rate limits. Search, crawl, batch, and agent operations can consume more resources than single-page scraping; current plan pricing applies.
PermissionsPermissions are limited to Tavily service capabilities exposed by the MCP: search, extract, map, and crawl.The MCP can initiate outbound requests to user- or model-selected URLs and invoke Firecrawl scrape, search, crawl, map, extraction, batch, and research capabilities according to enabled tools and account limits.
Data handlingQueries/URLs are sent to Tavily and results contain third-party web content.URLs, queries, extraction schemas, and retrieved page content are processed by the configured Firecrawl service. Cloud mode sends them to Firecrawl; self-hosted mode follows the operator's deployment and any configured model/provider dependencies.
Limitations
Tradeoffs
  • Read-oriented workflow lowers destructive risk, but web content can still contain prompt injection
  • Hosted service usage and quotas depend on Tavily account limits
  • Broad scrape, crawl, search, and autonomous-agent tools are powerful but enlarge prompt-injection, compliance, and cost exposure.
  • Cloud mode is easy to configure; self-hosting adds operational burden.
  • Remote URL forms that embed an API key are convenient but can leak through configuration, logs, screenshots, or history.
  • The reviewed v2.0.0 release moved the MCP server to the Firecrawl v2 API and added Streamable HTTP.
Risk contextMedium. Web content is untrusted; API credentials and recent dependency/security fixes should be revalidated before promotion.Main risks are prompt injection from untrusted pages, collection-policy violations, sensitive URL/query disclosure, API-key leakage, and agent-driven credit spend. Use URL allow-lists, low limits, human approval, and a dedicated low-budget key.
Evidence date
Editorial review2026-09-112026-09-05
Candidate evidence2026-09-11T00:00:00.000Z2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

Popularity, maintenance, fit, permissions, and client support are independent evidence fields.

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