Compare

Database MCP servers,
compared honestly.

Standalone servers you configure with a connection string, or the connections you already have in your editor. Here is what each one actually does today, and where each wins.

The short version

Most database MCP servers are a process you point at one database with a connection string. They're good at it, several are open source, and they run anywhere, CI included. The best ones specialize: Postgres MCP Pro tunes Postgres, Supabase and Neon run their platforms, Microsoft's server keeps the agent away from free-form SQL entirely.

DBCode takes a different route. It's a database IDE inside VS Code, Cursor, and other VS Code editors, and its MCP server gives agents the connections you already saved there, across 103+ databases. Limits are set per connection, per statement type, with a separate role just for AI, and sensitive values can be masked before the agent reads them. The trade: you set connections up in the editor, and it isn't open source.

At a glance

Eight database MCP servers.

Server Databases How it runs Connection config Safety controls
DBCode Proprietary. MCP server free 103+ Editor extension (auto-registered in VS Code and Cursor), or dbcode mcp for Claude Code and others Your saved editor connections. No connection string in the MCP config Read-only mode, per-statement allow/ask/deny roles, separate AI roles, missing WHERE detection, data masking
DBHub (Bytebase) MIT PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite npx or Docker, stdio or HTTP A DSN, or dbhub.toml for several databases Read-only and max rows per tool, query timeout, SSH tunnels, SSL
Postgres MCP Pro MIT PostgreSQL Docker, pipx, or uvx, stdio or SSE DATABASE_URI environment variable Restricted mode: read-only transactions with a time limit
Supabase MCP Apache 2.0 Supabase projects Hosted remote server with browser sign-in URL parameters read_only flag, scope to one project, choose tool groups
Neon MCP MIT Neon projects Hosted remote server, OAuth or API key URL parameters readonly flag, project and role scoping, migrations tested on a branch
Google MCP Toolbox Apache 2.0 20+ engines, strongest on Google Cloud Binary, container, or npx, stdio or HTTP tools.yaml, or prebuilt per database Custom parameterized tools, Google and OIDC sign-in, IAM auth
Microsoft SQL MCP Server MIT SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Cosmos DB Self-hosted, stdio or HTTP dab-config.json listing allowed tables, views, procedures Access control per table and field. No free-form SQL, no DDL
MongoDB MCP Server Apache 2.0 MongoDB and Atlas npx or Docker, stdio or HTTP Connection string or Atlas service account Read-only flag, disable tools by name or type, confirmation for destructive tools

Verified October 2026 against each project's own README and documentation. DBCode's AI access roles and data masking are Pro features. The official @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres is left out: it is deprecated and archived. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.

To be fair

Where the standalone servers win.

  • No editor in the loop. DBHub, Postgres MCP Pro, Google MCP Toolbox, and MongoDB's server run from a connection string on any machine, including CI and headless containers. DBCode's CLI serves your saved connections without the editor open, but those connections are set up in the editor first.
  • Open source. Every standalone server above is MIT or Apache 2.0. You can read, patch, and fork them. DBCode is not open source.
  • Postgres tuning. Postgres MCP Pro has an index advisor using hypothetical indexes, workload analysis from pg_stat_statements, and health checks for vacuum, replication, and cache hit rate. DBCode doesn't offer that to agents.
  • Platform operations. Supabase's server handles migrations, TypeScript type generation, logs, and edge functions. Neon's tests migrations and query tuning on a temporary branch before touching your main one. If your database lives on one of those platforms, use its server for platform work.
  • No free-form SQL. Microsoft's SQL MCP Server exposes only the tables, views, and procedures you list, through fixed describe, create, read, update, delete, execute, and aggregate tools, with access control down to the field. If the agent should never write SQL, that's the stronger model.
  • Small tool surface. DBHub's default config exposes two tools, which keeps the agent's context lean.
Where DBCode fits

When your connections already live in the editor.

  • No connection strings in agent config. The agent uses the connections you saved in DBCode, SSH tunnels and all. The MCP entry is just dbcode mcp, so it's safe to commit. In VS Code and Cursor there's no entry at all: DBCode registers itself.
  • One server, 103+ databases. Postgres on Monday, SQL Server on Tuesday, MongoDB with native db.collection.find() syntax on Wednesday, same setup.
  • Finer limits than a read-only flag. Each connection has a role that allows, asks about, or denies each statement type, and a separate AI access role that can only narrow it: Read-only, Collaborator (asks before writes), or Blocked. Missing WHERE detection catches a filterless UPDATE or DELETE either way.
  • Masking before the model sees it. Detectors check the values a query returns, so SELECT ssn AS x is still masked. More on masking.
  • You see what the agent sees. The same tool you use to browse, query, and edit the data is the one the agent goes through, so checking its work is a tab away.

Setup guides: Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot agent mode, Windsurf, Kiro, and Antigravity, and production safety.

FAQ

Common questions.

What is the best MCP server for databases?
It depends on the job. For deep Postgres tuning, Postgres MCP Pro. For a Supabase or Neon project, that platform's own server. For a headless, open source server across a few engines, DBHub. For an agent that should only touch named tables with no free-form SQL, Microsoft's SQL MCP Server. For an agent that uses the connections you already manage, across 103+ databases with per-connection permissions and masking, DBCode.
Is the official Postgres MCP server still maintained?
No. @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres is marked no longer supported on npm, and its repository has moved to the archived reference servers, which carry no security guarantees. Older guides still point to it.
Which database MCP servers have a read-only mode?
DBHub (per tool), Postgres MCP Pro (restricted mode), Supabase (read_only), Neon (readonly), MongoDB (--readOnly), and DBCode (connection read-only mode and a Read-only AI role). Whichever you use, also give the agent a database user that only has SELECT grants: that is the one limit the database enforces itself.
Do I need a separate MCP server for each database?
With single-engine servers, yes. DBHub and Google MCP Toolbox can serve several databases from one config file. DBCode serves every connection you have saved, so one entry covers all of them.
Can a database MCP server mask PII?
Few do. DBCode masks emails, card numbers, SSNs, phone numbers, IBANs, and secrets in results before they reach the agent, plus column rules you define (a Pro feature). DBHub points to Bytebase, its paid product, for masking.
Do these work with Claude Code and Cursor?
Yes, all of them speak MCP. For DBCode in Claude Code, run claude mcp add dbcode -- dbcode mcp. In Cursor, DBCode registers itself when the extension loads, with nothing to add to .cursor/mcp.json.

DBCode is rated 4.7 ★ from 87 reviews on the VS Code Marketplace, with 1.1 million+ installs across the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX.

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