What is an MCP gateway? The main ones compared
An MCP gateway gives AI agents one address for many MCP servers, with sign-in, access rules and logs. What it does, the main ones, and one for your own apps.
Updated
Short answer
An MCP gateway sits between AI agents and the MCP servers they use (MCP servers are connectors that let an agent use an app). It gives every agent one address, signs in to each app so agents never hold your credentials, decides which tools each agent may call, and logs every call. Most gateways are for companies running their own servers, like Docker's, Microsoft's and IBM's. For your own email, calendar, Drive, Slack and LinkedIn, a hosted gateway such as Upsy, Zapier MCP, Pipedream or Composio does the same with nothing to run.
What an MCP gateway does
Cloudflare's definition is a good one: a gateway "centralizes multiple Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers onto a single HTTP endpoint" (Cloudflare). Most do some of these:
- One address. Agents add one server instead of one per app.
- Sign-in. The gateway holds each app's tokens or keys. Agents sign in to the gateway with OAuth and never see them.
- Access rules. Which agent may call which tool, such as read-only for one and full access for another.
- Logs. A record of every call, by agent.
- Safety checks, in some: masking secrets and personal data, or screening for prompt injection.
An MCP server gives an agent one app's tools. A gateway puts many servers behind one address and adds the rules and logs.
When you need one
- Several agents use the same apps. Connect Gmail once instead of in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Grok separately.
- You want different limits per agent. For example, your coding agent reads email but never sends.
- You want one record of what every agent did, and a way to turn one off.
- Your plan limits connectors. Claude's Free plan allows one custom connector, and a gateway counts as one.
If one agent uses one app, its built-in connector is usually enough.
MCP gateways compared
| Gateway | For | How it runs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Gateway | Developers | Open source, in Docker Desktop | Runs each server in a container, injects credentials, logs calls |
| Microsoft MCP Gateway | Companies on Kubernetes | Self-hosted on AKS | Entra ID sign-in and role-based access |
| IBM ContextForge | Companies | Open source | MCP, A2A and REST APIs behind one gateway, with rate limits |
| agentgateway | Platform teams | Open source (Linux Foundation) | Combines servers' tools, OAuth, role-based access |
| Kong AI MCP Proxy | Kong Enterprise customers | A gateway plugin | Turns REST APIs into MCP tools, per-tool access lists |
| Lasso MCP Gateway | Security teams | Open source | Masks secrets and personal data, checks for prompt injection |
| Cloudflare MCP server portals | Cloudflare Zero Trust customers | Hosted | One portal address, access policies, a log of each tool call |
| AWS AgentCore Gateway | AWS builders | Managed | Turns APIs and Lambda functions into MCP tools |
| Zapier MCP | People and teams | Hosted | 9,000+ apps. Each tool call uses 2 tasks from your Zapier plan |
| Pipedream MCP | People and app builders | Hosted | 3,000+ apps, free for personal use |
| Composio | Developers and people | Hosted | 1,500+ apps |
| Upsy | People | Hosted | Your email, calendar, files and work apps, with access per agent, history, memory and a cloud browser |
The first eight are for running your company's own servers. The last four are for connecting your own accounts.
Upsy as your personal MCP gateway
Upsy is one MCP server at https://upsy.ai/connect that puts your apps behind one sign-in:
- Apps with Upsy's own tools: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive with Docs and Sheets, Slack, LinkedIn and Zoho Mail, up to five accounts each.
- Apps through their own MCP servers: Linear, Notion, Jira and Confluence, Todoist, ClickUp, Airtable, Intercom, Stripe, Granola, Fireflies, GitHub and more, each signed in with that service's own login.
- Any MCP server you add, up to 20, by address, with its own OAuth or a token. See an MCP server on Tailscale for one example.
- Access per agent and app: Full access, Read-only, Pick actions or No access. A tool an agent isn't allowed isn't even listed to it.
- History and alerts: every call under the agent that made it, and an email when one agent sends, deletes or reads a lot at once.
- Shared by every agent: one memory, your files, and a cloud browser signed in to your sites.
It works with Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Muse, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and any client with remote MCP and OAuth. It's free for personal use.
What it isn't: a gateway for a company's own servers, with central policy for every employee. For that, look at Docker, Microsoft, IBM or Cloudflare above.
Set it up
- Sign up at upsy.ai and connect your apps under Apps.
- On the Assistants page, click Add assistant and pick your agent. Upsy shows its exact steps.
- Add
https://upsy.ai/connectto each agent and sign in. For example: Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Grok or Muse. - Set what each agent may do with each app on its page in Upsy.
FAQ
What is an MCP gateway?
A proxy between AI agents and MCP servers. It gives agents one address, holds the apps' credentials, controls which tools each agent may use, and logs the calls.
What's the difference between an MCP server and an MCP gateway?
An MCP server offers one app's tools. A gateway puts many servers behind one address and adds sign-in, access rules and logs. A gateway is itself an MCP server to the agents that use it.
Is there a free MCP gateway?
Yes. Docker's, Microsoft's, IBM's, agentgateway and Lasso's are open source, for you to run. Pipedream MCP and Upsy are free for personal use and hosted.
Do I need an MCP gateway for Claude or ChatGPT?
No, but it helps when you use more than one assistant, want limits per assistant, or are on Claude's Free plan, which allows one custom connector.
Is Zapier MCP a gateway?
It's a hosted set of actions in thousands of apps behind one address, so it works like one. Each tool call uses 2 tasks from your Zapier plan.