---
title: "Compare Server Types"
description: "Compare the different types of MCP servers"
---

# Compare MCP Server Types

Depending on the transport you use and where you want to run your MCP server, Arcade offers different functionalities and features. Below is a comparison of the different server types and their capabilities.

| Transport | Deployment                                                                   | Tools without requirements | Tools with secrets | Tools with auth (single-user) | Tools with auth (multi-user) |
| --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------: | :----------------: | :---------------------------: | :--------------------------: |
| stdio     | local                                                                        |             ✅             |         ✅         |              ✅               |              ❌              |
| http      | local ([unprotected](/resources/glossary#unprotected-mcp-servers))           |             ✅             |         ❌         |              ❌               |              ❌              |
| http      | remote ([unprotected](/resources/glossary#unprotected-mcp-servers))          |             ✅             |         ❌         |              ❌               |              ❌              |
| http      | local ([protected](/resources/glossary#protected-mcp-servers))               |             ✅             |         ✅         |              ✅               |              ✅              |
| http      | remote ([protected](/resources/glossary#protected-mcp-servers))              |             ✅             |         ✅         |              ✅               |              ✅              |
| http      | Arcade Cloud                                                                 |             ✅             |         ✅         |              ✅               |              ✅              |