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MCP Comparison · 2026

Grafana vs PostgreSQL (archived) MCP Server

Comparing Grafana and PostgreSQL (archived) as MCP servers? Grafana (query grafana dashboards) is best when incident investigation across metrics + logs. PostgreSQL (archived) (query postgres) is best when auditing or replacing an existing install. Both run as Model Context Protocol servers and can coexist in the same client. Updated 2026.

Grafana

Grafana

Query dashboards, Prometheus/Loki datasources, alerts, and incidents from an AI agent — official.

PostgreSQL (archived)

PostgreSQL (archived)

Anthropic's reference Postgres MCP — archived July 2025 and superseded by Postgres MCP Pro or the Supabase MCP.

Side-by-side specs

Pulled from each MCP's verified fact sheet.

 GrafanaPostgreSQL (archived)
Primary functionQuery Grafana dashboardsQuery Postgres
MaintainerGrafana LabsAnthropic (archived 2025-07-10)
PricingFreemiumOpen source
Setup complexityMedium · ~5 minLow · ~3 min
Transportstdio, SSE, Streamable HTTPstdio
Auth modelAPI keyAPI key
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoTypeScript
Latest versionlatestarchived
Compatible clientsClaude, Cursor, VS Code, Any MCP-compatible client, Grafana 9.0+Claude, Cursor, Any MCP-compatible client, PostgreSQL 12+
Last verified2026-07-162026-05-29

Which one should you pick?

Decision rubric drawn from each MCP's documented strengths.

Choose Grafana

  • Incident investigation across metrics + logs
  • Querying Prometheus and Loki via one MCP
  • Dashboard search and editing
See full Grafana write-up →

Choose PostgreSQL (archived)

  • Auditing or replacing an existing install
  • Reference reading for how the early MCP servers were structured
See full PostgreSQL (archived) write-up →

Pick something else if…

  • Grafana versions before 9.0
  • New installs (the repo is archived)

Feature breakdown

Key capabilities each server ships out of the box.

Grafana

  • Dashboards + 12 datasource types (Prometheus, Loki, ClickHouse, CloudWatch…)
  • Alerting, Incident, OnCall, Sift tools
  • stdio, SSE, and streamable-http transports
  • Service-account token auth
  • Official Grafana Labs, Apache-2.0, Go

PostgreSQL (archived)

  • Archived on 2025-07-10 — no upstream maintenance
  • Read-only contract is bypassable per Datadog Security Labs
  • SELECT-only tool surface (when the contract holds)
  • Stdio transport; one connection per process
  • Recommended migration: Postgres MCP Pro or Supabase MCP

Install snippets

Open the detail page for ready-to-paste config for every major client.

Install Grafana

Setup snippets for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf →

docker run --rm -i -e GRAFANA_URL -e GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN grafana/mcp-grafana -t stdio

Install PostgreSQL (archived)

Setup snippets for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf →

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db

FAQ

Grafana vs PostgreSQL (archived): which MCP server should I use?

Pick Grafana when incident investigation across metrics + logs. Pick PostgreSQL (archived) when auditing or replacing an existing install. Grafana is built for query grafana dashboards, while PostgreSQL (archived) focuses on query postgres.

Can I run both Grafana and PostgreSQL (archived) together?

Yes. MCP clients run each server as a separate process and surface every server's tools simultaneously, so you can install both and let your agent decide which to call. Be deliberate with auth scopes when stacking servers.

Which is easier to set up, Grafana or PostgreSQL (archived)?

PostgreSQL (archived) has the lighter setup. Grafana reports medium complexity (~5 min); PostgreSQL (archived) reports low complexity (~3 min).

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