# Remote vs Local MCP Servers: 51.9% Remote, 26.4% Local
> Of 659 MCP servers, 342 run remotely, 174 run locally, and 130 offer both. 13 do not state it clearly.
Canonical: https://www.mcpfolio.com/research/remote-vs-local-mcp-servers
Last updated: 2026-11-11
Of 659 MCP servers in the MCPfolio catalog, 342 (51.9%) are remote only, 174 (26.4%) are local only, and 130 (19.7%) offer both. 13 do not state how they run.

## Key findings

- 646 of 659 listings (98.0%) state how the server runs clearly enough to classify.
- 472 servers can be used remotely, and 304 can be run locally.

## Data

**How MCP servers run**

| Hosting | Servers | Share of catalog |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remote only | 342 | 51.9% |
| Local only | 174 | 26.4% |
| Both remote and local | 130 | 19.7% |
| Not stated in a classifiable way | 13 | 2.0% |

## Method

- Source: the MCPfolio catalog release published 2026-11-11, 659 server listings. Figures update when a new catalog release is published.
- Hosting is recorded as free text from publisher documentation. A listing is “remote” if its text describes a hosted, cloud, or remote service, “local” if it describes a local, stdio, or self-hosted process, and “both” if it describes both.
- When the hosting text says nothing usable, the documented transport is used: stdio counts as local, HTTP or SSE as remote. Listings with neither are shown as not stated.
- This is a text classification, so a small number of listings may be placed in a neighbouring group.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are most MCP servers remote or local?

342 are remote only (51.9%) and 174 are local only (26.4%), out of 659 listings. 130 offer both.

### What does a local MCP server mean?

A local MCP server runs as a process on your own machine, usually over stdio. A remote server is hosted by the publisher or another provider and is reached over HTTP.


## Related

- [MCP server research](https://www.mcpfolio.com/research)
- [Most Common MCP Tools: 15,624 Tools From 630 Servers](https://www.mcpfolio.com/research/most-common-mcp-tools)
- [MCP Server Publishers: 554 Publishers, Google Cloud Leads With 61](https://www.mcpfolio.com/research/mcp-server-publishers)