Fensory vs Alpaca MCP
Alpaca is a United States broker with an open-source MCP server that can trade real US equities, ETFs, options and crypto. Fensory is a Swiss trading account for non-US users whose MCP reaches Hyperliquid spot and perpetual futures, while tokenized equities and treasuries sit on the separate app surface.
The operating model differs just as sharply. Alpaca is self-hosted and puts an API key and secret in the client configuration. Paper trading is the default and live trading is an explicit switch. Fensory is a hosted remote server authorized through OAuth, with no exchange key in the client and account settings that can reject an order before it reaches a venue.
Every cell was checked against first-party documentation, governing terms or regulator material on 2026-10-18, never on a directory listing or another comparison. Fensory publishes this page and appears in the table.
Side by side
| Product | Who holds the funds | What stops a bad order | What it trades | Where you can open it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaca MCP ServerOpen-source MCP into a US brokerage account | Alpaca Securities, in your brokerage account | None documented. Paper trading is the default and live trading is an explicit switch | US equities and ETFs, options, crypto | Not documented for the MCP server |
| FensoryOursHosted MCP and app account for eligible non-US users | You. Tokens settle to a wallet you control, perp margin sits at the venue | a kill-switch, an access expiry, a market allow-list and a per-order cap, all enforced on the account. An order above the cap is rejected rather than trimmed | MCP: Hyperliquid spot and perpetual futures. App: tokenized US equities and treasuries, and gold | Not available to US persons |
Every row uses the same custody, control, asset and geography fields so the comparison stays aligned.
What you are choosing
The operating trade-off in concrete terms, from first setup to the markets the agent can reach.
| Decision | Alpaca MCP | Fensory |
|---|---|---|
| Primary instrument | Real US securities | Hyperliquid spot and perpetual futures through MCP; tokenized assets in the app |
| Where it runs | Server you host | Remote hosted server |
| Client credential | API key and secret | OAuth token |
| Practice path | Paper trading is the default | No public paper environment documented |
| Account control | Paper or live account boundary | Order cap, market allow-list, access expiry and kill-switch |
Where it is stronger
Specific rather than generous. A comparison that cannot name what the other product does better has not understood it.
Alpaca MCP Server
Alpaca is the clearer answer for an eligible US reader who wants an AI assistant to trade actual shares and listed options. The server is open source, paper trading is the default, and its current documentation covers sixty-five tools across account, portfolio, trade, market-data, discovery and watchlist tasks. A developer can inspect the implementation and decide exactly where it runs.
What connecting actually involves
Alpaca MCP Server
Create or use an Alpaca brokerage account, generate an API key and secret, place them in the MCP client configuration and run the official server. The paper endpoint is the default. Moving to live trading is an explicit configuration choice. The public documentation describes US equities, ETFs, options and crypto and allows tool groups to be filtered before the client sees them.
Fensory
Connect the remote endpoint, complete browser OAuth and configure the account controls in the app. The assistant can then read the account and supported markets and place permitted Hyperliquid spot or perpetual futures orders. Tokenized equities and treasuries shown in the app are not silently exposed as MCP stock purchases.
Where Fensory differs
Fensory removes the broker API secret and local server from the client setup. The reader authorizes one hosted endpoint through OAuth, so rotating a file-based brokerage credential and keeping a process online are not part of the connection workflow.
The account controls are also different. Fensory checks a per-order cap, approved markets, access expiry and the agentic-trading kill-switch outside the model. Alpaca documents paper and live account separation, but no comparable per-order control in the MCP server.
The products serve different readers. Alpaca provides a US brokerage account and real shares. Fensory excludes US persons and separates the MCP execution surface from app-only tokenized equities and treasuries. Substituting one for the other changes both the instrument and the legal account.
Which one is for you
You are eligible for a US brokerage account and want actual shares or listed options
Alpaca. That is the instrument and regulatory account it is built to provide.
You want to inspect and modify the server code
Alpaca. Its official server is open source under MIT and runs on infrastructure you choose.
You want a hosted OAuth connection without a brokerage secret in the client
Fensory, if you are eligible. The server and signing path are operated remotely.
You want a paper account before any real order is possible
Alpaca. Paper trading is the documented default and is the strongest testing path in this comparison.
You need a backend-enforced cap on each order
Fensory. Remember that a per-order cap does not limit cumulative losses or the number of orders.
Questions people ask
- Does Alpaca MCP trade real stocks?
- Yes. For an eligible Alpaca brokerage account, its official server can trade US equities and ETFs as well as options and crypto. Paper trading is the default until the user explicitly switches to live.
- Does Fensory MCP buy tokenized stocks?
- No. The current Fensory MCP stock-named markets are equity perpetual futures where supported. Tokenized equities from Ondo and xStocks are surfaced in the app and are a separate product path.
- Which setup keeps credentials off my machine?
- Fensory uses OAuth and does not place an exchange API key or wallet private key in the MCP client configuration. Alpaca requires an API key and secret in the client configuration for the self-hosted server.
- Is an API key the same as a wallet private key?
- No. An Alpaca API credential can be revoked and is scoped to a brokerage account. A blockchain private key controls its wallet directly. Both require careful storage, but the recovery and authority models differ.
- Which option is available outside the United States?
- Fensory is designed for eligible non-US users and is unavailable to US persons. Alpaca does not publish MCP-specific geography, so account eligibility must be checked with the broker rather than inferred from the server code.
How this was put together
The product rows are pulled from the same source objects used by the trading MCP roundup, so custody, credentials, assets and limits cannot drift between the two pages.
Alpaca facts were checked against its official Trading API MCP documentation on 18 October 2026. Tool count is not placed in the comparison table because it can change independently of the durable account model.
This page does not call tokenized equities shares or equate an equity perpetual future with ownership. The instrument difference appears before the product recommendation because it changes what the reader is buying.
Fensory publishes this comparison and sells one of the two products. Alpaca receives the recommendation for real US securities, paper trading and open-source control.