How Pricing Works

mctx uses a free-by-default hosting model with graduated per-request fees above a generous free tier. Optional monetization lets you charge subscribers and keep 100% of what they pay.

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Pricing on mctx has two separate flows: hosting fees (what you pay mctx) and subscriber revenue (what subscribers pay you, if you enable monetization). These are independent. You can host your MCP server forever without ever touching monetization.

Hosting Fees

Free Tier

Every MCP server gets 1,000 requests per month, always free. Below that threshold, there are no fees and no payment method required.

This is enough for roughly 50 daily active users making several requests each. For a new MCP server just getting started, you'll likely never hit the limit in your first few months.

Graduated Tiers Above the Free Tier

When your MCP server exceeds 1,000 requests in a calendar month, graduated per-request fees apply:

Monthly requests	Rate per 1K	Example monthly cost
First 1,000	Free	$0
1,001 – 10,000	$1.00/1K	up to $9.00
10,001 – 100,000	$0.85/1K	up to $76.50 more
100,001+	$0.80/1K	$0.80 per 1K above

Only requests above the free tier are counted toward fees, and each tier rate applies only to the requests within that tier (graduated billing, not flat-rate).

Example: 15,000 requests in a month

Range	Count	Rate	Cost
First 1,000	1,000	Free	$0.00
1,001 – 10,000	9,000	$1.00/1K	$9.00
10,001 – 100,000	5,000	$0.85/1K	$4.25
Total			$13.25

Suspension When No Payment Method is on File

All requests above 1,000 per month are billed at graduated rates — including in the month your MCP server first crosses the threshold. There is no billing waiver for the first overage month.

If no valid payment method is on file when your MCP server first crosses 1,000 requests, your MCP server is suspended immediately at that threshold. To avoid suspension, add a payment method before you expect to exceed the free tier.

Once you add a payment method, your MCP server resumes immediately. All months above the free tier are billed at the graduated rates above.

Minimum Invoice Amount

The minimum hosting fee invoice is $1.00. This is a consequence of how billing is calculated: each 1,000-request block is rounded up to the nearest whole block before pricing is applied. A server with only a small overage above 1,000 requests (for example, 1,010 requests) is billed for one full 1K block at $1.00/1K — the $1.00 floor is a result of ceiling-block math, not a separate accumulation mechanism.

Optional Monetization

Monetization lets you charge subscribers for using your MCP server. It is entirely optional — most MCP servers start without it.

How It Works

When you enable monetization on an MCP server:

You set a price per 1,000 requests
Subscribers pay that price directly to you
You keep 100% of subscriber revenue
You are the merchant of record — payments go to your bank account via your payout account

Monetization is separate from hosting fees. You pay mctx for hosting; subscribers pay you for access. These are two different flows.

Subscriber Pricing

Subscribers pay based on actual usage:

Your price per 1K	100 requests	1,000 requests	10,000 requests
$1.00	$0.10	$1.00	$10.00
$3.00	$0.30	$3.00	$30.00
$5.00	$0.50	$5.00	$50.00
$10.00	$1.00	$10.00	$100.00

Locked-In Pricing

The price a subscriber sees when they subscribe is locked in for as long as they maintain that subscription. Their rate never changes while subscribed — no matter what happens next:

You raise the price → They still pay the locked-in rate (while subscribed)
You release a new version → They still pay the locked-in rate (while subscribed)
Demand bonus kicks in → They still pay the locked-in rate (while subscribed)

If a subscriber cancels and resubscribes later, they pay the current price at that time — not their original locked-in rate.

Enabling Monetization

Monetization requires payout setup first. Once your payout account is verified:

Go to your MCP server's detail page
Find the Monetization section
Click Enable Monetization
A confirmation modal shows how many existing subscribers will be grandfathered
Set your price per 1,000 requests
Confirm

Subscribers who existed before you enabled monetization are grandfathered — their access remains free. New subscribers pay your set price.

Subscriber Grandfathering

When you enable monetization, any existing free subscribers keep free access for as long as they stay subscribed. This is a one-time commitment — if a grandfathered subscriber cancels and resubscribes, they pay the current price.

This policy lets you grow a free audience first, then start charging new subscribers without penalizing your early adopters.

Demand Bonus Pricing

Developers can optionally enable demand bonus pricing. When a server has high traffic:

The price automatically increases based on requests per minute
New subscribers lock in the higher rate
Existing subscribers keep their original rate

The bonus is calculated as:

Price with bonus = Base price x (1 + RPM / 1000)

Requests per Minute	Bonus	Price Multiplier
0	0%	1.0x
500	50%	1.5x
1,000	100%	2.0x
2,000	200%	3.0x

For example, a $1.00/1K server with 500 RPM would cost new subscribers $1.50/1K.

What Counts as a Request?

A request is any MCP method call that your client makes to the server:

tools/list - List available tools
tools/call - Execute a tool
resources/list - List available resources
resources/read - Read a resource
prompts/list - List available prompts
prompts/get - Get a prompt

The initialize, notifications/initialized, and ping messages are handled by the platform and do not count toward usage.

Next Steps

How Payouts Work - Set up payouts and start receiving subscriber payments
Developer Subscription - Access your own MCP server for testing
Deploy Your Server - Deploy your MCP server (no payment setup needed)

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