This comparison is part of our MCP comparisons, within The MCP Guide. Facts are checked against each vendor's own documentation and pricing pages on the date shown.
Pick Arcade if your main worry is control: agents that act strictly as the signed-in user, self-hosting, and enterprise policy hooks. Pick Composio if you want the largest per-call value and a big app catalog with a generous free tier. Both are MCP (Model Context Protocol) platforms that handle sign-in and tool execution for AI agents.
Checked against: Arcade's docs and Composio's docs on 28 October 2026. eSEOspace did not test either product.
Key Takeaways
- Arcade calls itself "the MCP runtime that handles user authentication, authorization, policy enforcement, and tool execution."
- Composio exposes per-user tool sessions as a hosted MCP endpoint, with "Composio-managed auth" as the default.
- Arcade's Team plan is $25 a month plus $0.01 per tool call; Composio's Pro plan is $29 a month plus $0.0003 per call.
- Arcade's docs list self-hosting with Helm, and its Enterprise plan covers VPC or air-gapped deployment. Composio's pages describe a hosted service.
- Smithery's notice says Smithery is "now part of Arcade," and its directory is "now powered by Arcade.dev."
At a glance
| Item | Arcade | Composio |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | MCP runtime with delegated authorization | Tool platform with hosted MCP sessions |
| Tool coverage | 8,000+ tools (homepage); 7,500+ tools across 81 MCP servers (docs) | 1,500+ apps |
| Authorization model | Agent acts as its user, "never past its own scope" | Managed auth per user session |
| Bring your own MCP server | Yes, "custom MCP you build or bring" | Yes, add custom MCP servers for free |
| Build tools | Arcade SDK and MCP framework | Framework packages for OpenAI, Anthropic, Vercel AI SDK |
| Self-hosting | Helm; VPC or air-gapped on Enterprise | Not documented on pages checked |
| Free tier | 2,000 tool calls a month | 100,000 tool calls a month |
| Per-call price | $0.01 on Team | $0.0003 on Pro |
| Compliance claim | SOC 2 compliant | SOC 2 Type II |
Where Arcade is stronger
Acting as the user, nothing more
Arcade's homepage says "authentication runs against your IdP," meaning your identity provider such as Okta. It adds that "authorization is delegated, so the agent acts as its user and never past its own scope." Its FAQ says each action runs where user permissions and agent scope overlap, instead of through service accounts. That model limits what a tricked or buggy agent can reach.
Deployment choice
The Arcade docs list "Arcade Cloud, cloud marketplaces, or self-host with Helm." The homepage lists "cloud, on-prem, air-gapped, or hybrid." Regulated companies that cannot send tokens to a vendor cloud have a path here.
Audit records built for security teams
Arcade says each action "leaves one record, naming the agent, the user, and the system, streamed to your SIEM." A SIEM is a security log system. The homepage also claims "SSO, RBAC, and full audit logs out of the box," though its pricing page places those on Enterprise.
The Smithery directory
Smithery's change notice says its hosted connection services shut down on 31 October 2026. The public directory stays online, "now powered by Arcade.dev." Arcade's homepage did not mention this on 28 October. Our Arcade spotlight has more.
Where Composio is stronger
Much lower cost per call
Composio's pricing page lists $0.0003 per tool call on Pro. Arcade's pricing page lists $0.01 per call on Team. At list prices, that is a large gap for high-volume agents.
Bigger free tier
Composio's Hobby plan includes 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 triggers a month. Arcade's Free plan includes 2,000 tool calls a month. For a prototype that sees real traffic, Composio's free tier lasts much longer.
A no-code path
Composio's homepage describes "Composio For You," which lets people connect ChatGPT or Claude "without writing any code." Arcade's pages speak mainly to companies and developers deploying agents. See our Composio spotlight.
Pricing
Both pricing pages were checked on 28 October 2026.
| Plan level | Arcade | Composio |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, 2,000 tool calls a month, Arcade Cloud, community support | $0, 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 triggers a month, 3 team members |
| Paid self-serve | Team: $25/month plus $0.01 per tool call, next-business-day email support | Pro: $29/month with a $29 usage credit, then $0.0003 per tool call |
| Enterprise | Custom; annual call bundles, VPC or air-gapped, SSO, RBAC, audit logs, private registry | Custom; SSO, SCIM, customer-managed keys, SLA |
Arcade's page says "pay for what your agents actually do, not per seat." Composio's page says its current pricing applies to signups on or after 15 August 2026, with existing customers kept on their plans through 31 December 2026.
Security and admin controls
- Authorization. Arcade's delegated model ties each call to a user's own permissions. Composio scopes tools per session and handles each user's sign-in.
- Credentials. Composio says tokens "stay with Composio, encrypted, and your AI never sees them." Arcade says it "handles OAuth and manages user tokens."
- Identity and roles. Arcade lists SSO and RBAC (role-based access control) on Enterprise. Composio lists SSO and SCIM on Enterprise.
- Policy. Arcade's homepage says it "supports pre- and post-tool-call hooks that let your team add custom policies without forking the runtime." Composio sells a Firewall add-on, priced per million tokens evaluated.
- Keys. Composio offers customer-managed keys on Enterprise. Arcade offers self-hosting, which keeps keys in your own environment.
Whichever you pick, start with the narrowest tool set. Our guide to MCP authentication and OAuth explains delegated access, and our MCP security hub lists the checks to run first.
Which to choose
- Pick Arcade if your security team insists that an agent never exceeds the user's own permissions.
- Pick Arcade if you must self-host in your VPC or an air-gapped network.
- Pick Composio if your agent makes many calls and price per call matters most.
- Pick Composio if you want a free tier that can carry real traffic, or a no-code option for staff.
- Look at both if you need MCP gateways that combine several servers. Arcade documents MCP gateways; Composio sessions bundle toolkits per user.
See other platforms in our MCP integration platforms list and more MCP comparisons.
Next step
Write down your expected monthly calls and your deployment rules before you talk to sales. If you need help weighing a platform against your own MCP server, our MCP development team can scope both paths.
Frequently asked questions
Did Arcade acquire Smithery?
Smithery's own notice is signed by a cofounder of "Smithery (now part of Arcade)" and says the directory is "now powered by Arcade.dev." Arcade's homepage did not mention it on 28 October 2026. Neither site gave deal terms.
Which has more tools?
Arcade cites 8,000+ tools on its homepage and 7,500+ across 81 MCP servers in its docs. Composio cites 1,500+ apps, counting apps rather than tools. The units differ, so check each catalog for the apps you need.
Can I self-host either one?
Arcade's docs describe self-hosting with Helm, and its Enterprise plan covers VPC and air-gapped setups. The Composio pages we checked describe a hosted service; its MIT-licensed GitHub repository is the SDK monorepo, separate from the hosted platform.
Which costs less?
At list prices, Composio's $0.0003 per call on Pro is lower than Arcade's $0.01 per call on Team. Enterprise rates for both are custom.
