Where to Sell or List Your MCP Server in 2026: Free Listings vs Paid Channels

You can list an MCP server for free in the official MCP Registry, the AI app directories run by Anthropic and OpenAI, and catalogs such as Docker's and Cline's. But most of those places do not take payments for you. If you want a channel that handles billing, look at marketplaces such as Apify and AWS Marketplace, or at machine payment rails such as Stripe's and x402.

So the honest answer has two parts. List widely for discovery. Sell through your own accounts or a marketplace that bills on your behalf. This guide maps both, with each channel's rules, checked on 2 November 2026.

Listing vs selling

A listing makes your server easy to find and install. A sales channel collects money. Few places do both.

Free listings for discovery

Official MCP Registry

The MCP Registry docs call it "the official centralized metadata repository for publicly accessible MCP servers." It is "currently in preview," so data resets are possible. It stores a server.json with your server's name, location and setup details, not your code.

Two points to know. It "does not support private servers." And it "is intended to be consumed primarily by downstream aggregators, such as MCP server marketplaces." Publishing here feeds many other directories at once. Our lesson on publishing to the MCP Registry walks through it, and the server.json validator checks your file.

Claude Connectors Directory

Anthropic's submission guide says you submit a remote MCP server through the developer portal at claude.ai/directory/manage. "Anyone on a paid Claude plan can submit." Requirements include OAuth 2.0 for authenticated services, a title plus a readOnlyHint or destructiveHint on every tool, a privacy policy, documentation and a test account for reviewers.

Local servers are different. The guide says "desktop extension listings in the directory are deprecated, and the directory no longer accepts local servers packaged as MCP Bundles (MCPB)." To distribute a local server through the directory, put it in a plugin. Our explainer on MCP desktop extensions covers MCPB.

New submissions are scanned and, by default, listed as Community connectors. Some are escalated to a slower Verified review. The review criteria reject catch-all tools that mix read and write methods, and do not accept connectors that "Transfer money, cryptocurrency, or other financial assets."

ChatGPT plugins directory

OpenAI's submission guidelines say "All plugin submissions must come from verified individuals or organizations." On selling: "Currently, plugins may conduct commerce only for physical goods," and selling "digital products or services," including "subscriptions, digital content, tokens, or credits," is "not allowed." Plugins should send buyers to "external checkout" on your own domain, but may not link straight to a checkout page from inside the plugin.

Docker MCP Catalog

Docker's catalog docs say submissions go through the docker/mcp-registry GitHub repository, and approved servers appear within 24 hours. Docker builds and signs local servers in the catalog. See our Docker MCP spotlight.

Cline MCP Marketplace

The cline/mcp-marketplace repository takes submissions as GitHub issues with your repo URL, a 400×400 PNG logo and a reason for inclusion. Cline asks you to confirm that Cline can install your server from your README or an optional llms-install.md. Reviews consider adoption, maturity and security, and the team aims to respond "within a couple of days."

Community directories

Directories such as Glama, PulseMCP and mcp.so pull from the registry and GitHub. Smithery is now a public directory only: its hosted proxy shut down on 31 October 2026. Our roundup of MCP directories compares them.

Channels that can take payment

Apify Store

Apify runs its own store of "Actors," which can include MCP servers. Its monetization docs offer "Pay per event (PPE)" and "Pay per usage." "Apify keeps 20% of your Actor's revenue as a commission," and for pay-per-event Actors, platform usage costs come out of your payout. Apify also supports agentic payments, where agents pay through x402 or MPP without an Apify account; some options require identity verification (KYC).

AWS Marketplace

AWS launched an AI agents and tools category on 16 July 2025. Listings can note MCP and A2A support, and customers can deploy through Amazon Bedrock AgentCore. AWS says partners can "offer flexible pricing"; the AWS Marketplace Seller Guide covers registration and terms. This channel suits B2B servers sold to companies that already buy through AWS.

Stripe Directory and machine payments

If your server charges agents per call, Stripe's machine payments docs invite you to submit your integration for the Stripe Directory, "a catalog of tools and services that helps agents find your business." You email Stripe with your account details, a link to your llms.txt and example prompts. Payments land in your Stripe balance. Our explainer on MCP payments with x402 and Stripe covers the setup.

x402 Bazaar

Coinbase's MCP payments guide describes the Bazaar, a discovery server where agents search for paid x402 resources and pay to call them. If you build on x402, being findable there is part of distribution.

A simple listing plan

1. Publish server.json to the MCP Registry.
2. Submit to the directory of each AI app your buyers use.
3. Add Docker and Cline if your users are developers.
4. Choose one paid channel, or sell through your own website and accounts.
5. Keep every listing's description, tool list and screenshots in sync with your releases.

Next step

Listings bring installs; documentation and search bring buyers. Read how to market an MCP server for the launch plan, and how to monetize an MCP server to pick a pricing model. eSEOspace's MCP marketing team handles directory submissions and launch pages for MCP companies.

Frequently asked questions