Statio compared with using MCP directly
MCP specifies how an agent and a tool talk to each other. It says nothing about who is allowed to call what, where the credential lives, or what gets written down afterwards. Those are yours to build, or ours.
Access set per server is all or nothing
A read tool and a destructive tool, on one server
A database MCP server can hold a tool that reads rows next to one that deletes them. If access is set per server, an agent gets both or neither.Statio decides per tool
Grant a member or an agent access to the server, then deny the tools they should not call. A tool-level deny overrides the server grant, and the gateway checks it on every call before the credential is used.
Side by side
| Raw MCP | Statio | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | Build your own | JWT gateway with auto-refresh |
| Credential storage | Env vars or config files | Encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM) |
| Access policies | None | Per-tool, checked on every call |
| Audit trail | None unless you build it | Every call logged automatically |
| Rate limiting | None | Per organization, by plan |
| Multi-tenancy | Build from scratch | Included with tenant isolation |
| Token lifetime | Manual | Access and agent tokens 5 min, refresh 7 days |
Which fits
When to use raw MCP
Single agent calling one or two APIs in a personal project.
No customer data involved, just your own accounts.
No compliance or audit requirements.
You want to learn how MCP works at the protocol level.
When to choose Statio
Multiple agents calling multiple APIs in production.
Customer data flows through your agents. You need tenant isolation.
Compliance requires audit trails of every API call your agents make.
You need access policies so agents only reach the tools they should.
API keys are scattered across agent configs and you want them stored encrypted in one place.
Lock down your first tool in minutes.
Three MCP servers, one of them hosted, and 10,000 calls a month, free and without a card. If you outgrow it the next plan is $19.
Two steps: create your account, then install the desktop app on each machine that runs an AI client.
- Keys encrypted at rest, never handed to an agent
- Cancel anytime, nothing is deleted
- How Statio handles credentials