MCP server resource benchmark: RAM, startup time and tool counts for 11 servers

A benchmark published 2026-08-20 by TechFuelHQ measured eleven popular MCP servers on Windows 11 and found each holds 178-422MB of RAM (median 188MB), starts in 0.5-1.9 seconds warm, and exposes between 1 and 26 tools, with a concurrent five-server stack totaling 961.6MB. The heaviest server was Qdrant (Python, 3.12 pin) at 422MB and 1,881ms ready, while GitHub (legacy npm) 0.6.2 was lightest at 178MB with 26 tools; bare Node and Python runtime floors measured 52.1MB and 15.2MB. Author LK Wood IV published the results as an open CC BY 4.0 CSV (dataset techfuelhq-mcp-server-bench v1.0.0) and reported the 961.6MB stack figure was cross-checked to the decimal via psutil and PowerShell WorkingSet64, concluding tool count barely predicts memory weight because the runtime and framework dominate.

Measured 2026-08-19 on Windows 11: eleven popular MCP servers hold 178-422MB of RAM each median 188MB , start in 0.5-1.9 seconds warm, and a concurrent five-server stack totals 961.6MB — confirmed by two independent measurement paths. Runtime floors: 52MB bare Node, 15MB bare Python. Published as open CC BY 4.0 CSV. - Dataset ID - techfuelhq-mcp-server-bench - Version - 1.0.0 - Rows - 11 - Format - CSV - Published - Page updated By LK Wood IV https://techfuelhq.com/author/lk-wood-iv/ · Published 2026-08-20 · ~3 min read · St. Louis County, MO The short version I benchmarked eleven of the most-recommended MCP servers for what they cost to keep resident. The answer: 178-422MB of RAM each median 188MB , ready in 0.5-1.9 seconds warm, with tool counts from 1 to 26. A realistic concurrent five-server stack totals 961.6MB , and two independent measurement paths confirmed that figure to the decimal. Tool count barely predicts weight. The runtime and framework dominate. Download: mcp-server-bench-2026-08.csv https://techfuelhq.com/data/mcp-server-bench-2026-08.csv . CC BY 4.0, per-iteration arrays included. The measured table | Server | Version | Ready | RSS | Tools | |---|---|---|---|---| | GitHub legacy npm | 0.6.2 | 547ms | 178MB | 26 | | Playwright | 1.63.0-alpha-2026-08-05 | 618ms | 227MB | 24 | | Time Python | 1.29.0¹ | 619ms | 181MB | 2 | | Sequential-thinking | 0.2.0 | 666ms | 186MB | 1 | | Memory | 0.6.3 | 667ms | 187MB | 9 | | Filesystem | 0.2.0 | 692ms | 188MB | 14 | | Git Python | 1.29.0¹ | 699ms | 185MB | 12 | | Fetch Python | 1.29.0¹ | 717ms | 220MB | 1 | | Context7 | 4.0.2 | 815ms | 214MB | 2 | | Desktop Commander | 0.2.47 | 1,705ms | 275MB | 26 | | Qdrant Python, 3.12 pin | 1.29.0¹ | 1,881ms | 422MB | 2 | ¹ The four Python servers self-report 1.29.0 via serverInfo. That is a framework version string rather than each package’s own release number. Controls on the same box: bare Node resident loop 52.1MB, bare Python loop 15.2MB. Five-server concurrent stack components: memory 189.8, filesystem 187.1, fetch 221.7, git 184.5, GitHub 178.5. Total: 961.6MB. Method Each iteration spawns the server fresh npx or uvx, warm package cache after one discarded warmup , completes the MCP initialize handshake over stdio, requests tools/list, then samples RSS across the full descendant process tree. I report medians of five iterations, three for the two servers benched later the same evening, marked in the CSV. The bench script lives in our repo at ops/bench/mcp/mcp bench.py. For the decision layer, meaning which servers earn their memory and which to skip, read the companion article https://techfuelhq.com/self-hosted/best-mcp-servers-homelab-2026/ . Known limitations, named: one Windows 11 machine, warm caches, stdio transport only, readiness and listing timed rather than per-tool-call latency under load. The GitHub entry is the legacy npm package; GitHub’s current first-party server ships as a Go binary and hosted remote. Version 1.0.0 of this dataset; changes will be logged in the update history above. Frequently asked questions How much RAM does an MCP server use? How was the five-server stack measured? Why does the dataset sum the whole process tree? What are the measurement conditions? Sources and corrections - Last updated - Methodology - See our methodology https://techfuelhq.com/methodology/ for research and review standards. - Update log - 2026-08-20 — v1.0.0 first publication. 11 servers, 5 iterations each 3 for the two late additions, marked in the CSV , warm package cache, stdio JSON-RPC initialize + tools/list, RSS summed over the full descendant process tree. Five-stack total cross-checked psutil vs PowerShell WorkingSet64: 961.6MB exact agreement. - Corrections - Spotted an error or a stale number? Email contact@techfuelhq.com mailto:contact@techfuelhq.com . Confirmed corrections are recorded here with the date and change.