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Overview

Last Updated: November 2025 (v2.8.0) | View all framework comparisons →
This comparison is unique because MCP Server with LangGraph actually supports LangGraph Cloud as a deployment option. The question isn’t “either/or” but rather:
This comparison reflects our research and analysis. Please review LangGraph Cloud’s official documentation for the most current information. See our Sources & References for citations.
  • LangGraph Cloud Only: Use LangGraph Cloud as a managed service (serverless, no infrastructure)
  • MCP Server with LangGraph: Get the flexibility to deploy to LangGraph Cloud OR self-host on GCP, AWS, Azure, or Kubernetes
Key Insight: MCP Server with LangGraph gives you deployment flexibility while maintaining the option to use LangGraph Cloud when appropriate. Think of it as “LangGraph Cloud + Enterprise Features + Multi-Cloud Options.”

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Quick Comparison

AspectLangGraph Cloud OnlyMCP Server with LangGraph
LangGraph Cloud Support✅ Yes (only option)✅ Yes (one of many options)
Self-Hosted Option❌ No✅ GCP, AWS, Azure, Kubernetes
Deployment Time✅ 2 minutes✅ 2 min (Platform) to 2 hours (K8s)
Authentication⚠️ Basic API keys✅ JWT + Keycloak + SSO
Authorization⚠️ Basic✅ OpenFGA (Google Zanzibar model)
Observability✅ LangSmith✅ LangSmith + OpenTelemetry + Grafana
Disaster Recovery❌ Platform-managed only✅ Complete (automated backups, multi-region)
Cost ModelUsage-based ($0.001/node exec)Self-hosted OR Platform
Vendor Lock-in⚠️ LangChain only✅ Multi-cloud portable
Enterprise Security⚠️ Limited✅ Complete (audit, compliance)
MCP Protocol❌ No✅ Native MCP server

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Detailed Comparison

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Deployment Options

  • LangGraph Cloud Only
  • MCP Server with LangGraph
Single Deployment Model:
# Deploy to LangGraph Cloud (serverless)
langgraph deploy
Characteristics:
  • Fully managed serverless platform
  • Zero infrastructure management
  • Automatic scaling
  • 2-minute deployment time
  • No control over infrastructure
Pricing:
  • Usage-based: $0.001 per node execution
  • Developer plan: First 100k executions free
  • Uptime fees apply
Limitations:
  • Cannot self-host
  • Vendor lock-in to LangChain/LangGraph
  • Limited customization
  • No private cloud deployment

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Authentication & Authorization

FeatureLangGraph Cloud OnlyMCP Server with LangGraph
Authentication⚠️ API keys✅ JWT + Keycloak SSO
Authorization⚠️ Basic RBAC✅ OpenFGA (Google Zanzibar)
Single Sign-On❌ No✅ Keycloak integration
Service Principals⚠️ Limited✅ Full support
API Key Management✅ Basic✅ Advanced (rotation, scopes)
Identity Federation❌ No✅ SAML, OAuth, OIDC
SCIM Provisioning❌ No✅ Supported
Audit Logging⚠️ Basic✅ Complete security events
Better for enterprise identity: MCP Server with LangGraph (Keycloak, SSO, OpenFGA) Better for simplicity: LangGraph Cloud (managed auth, faster setup)

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Observability & Monitoring

Built-in:
  • LangSmith tracing
  • Basic metrics
  • Log viewing in dashboard
Strengths:
  • Works out-of-the-box
  • Integrated with platform
  • Good for development
Limitations:
  • LangSmith only (no alternative)
  • Limited custom metrics
  • No infrastructure metrics
  • Basic alerting
Dual Observability Stack:LangSmith (LLM-specific):
  • Trace every agent execution
  • Prompt engineering insights
  • Cost tracking per request
  • Evaluation datasets
OpenTelemetry (Infrastructure):
  • Distributed tracing with Jaeger
  • Prometheus metrics
  • Pre-built Grafana dashboards
  • Custom metrics support
  • Alert manager integration
Additional:
  • Structured JSON logging
  • Trace correlation across systems
  • Infrastructure metrics (CPU, memory, latency)
  • Custom dashboards for business metrics
Strengths:
  • Complete visibility (LLM + infrastructure)
  • Flexible monitoring options
  • Enterprise-grade alerting
  • Custom metrics
Considerations:
  • More complex setup (handled by Helm charts)

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Security & Compliance

RequirementLangGraph Cloud OnlyMCP Server with LangGraph
GDPR Compliance⚠️ Limited controls✅ Complete (data residency, audit)
SOC 2⚠️ Platform-level✅ Full audit trails
HIPAA❌ Not certified✅ Ready (with BAA)
Data Residency⚠️ US-only✅ Deploy in any region
Network Isolation❌ Shared infrastructure✅ Kubernetes network policies
Secret Management⚠️ Environment vars✅ Infisical + Vault integration
Binary Authorization❌ No✅ GKE Binary Authorization
Private Endpoints❌ No✅ VPC-native deployment
Better for regulated industries: MCP Server with LangGraph (HIPAA, SOC 2, complete audit trails) Better for standard use cases: LangGraph Cloud (platform compliance sufficient)

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Cost Analysis

  • LangGraph Cloud Costs
  • MCP Server with LangGraph Costs
Pricing Model:
  • Usage-based: $0.001 per node execution
  • Developer: First 100k executions free
  • Uptime fees: Charged when deployed
Example Costs:Small App (100K requests/month):
  • 500K node executions (avg 5 nodes/request)
  • Cost: $500/month
  • Plus: Uptime fees
Medium App (1M requests/month):
  • 5M node executions
  • Cost: $5,000/month
  • Plus: Uptime fees
Large App (10M requests/month):
  • 50M node executions
  • Cost: $50,000/month
  • Plus: Uptime fees
Characteristics:
  • No infrastructure costs
  • Predictable per-execution pricing
  • Can get expensive at scale
  • No way to optimize costs
Cost Winner: MCP Server with LangGraph (10-50x cheaper at scale via self-hosting)

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MCP Protocol Support

FeatureLangGraph Cloud OnlyMCP Server with LangGraph
MCP Server❌ Not a native MCP server✅ Native MCP implementation
MCP Protocol❌ No✅ Stdio + StreamableHTTP
MCP Tools⚠️ Via LangGraph tools✅ Native MCP tool support
MCP Resources❌ No✅ Full resource support
MCP Prompts❌ No✅ Prompt management
Standard Compliance❌ No✅ Full MCP spec compliance
Better for MCP protocol: MCP Server with LangGraph (purpose-built MCP server) Better for LangGraph apps: LangGraph Cloud (optimized for LangGraph without MCP overhead)

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LangGraph Features Comparison

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Core LangGraph Capabilities

Important: Both options use LangGraph 1.0, so core agent capabilities are identical. The differences are in deployment, security, and enterprise features.
LangGraph FeatureLangGraph CloudMCP Server with LangGraph
StateGraph✅ Same✅ Same
Persistence✅ Managed✅ Redis/PostgreSQL
Checkpointing✅ Automatic✅ Configurable
Streaming✅ Yes✅ Yes (+ MCP streaming)
Human-in-the-Loop✅ Yes✅ Yes
Multi-Agent✅ Yes✅ Yes (+ examples)
Async Support✅ Yes✅ Yes
Memory✅ Short + Long term✅ Short + Long term
Verdict: Identical LangGraph capabilities; differences are in surrounding infrastructure

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When to Choose Each Option

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Choose LangGraph Cloud Only When:

  • ✅ Serverless Priority - You only want serverless, never self-host
  • ✅ No DevOps Team - Don’t want to manage infrastructure
  • ✅ Quick Prototyping - Need fastest time-to-deployment (2 minutes)
  • ✅ Low Volume - Under 100K requests/month (free tier)
  • ✅ No Compliance - Not subject to GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2
  • ✅ Simple Auth - API keys are sufficient
Example Use Cases:
  • Personal projects
  • Proofs of concept
  • Hackathons
  • Low-traffic applications
  • Non-regulated industries

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Choose MCP Server with LangGraph When:

  • ✅ Deployment Flexibility - Want option to self-host or use Platform
  • ✅ Cost Optimization - High volume (>1M requests/month)
  • ✅ Enterprise Security - Need JWT, SSO, OpenFGA
  • ✅ Compliance Required - GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, data residency
  • ✅ Multi-Cloud Strategy - Want to avoid vendor lock-in
  • ✅ Complete Observability - Need LangSmith + OTEL + Grafana
  • ✅ MCP Protocol - Building MCP-compatible integrations
  • ✅ On-Premises - Need to deploy in private cloud
Example Use Cases:
  • Enterprise production applications
  • Regulated industries (healthcare, finance)
  • High-volume applications (millions of requests)
  • Multi-region deployments
  • Hybrid cloud architectures
  • Organizations with DevOps teams

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Hybrid Approach: Best of Both Worlds

Recommended Strategy: Use MCP Server with LangGraph and deploy to LangGraph Cloud initially, then migrate to self-hosted as you scale.
Development: LangGraph Cloud (2-minute deployment) Staging: Cloud Run or Kubernetes (test production config) Production: Kubernetes (cost-optimized, enterprise features) Benefits:
  • Start fast with Platform
  • Migrate to self-hosted when ready
  • No code changes needed (same LangGraph code)
  • Optimize costs as you grow

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Migration Paths

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From LangGraph Cloud to MCP Server (Self-Hosted)

1

Use MCP Server with LangGraph

Your existing LangGraph code works without changes:
# Your existing LangGraph agent code
from langgraph.graph import StateGraph

graph = StateGraph(AgentState)
# ... same code ...

# Works on Platform AND self-hosted
2

Add Enterprise Features

  • Configure JWT authentication (optional)
  • Set up OpenFGA authorization (optional)
  • Enable LangSmith + OTEL (optional)
  • Configure Infisical secrets (optional)
Note: All enterprise features are optional. Start simple, add as needed.
3

Choose Deployment Target

Prototype: Keep using LangGraph Cloud
langgraph deploy
Scale: Deploy to Cloud Run
gcloud run deploy --source .
Enterprise: Deploy to Kubernetes
helm install mcp-server ./deployments/helm
4

Optimize Costs

Monitor costs in LangSmith and decide when to migrate:
  • Platform OK: <100K requests/month
  • Consider Cloud Run: >1M requests/month
  • Consider Kubernetes: >10M requests/month

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Feature Parity Matrix

Feature CategoryLangGraph CloudMCP Server with LangGraph
Core LangGraph✅ 100%✅ 100% (same version)
Deployment Options⚠️ Platform only✅ Platform + 4 others
Authentication⚠️ API keys✅ JWT + SSO
Authorization⚠️ Basic✅ Enterprise (Google Zanzibar)
Observability⚠️ LangSmith only✅ LangSmith + OTEL
Security⚠️ Platform-level✅ Custom network policies
Compliance⚠️ Limited✅ GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2
Cost at Scale⚠️ Expensive✅ Optimizable (10-50x)
MCP Protocol❌ No✅ Native
Documentation✅ LangGraph docs✅ Complete + deployment

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Honest Recommendation

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If You’re Starting Out:

  • Use MCP Server with LangGraph and deploy to LangGraph Cloud initially
  • Get the flexibility to self-host later without code changes
  • Start simple, add enterprise features as needed

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If You’re Enterprise:

  • Use MCP Server with LangGraph - you’ll need the enterprise features (auth, compliance, observability)
  • Start on Platform for staging, deploy to Kubernetes for production

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If You’re Cost-Sensitive:

  • Prototype: MCP Server with LangGraph on Platform (free tier)
  • Production: Self-host on Cloud Run or Kubernetes (10-50x cheaper)

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If You Never Want Infrastructure:

  • Use LangGraph Cloud Only - but recognize the trade-offs (cost, compliance, vendor lock-in)

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When NOT to Use MCP Server with LangGraph:

Choose LangGraph Cloud instead if:
  • ❌ Absolutely no infrastructure management - You never want to think about Kubernetes, Docker, or servers
  • ❌ Sub-100K requests/month permanently - LangGraph Cloud’s free tier is perfect for low-volume projects
  • ❌ 2-minute deployment is critical - Every hour counts and you can’t spare setup time
  • ❌ LangChain ecosystem commitment - You’re fully invested in LangChain and comfortable with platform lock-in
  • ❌ No DevOps team ever - Your organization will never have infrastructure expertise
MCP Server is overkill if:
  • You’re building hobby projects or internal tools with minimal traffic
  • You prefer platform-managed everything (backups, scaling, security)
  • You’re okay paying premium for convenience (5K/movs5K/mo vs 500/mo at 1M requests)
  • Your use case will never require compliance certifications or multi-cloud

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Summary

The Real Comparison:
CriteriaLangGraph Cloud OnlyMCP Server with LangGraph
LangGraph Support✅ Yes✅ Yes (same capabilities)
Deployment Flexibility❌ No (Platform only)✅ Yes (Platform + 4 options)
Enterprise Security⚠️ Limited✅ Complete
Cost at Scale⚠️ Expensive✅ Optimizable
MCP Protocol❌ No✅ Yes (native server)
Time to Deploy🏆 2 minutes✅ 2 min - 2 hours (flexible)
Vendor Lock-in⚠️ Yes (LangChain)✅ No (portable)
Compliance⚠️ Limited✅ Complete
Bottom Line: MCP Server with LangGraph = LangGraph Cloud + Enterprise Features + Multi-Cloud + MCP Protocol You’re not choosing between LangGraph Cloud and MCP Server with LangGraph. You’re choosing between LangGraph Cloud only vs LangGraph Cloud + flexibility + enterprise features.

Deploy to LangGraph Cloud

2-minute serverless deployment

Deploy to Kubernetes

Production-grade self-hosted