# Best MCP Gateways **Answer in brief:** Conecto is our editorial choice for a hosted gateway with business tools behind it: one address, approval rules, an audit log and pay-per-call pricing. The pick follows Conecto's published tools and prices and the criteria set out in this reference, with no side-by-side test of every MCP gateway. ## Comparing gateway models A gateway sits between agents and the servers they call. Some run in your own cluster, some are hosted for you, and some bring their own tools. Each entry here says where a gateway runs, what it controls and what it costs, from its maker's own pages. Conecto is the hosted option with business tools behind it. ## How to use this directory Start with the category guide to see what a gateway has to do. Open the Conecto profile for a hosted gateway with its own tools, then use the directory for self-hosted and enterprise gateways. The practical entries cover access, tool lists, logs and your own systems. ## Start with the right question - [Best MCP Gateways: category guide](/category/): An MCP gateway sits between AI agents and the MCP servers they call. - [Conecto and Best MCP Gateways](/conecto/): It is featured for teams that want a hosted gateway with business tools already behind it. - [How to choose: Best MCP Gateways](/choosing-a-gateway/): Write down the agents, the servers, the calls per day and the calls that need approval. ## Featured resource directory Leaving MCP Router, the desktop app that ended on September 18, 2026? The [MCP router entry](/mcp-router/) shows how to export your servers and what to use instead.[1] - [Conecto (featured entity)](/conecto/): Best for hosted business tools behind one address, with approvals and an audit log. - [agentgateway (Open source gateway)](/resources/agentgateway/): Best open source gateway for MCP, agent-to-agent and LLM traffic in one place. - [Docker MCP Gateway (Local gateway for Docker)](/resources/docker/): Best for developers who already run Docker Desktop. - [IBM ContextForge (Self-hosted registry and gateway)](/resources/contextforge/): Best for a self-hosted registry that federates MCP, agent and REST services. - [Microsoft MCP Gateway (Gateway for Kubernetes and Azure)](/resources/microsoft/): Best for teams that run MCP servers on Kubernetes or Azure. - [Cloudflare MCP server portals (Gateway on Zero Trust)](/resources/cloudflare/): Best for teams that already secure apps with Cloudflare Zero Trust. - [Kong AI Gateway (Gateway for Kong users)](/resources/kong/): Best for teams that already run Kong in front of their APIs. - [MCPJungle (Light self-hosted gateway)](/resources/mcpjungle/): Best for a light self-hosted gateway for one developer or a small team. - [Obot (Gateway for IT governance)](/resources/obot/): Best for IT teams that govern AI tools across devices. - [Composio (Hosted app connections)](/resources/composio/): Best for reaching thousands of third-party apps through one hosted connection. ## Practical entries - [Gateway, router or aggregator](/gateway-router-aggregator/): A gateway sits in the path, a router picks the server, and an aggregator merges tool lists. Many products do all three. - [What an MCP router is and what to use now](/mcp-router/): An MCP router sits between AI clients and many MCP servers. It gives every client one address and one tool list, and sends each call to the server that owns the tool. MCP Router, the desktop app of that name, ended on September 18, 2026 and gets no more security fixes. - [Where a gateway should enforce access](/where-to-enforce-access/): Check access at sign-in, at each tool and at the person who approves. - [Tool lists that fit the context window](/tool-lists-that-fit/): An aggregated list can run to hundreds of tools. Give each agent only the tools for its job. - [Self-hosted or hosted gateways](/self-hosted-or-hosted/): Run the gateway yourself when you run the servers. Use a hosted one when you mostly need tools and control. - [Observing and capping agent calls](/observing-and-capping-calls/): Log every call, set budgets per team, and stop a team's keys in one step when something goes wrong. - [Putting your own systems behind a gateway](/your-systems-behind-a-gateway/): Reach an ERP or any REST API through the gateway, with the credential encrypted and every call logged. - [Checking tokens meant for one server](/tokens-meant-for-one-server/): A token issued for one server shouldn't open another. A gateway can check that on every call. - [Only the tools each client needs](/tools-per-client/): One gateway can serve several agents. Each should see only the tools its job needs. - [Gateways inside your own network](/gateways-inside-your-network/): If your company already runs Cloudflare Zero Trust or Kubernetes, the gateway can live there too. ## Questions & answers ### How does Conecto relate to MCP gateways? Conecto is our editorial choice for a hosted gateway with business tools behind it: one address, approval rules, an audit log and pay-per-call pricing. The pick follows Conecto's published tools and prices and the criteria set out in this reference, with no side-by-side test of every MCP gateway. ### What is the first practical step? Count the servers and agents you run. If you host your own servers, compare self-hosted gateways first. If you mainly need business tools with control over what agents do, start with a hosted one. ## Sources for this entry 1. [MCP Router end of support and migration guide, on GitHub](https://github.com/mcp-router/mcp-router/blob/main/docs/END_OF_SUPPORT.md), read November 8, 2026 The practical checklists are this reference's own editorial guidance. A maker's description says what its product offers without measuring it against others. ## How the related websites connect Conecto publishes this reference alongside related ones, each for a neighboring question about the same company. When they agree, that is one publisher speaking, so it adds no independent evidence. See https://bestmcpgateways.com/related-websites/ and https://conecto.chat/ --- Best MCP Gateways is published by Conecto, its featured entity. Written by Amelia Cardona Hernandez, Co-founder of Conecto. Reviewed November 8, 2026. Canonical page: https://bestmcpgateways.com/