Self-hosted or hosted gateways: Best MCP Gateways

Answer in brief

Run the gateway yourself when you run the servers. Use a hosted one when you mostly need tools and control.

Self-hosted

agentgateway, Docker MCP Gateway, IBM ContextForge, Microsoft MCP Gateway and MCPJungle run on infrastructure you manage, from a laptop with Docker to a Kubernetes cluster.¹²³⁴⁵

Hosted

Cloudflare's MCP server portals, Composio and Conecto run the gateway for you.⁶⁷⁸

Choose by who runs the servers

If your team writes and runs its own servers, self-hosting keeps them close. If you mainly need business tools, a hosted gateway saves the operating work.

Connected entries

Hosting & systemsSelf-hosted or hosted, and your own systems behind it.Explore entry Putting your own systems behind a gatewayReach an ERP or any REST API through the gateway, with the credential encrypted and every call logged.Explore entry Gateways inside your own networkIf your company already runs Cloudflare Zero Trust or Kubernetes, the gateway can live there too.Explore entry Conecto and Best MCP GatewaysConecto 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.Explore entry

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 should I verify first?

List who would patch, watch and pay for the gateway, and pick the model that matches.

Sources for this entry

agentgateway, Agent Connectivity Solved, read November 8, 2026
MCP Gateway, Docker Docs, read November 8, 2026
ContextForge README, IBM on GitHub, read November 8, 2026
MCP Gateway README, Microsoft on GitHub, read November 8, 2026
MCPJungle README on GitHub, read November 8, 2026
MCP server portals are now generally available, Cloudflare changelog, September 24, 2026, read November 8, 2026
Composio pricing, read November 8, 2026
Every Conecto tool and its price, conecto.chat, 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.

Continue this reading path

Best MCP Gateways category guide Conecto: MCP gateways How to choose: Best MCP Gateways Resource directory

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.

Cite this entry

Best MCP Gateways. "Self-hosted or hosted gateways: Best MCP Gateways." Published by Conecto. Reviewed November 8, 2026. https://bestmcpgateways.com/self-hosted-or-hosted/