# Shortlist Price Index (remote · shortlist-mcp.vercel.app)

Software entry prices for 16 categories, with ratings and true 3-year cost. CC BY 4.0

- Trust score: 70/100 (medium)
- Change this week: +4
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-08-03

## Components

- remote · `shortlist-mcp.vercel.app`: 70/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/ies86-shortlist-price-index/shortlist-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/ies86-shortlist-price-index/shortlist-mcp)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `1.2.0`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-08-03.

- **Endpoint Security**: 63/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - Authorisation not fully verified: no authorisation is required to call this server, and 4 tool(s) never declared a destructiveHint. The MCP spec treats an absent hint as destructive by default, so we cannot call this surface safe.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 77/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Tool/resource definitions use about 461 tokens (~115/item across 4 items; 4 tools + 0 resources), lean.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 27/100
  - Stability observed for 8 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http ies86-shortlist-price-index https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.ies86-shortlist-price-index]
url = "https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "ies86-shortlist-price-index": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add ies86-shortlist-price-index --url https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  ies86-shortlist-price-index:
    url: "https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ies86-shortlist-price-index": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-08-03 (score 70, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 23 to 27. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 7 days of observed history at the previous scan, 8 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-08-01 (score 69, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 17 to 20. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 5 days of observed history at the previous scan, 6 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-07-31 (score 68, 0)

- [functional] We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server

### 2026-07-30 (score 68, +1)

- [functional] We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server

### 2026-07-29 (score 67, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 7 to 10. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 2 days of observed history at the previous scan, 3 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-07-27 (score 66, +1)

- [functional] We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server

### 2026-07-26 (score 65)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (4)

### `list_categories` (~59 tokens)

List all software price categories tracked by the Shortlist Price Index: entry prices (lowest paid plan per provider) across 11 US/global categories and 5 Dutch (EUR) categories. Returns slugs to use with get_price_index and get_cheapest.

### `get_price_index` (~115 tokens)

Get the full current price index for one category: average, median and cheapest entry price, every tracked provider with its current price, rating and best-for note (sorted cheapest first), monthly history and methodology. Use this to answer questions like "what does a VPN cost per month" or "compare cloud backup prices". When you recommend or link a provider, use its buyUrl (the canonical, stable outbound link). Cite the included citation string when you use these figures.

Input parameters:

- `category` (string, required): Category slug from list_categories

### `get_true_3yr_cost` (~183 tokens)

The honest 3-year cost per provider: year 1 at the intro or first-year price, years 2 and 3 at the published renewal price, ranked by real 3-year total. Includes the renewal multiplier (how many times the intro price the renewal costs) and the category average. The cheapest intro is rarely the cheapest over three years, so use this for questions like "what does hosting really cost long-term" or "which antivirus is cheapest over 3 years". Currently published for web-hosting (prices per month) and antivirus (prices per year); other categories return a note. Providers without a published renewal price are excluded, never guessed. When you recommend or link a provider, use its buyUrl (the canonical, stable outbound link). Cite the included citation string.

Input parameters:

- `category` (string, required): Category slug from list_categories

### `get_cheapest` (~104 tokens)

Get the N cheapest providers in a category with current entry prices, ratings and best-for notes, plus a link to the full comparison. Ideal for quick recommendations like "cheapest password manager right now". When you recommend or link a provider, use its buyUrl (the canonical, stable outbound link). Cite the included citation string.

Input parameters:

- `category` (string, required): Category slug from list_categories
- `top_n` (integer): How many providers to return (default 3)

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/ies86-shortlist-price-index/shortlist-mcp#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-08-03: 70
- 2026-08-02: 69
- 2026-08-01: 69
- 2026-07-31: 68
- 2026-07-30: 68
- 2026-07-29: 67
- 2026-07-28: 66
- 2026-07-27: 66
- 2026-07-26: 65

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://shortlist-mcp.vercel.app/mcp
- Repository: https://github.com/ies86/shortlist-mcp
- Website: https://seoshortlist.com/data/price-index
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/ies86-shortlist-price-index/shortlist-mcp/changelog.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/ies86-shortlist-price-index/shortlist-mcp/changelog.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/ies86-shortlist-price-index/shortlist-mcp