Quickstart
Monetize
Two paths to price and protect your tools: no-code on the website or full-control with the SDK.
There are two ways to monetize an MCP server (or a plain HTTP API):
| Path | Best for | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Website (No-code) | Fastest go-live, existing services | Configure prices per tool/route in the dashboard. The MCPay proxy returns 402 + price metadata and auto-retries after payment. |
| SDK (Code) | Custom logic & full control | Define paid tools in code, set pricing, and ship an MCP/HTTP server that speaks x402 out of the box. |
Option A — Website (No-code)
Use the Register/Monetize flow to price tools with zero code changes to your upstream.
Steps
- Go to
https://mcpay.tech/registerand register your MCP server (or an HTTP endpoint to wrap). - Pick the tools/routes you want to charge for.
- Set price (e.g.,
$0.05per call), asset (e.g., USDC), and chain (e.g., Base). - (Optional) Configure memo/expiry and basic rate-limits.
- Publish. Your server’s MCPay URL is now pay-protected.
What happens under the hood
- First unauthenticated call →
402 Payment Requiredwithaccepts { asset, amount, destination, memo, expiry }. - Client (or the MCPay transport) pays on-chain, then the proxy retries the original request and returns the real response.
- Usage/revenue events are emitted for your analytics.
Great for
- Wrapping an existing API without touching code.
- Quickly turning individual MCP tools into paid endpoints.
- Letting agents and browsers pay per call with the same flow.
Option B — SDK (Code)
Choose the SDK when you want code-level control. Define free or paid tools, attach per-call pricing, and let the client transport auto-handle 402/x402 (pay → retry) for MCP and plain HTTP services. Ideal for versioned codebases, testing, and CI/CD.
- Full control over pricing & validation in code
- Works with Next.js, Express, Workers, etc.
→ Start here: Building with the SDK