You could build this yourself.
But should you?
Making APIs accessible to AI agents requires MCP servers, hosting infrastructure, observability, and ongoing maintenance. Trevi handles all of it so you can focus on your product.
Compare your options
Every approach has tradeoffs. Here's how they stack up.
| Build in-house | Open source | DIY + Infra | Trevi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to production | Weeks to months | Days to weeks | Days to weeks | Minutes |
| Code required | Full MCP implementation | Customization & glue code | Integration code | None |
| Infrastructure | You build & operate | You host & operate | You provision & manage | Fully managed |
| Works with your API | ||||
| Observability | You build it | Limited or DIY | You configure it | Built-in |
| Security & auth | You implement | Varies by project | You configure | Built-in |
| Protocol updates | Manual rework | Wait for maintainers | Manual updates | Automatic |
| Ongoing maintenance | High | Medium | Medium-High | None |
vs Building in-house
Building an MCP server from scratch gives you complete control. You implement the protocol, design the tool schemas, handle authentication, and deploy to your own infrastructure. For teams with deep MCP expertise and specific requirements, this can be the right choice.
The real cost
MCP protocol expertise is rare. Your team needs to learn the spec, understand tool schema design, and handle edge cases in agent behavior.
Engineering time adds up. A production-ready implementation typically takes 4-8 weeks of focused development, plus ongoing maintenance.
You own the infrastructure. Hosting, scaling, monitoring, and security are your responsibility.
Protocol changes mean rework. When MCP evolves, you're responsible for updating your implementation.
With Trevi
Upload your OpenAPI or Postman spec. Trevi generates a complete MCP server in minutes.
No protocol expertise required. We handle tool schemas, type mappings, and agent compatibility.
Fully managed infrastructure. We handle hosting, scaling, and security.
Protocol updates are automatic. When MCP changes, your servers are updated without code changes.
vs Open source MCP servers
Open source MCP servers provide pre-built integrations for popular services like Slack, GitHub, or databases. They're a good starting point for connecting agents to third-party tools you don't control.
The real cost
They're built for specific services, not your API. You can't point an open source Slack MCP server at your own REST API.
You still host and operate them. Deployment, monitoring, and scaling are on you.
Customization requires code. Modifying tool behavior or adding new capabilities means forking and maintaining your own version.
Observability is limited. Most open source servers don't include production-grade logging or metrics.
Updates depend on maintainers. Security patches and protocol updates arrive on someone else's schedule.
With Trevi
Works with your API. Any OpenAPI 3.0+ or Postman spec becomes an MCP server.
Fully managed hosting. No infrastructure to provision or maintain.
Customize without code. Use natural language or fast paths to configure tool grouping and behavior.
Built-in observability. Every agent call is logged with latency, status, and downstream API impact.
We handle updates. Security patches and protocol changes are applied automatically.
vs DIY + infrastructure
The DIY approach stitches together pieces: an MCP library for the protocol, Lambda or containers for compute, API Gateway for routing, CloudWatch for logs. It's faster than building from scratch, but you're still assembling and maintaining the stack.
The real cost
Infrastructure complexity compounds. Each piece needs configuration, monitoring, and maintenance.
DevOps overhead is real. IAM policies, VPC configuration, secrets management, deployment pipelines—it adds up.
Cost is unpredictable. Lambda cold starts, API Gateway charges, and log storage costs can surprise you.
Security is your responsibility. You configure auth, validate inputs, and handle credential rotation.
Integration code still required. You write the glue between your API and the MCP layer.
With Trevi
Zero infrastructure to manage. No Lambda functions, no API Gateway, no VPCs to configure.
Predictable pricing. No surprise bills from cold starts or log storage.
Security built-in. Input validation, credential management, and secure execution out of the box.
No glue code. Your API spec is the only input. We handle the rest.
One-click updates. When your spec changes, regenerate and redeploy without touching infrastructure.
Choose Trevi when...
Trevi is the right choice if any of these sound like you.
You want to ship agent features in days, not months
You have an existing API with an OpenAPI or Postman spec
You don't want to own MCP infrastructure
Your API evolves and you need agents to stay in sync
You need visibility into how agents use your API
Your team should focus on product, not protocol plumbing