Arcade

What is Arcade?

Arcade is a runtime that sits between an AI agent and the systems it acts on, handling authorization, credentials, tool execution and logging so the agent never touches raw APIs or secrets. Each action runs at the intersection of what the end user may do and what the agent is allowed to do, rather than through a shared service account. Arcade brokers OAuth and keeps tokens refreshed, enforces policy with hooks before and after each tool call, and lists more than 8,000 agent-optimized MCP tools covering Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, Jira, Slack and Google Workspace. An MCP Gateway combines several MCP servers behind one authenticated URL, and an open-source Python framework helps you build custom tools. It works with any model, framework or MCP client, and can run on Arcade Cloud, in your VPC or air-gapped. The Free plan includes 2,000 auth events and 2,000 tool calls a month. Team costs $25 a month plus usage at $0.10 per auth event and $0.01 per tool call, and Enterprise is custom.

Use cases

• Let an agent send email on a user's behalf
• Authorize agents per user with OAuth
• Expose many MCP servers behind one gateway
• Build custom agent tools in Python
• Audit and govern agent actions centrally
• Cut token cost with tool recommendation
• Run agent tooling in your own VPC

Who it's for

• AI engineers
• Agent developers
• Platform teams
• Security teams

Why use Arcade

• Agents act with each user's own permissions, which avoids shared tokens and service accounts.
• Credentials are injected at execution time and never exposed to the model.
• Usage-based pricing means you pay for what your agents do, not for seats.
• A single gateway and control plane replaces per-agent integrations and reviews.
• Deployment options include your VPC or an air-gapped environment for stricter security needs.

Arcade features

• Per-action authorization at the intersection of user and agent permissions
• OAuth brokering with token refresh and rotation
• Pre- and post-tool-call policy hooks
• More than 8,000 agent-optimized MCP tools
• MCP Gateway that federates servers behind one URL
• Tool Recommendation to reduce tokens per session
• Open-source framework for custom tools in Python
• Evals that test tool-call accuracy against real LLMs
• Audit logs exportable to a SIEM via OpenTelemetry
• Deployment on Arcade Cloud, in your VPC or air-gapped
• SSO, RBAC and private registry access on Enterprise

Arcade integrations

• Salesforce
• ServiceNow
• Workday
• Jira
• Slack
• Google Workspace
• LangChain
• Claude Code
• Cursor
• VS Code
• Claude Desktop

How to get started with Arcade

1. Sign up for the free plan and connect Arcade to your agent framework or MCP client.
2. Choose tools from the catalog or build custom tools with the open-source Python framework.
3. Users consent to access through OAuth, and Arcade stores and refreshes the tokens.
4. Each agent action passes through the runtime, which checks policy, executes the call and logs it.
5. Group servers behind an MCP Gateway and move to Team or Enterprise as usage grows.

Arcade limitations

• Free plan caps usage at 2,000 auth events and 2,000 tool calls a month
• Team plan usage is billed on top of the $25 platform fee
• Arcade is not a model host or vector database, so you bring your own model
• Not intended for agents that only read public data

Arcade pricing

Yes, Arcade has a free plan. Paid plans start at $25 per month, according to the official pricing page on 24 Oct 2026.

Arcade plans

• Free

  $0/month

  no credit card required

  • 2,000 auth events a month
  • 2,000 tool calls a month
  • Fully managed on Arcade Cloud
  • Community support on Discord and GitHub

• Team

  $25/month + usage

  • Auth events at $0.10 each
  • Tool calls at $0.01 each
  • Fully managed on Arcade Cloud
  • Next-business-day email support

• Enterprise

  Custom

  • Annual bundles of auth events and tool calls
  • Arcade Cloud, VPC or air-gapped deployment
  • 24/7 SLA-backed support
  • SSO, RBAC, audit logs and private registry access

Plans as listed on the official pricing page on 24 Oct 2026. Prices can change and may vary by country or exclude tax. Check the official pricing page.

Arcade alternatives

The main Arcade alternatives listed on Debuly are Composio, Pipedream, Metorial, LightAgent, MCP Python SDK and runAtlas. The table compares pricing and platforms; order is A–Z.

1. 

   Composio

   Developer platform with SDKs, CLI and MCP that gives AI agents 1000+ pre-authenticated app toolkits and per-user sessions.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agents
   Visit Composio (official site)
2. 

   LightAgent

   Compact open-source Python framework for building agents with tools, memory, MCP, tracing, guardrails and multi-step workflows.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agentsCoding
   Open sourceVisit LightAgent (official site)
3. 

   MCP Python SDK

   The official open-source Python library for writing Model Context Protocol servers and clients that give LLM apps access to tools and data.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agentsCoding
   Open sourceVisit MCP Python SDK (official site)
4. 

   Metorial

   Control plane for AI agents with 1,000+ managed MCP integrations, per-user permissions, SSO and audit logs behind one connection URL.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agents
   FreemiumVisit Metorial (official site)
5. 

   Pipedream

   Integration layer for AI agents and apps, with managed auth for 3,000+ APIs, prebuilt tools, triggers and MCP servers via Pipedream Connect.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agents
   FreemiumVisit Pipedream (official site)
6. 

   runAtlas

   Enterprise AI stack with an OpenAI-compatible inference API, voice models, agent runtime and a security gateway.

   Developer platformsAutomation and agentsAudio and voice
   FreeVisit runAtlas (official site)

Arcade FAQ

Sources & verification

Facts on this page come from the official sources below, each with the date we read it. Written by Debuly; the vendor did not review this page.

Image credits

• Logo: from arcade.dev · fetched 23 Oct 2026 · Vendor trademark, used only to identify the product; removed on request
• Cover: none collected yet, so a generated tile is shown.

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