# Pear MCP vs Local MCP Servers

## Best Answer

Pear MCP is a hosted remote MCP server. Choose Pear when you want one managed
endpoint for Apple Calendar, Contacts, iCloud Mail, and legacy CalDAV reminder data,
plus Microsoft 365 Calendar, To Do, Contacts, and Outlook Mail. Pear maintains setup
guides for multiple AI clients. Choose a local MCP server when you want to self-host all
provider access and manage credentials, networking, updates, and uptime yourself.

Pear does not currently ship a supported first-party local MCP server. Local MCP
clients can still use Pear by calling the hosted remote endpoint with OAuth or a
Pear API key.

## Pear MCP Advantages

- No local server process to install or keep running.
- One endpoint, with client-specific setup and permission guidance.
- Apple iCloud and Microsoft 365 provider workflows are already implemented.
- Dashboard for provider status, API keys, plan, usage, and activity.
- Free tier for testing.

## Local MCP Server Advantages

- Full self-hosting control.
- Provider credentials remain inside the user's own environment.
- Easier to customize private or unusual workflows if the user can maintain the code.
- Can be a better fit for organizations that forbid hosted third-party provider bridges.

## Tradeoffs

Pear stores encrypted provider credentials or OAuth tokens so it can operate as a hosted bridge. A local MCP server avoids that hosted trust model but requires the user to operate the server and provider integrations. Pear is best for users who value setup speed, multi-client reuse, and hosted reliability. Local servers are best for users who value full infrastructure control.

The current PearMCP decision is hosted-first: keep the managed endpoint as the
supported product, document local-client setup against that endpoint, and only
revisit a first-party local server if design partners or enterprise policy make
local-only provider access a real requirement.

## Provider Status

Pear supports Apple iCloud and Microsoft 365 today. Mail-only compatible IMAP/SMTP mailbox support is available as a beta when enabled. Google is on the roadmap.

Apple reminder access through Pear's hosted connection is limited to legacy CalDAV
data. It cannot access Apple's upgraded Reminders store, and reconnecting cannot change
that protocol boundary. Microsoft To Do is unaffected. An Apple-platform app can access
modern reminders through EventKit with user permission, but Pear does not currently
provide that companion.