MCP Billing Gateway
Add Stripe subscriptions, per-call credits, and x402 crypto payments to any MCP server — without writing billing code.
MCP Billing Gateway is a hosted billing proxy that sits between AI agents and your MCP server. It handles payment verification, usage tracking, and tier enforcement automatically. You register your server, set a pricing plan, and point callers to the proxied URL. No billing code required.
Live service: https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app
Tutorial: Monetize any MCP server in 10 minutes — step-by-step demo with working code
Installation
pip install mcp-billing-gateway
Or with uvx:
Configuration for Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-billing-gateway": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-billing-gateway"]
}
}
}
Configuration for Cursor
Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-billing-gateway": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-billing-gateway"]
}
}
}
Restart your editor after adding the configuration to activate the MCP server.
| Tool | Description |
|---|
get_billing_info | Returns service capabilities, supported payment methods, features, and integration docs |
The local MCP server provides service discovery. The full billing functionality runs on the hosted gateway — register as an operator and proxy your MCP servers through it.
How it works
AI Agent → MCP Billing Gateway → Your MCP Server
(billing enforced here)
- Register as an operator and get an API key
- Register your MCP server URL + pricing plan
- Point callers to your proxy slug:
https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app/proxy/{your-slug}/mcp
- Callers pay via Stripe API key or x402 USDC — billing is handled transparently
Features
- Per-call billing — charge callers per tool call (fiat or crypto)
- Subscriptions — monthly/annual Stripe plans with call limits
- Tiered pricing — free tier + paid tiers based on usage
- x402 micropayments — accept USDC on Base from AI agents with no API keys
- Operator dashboard — track revenue, usage, and callers in real time
- MCP transport — full Streamable HTTP MCP transport at
/mcp/ endpoint
Quick Start
1. Register as operator
curl -X POST https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app/api/v1/operator/register \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"email": "you@example.com", "name": "Your Name"}'
Response:
{
"operator_id": "op_abc123",
"api_key": "bg_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"message": "Operator registered successfully"
}
2. Register your MCP server
curl -X POST https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app/api/v1/servers \
-H "Authorization: Bearer bg_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "My MCP Server",
"upstream_url": "https://your-mcp-server.com/mcp",
"proxy_slug": "my-server"
}'
3. Create a pricing plan
curl -X POST https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app/api/v1/servers/{server_id}/plans \
-H "Authorization: Bearer bg_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "Pay as you go",
"billing_model": "per_call",
"price_per_call_usd_micro": 10000,
"free_calls_per_month": 100
}'
4. Connect callers to your proxied server
{
"mcpServers": {
"my-server": {
"url": "https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app/proxy/my-server/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer CALLER_API_KEY"
}
}
}
}
Payment Methods
| Method | Best for | How |
|---|
| Stripe subscription | Human developers | Monthly or annual plan via Stripe Checkout |
| Stripe per-call | Human developers | Credits consumed per tool call |
| x402 micropayments | AI agents | USDC on Base, no API keys needed |
Examples
Check gateway capabilities
result = await session.call_tool("get_billing_info")
print(result)
Register and monetize an existing MCP server
API_KEY=$(curl -s -X POST .../api/v1/operator/register \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"email": "dev@example.com", "name": "Dev"}' | jq -r .api_key)
SERVER_ID=$(curl -s -X POST .../api/v1/servers \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name": "my-tool", "upstream_url": "https://my-tool.com/mcp", "proxy_slug": "my-tool"}' \
| jq -r .server_id)
curl -X POST .../api/v1/servers/$SERVER_ID/plans \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name": "Starter", "billing_model": "per_call", "price_per_call_usd_micro": 10000, "free_calls_per_month": 100}'
Operator Dashboard
Access your dashboard at:
https://mcp-billing-gateway-production.up.railway.app/dashboard
Track revenue, usage, active callers, and configure your servers in real time.
API Reference
Operator endpoints
| Endpoint | Method | Description |
|---|
/api/v1/operator/register | POST | Create operator account |
/api/v1/operator/profile | GET | View profile and API keys |
/api/v1/operator/stats | GET | Revenue and usage stats |
Server management
| Endpoint | Method | Description |
|---|
/api/v1/servers | POST | Register an MCP server |
/api/v1/servers | GET | List your servers |
/api/v1/servers/{id}/plans | POST | Create pricing plan |
Proxy
| Endpoint | Method | Description |
|---|
/proxy/{slug}/* | ANY | Proxied calls with billing enforcement |
/mcp/ | ANY | Streamable HTTP MCP transport |
Architecture
┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│ AI Agent / │────▶│ MCP Billing Gateway │────▶│ Your MCP Server │
│ MCP Client │◀────│ (hosted on Railway) │◀────│ (upstream) │
└─────────────┘ └──────────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘
│
├── Payment verification (Stripe / x402)
├── Usage tracking & rate limiting
├── Tier enforcement
└── Operator dashboard
The gateway is a transparent proxy. Callers interact with your MCP server normally — the gateway intercepts requests, verifies payment, tracks usage, and forwards to your upstream server.
Self-hosted
The gateway is open for use at the hosted URL above. For self-hosted deployments, clone the server repository and deploy via Docker:
docker build -t mcp-billing-gateway .
docker run -p 3000:3000 mcp-billing-gateway
License
MIT