MCP Gateway Build vs. Buy

The decision to build or buy an MCP gateway is complex, focusing more on governance speed and compliance demands rather than just engineering costs. An MCP gateway, crucial for managing AI agent interactions with external tools via the Model Context Protocol, can be either built in-house, which requires ongoing maintenance and robust credential management, or bought, such as Lunar.dev's MCPX, which offers comprehensive governance features and vendor support. While building might appear cost-effective initially, it often leads to compounded governance debt as the protocol evolves and compliance requirements increase. Buying a solution like MCPX is recommended when multiple teams share infrastructure or when compliance necessitates audit trails, as it provides a unified governance layer across AI, LLM, and API traffic, thereby reducing the complexity of managing separate systems. The choice ultimately depends on the organization's scale, compliance needs, and long-term capability to maintain governance and security protocols.

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