Loomal Index vs Cursor Directory one editor's community vs every agent's index.
Cursor Directory is a community site curating MCP servers, rules files, and prompts for people who use the Cursor editor. Loomal Index lists MCP servers for every client — and attaches a payment rail to each one. Same servers can appear in both; the jobs are different.
Cursor Directory and Loomal Index both list MCP servers, so a builder deciding where to be visible reasonably asks which matters more. The answer depends on two axes: which audience you want, and whether visibility alone is the goal.
Cursor Directory reaches one specific, engaged community — Cursor users — with curation built for that editor. Loomal Index reaches every MCP client and every agent, and makes each listing payable. Here's the breakdown.
What Cursor Directory does well
Cursor Directory is a community site listing MCP servers, rules files, and prompts curated specifically for the Cursor editor. That focus is its strength: a Cursor user browsing it sees material chosen for their exact workflow — not just servers, but the rules and prompts that make Cursor itself work better.
If your MCP server is useful to developers who live in Cursor, being present in the community's own curated directory is straightforwardly good distribution.
Curation for one client has a ceiling
The directory's framing is its boundary: it's curated for use with the Cursor editor, and it's a site for humans to browse. An MCP server, though, isn't Cursor-specific — the protocol's whole point is that one server works across clients.
Listing only in client-specific directories means re-doing distribution per community, and none of those listings answer what an autonomous agent needs to know: is this endpoint callable right now, and what does a call cost?
What Loomal Index adds
Loomal listings work across all MCP clients — Cursor, Claude, Windsurf, and the rest — because the index describes the server, not any one editor's integration. And the index is machine-queryable: agents, not just humans, can search it and act on the results.
The second addition is the one no curation-focused directory offers: monetization. Every Loomal listing can take x402 payment — the caller gets an HTTP 402 with a per-call price (minimum $0.01), pays in USDC, settlement lands on Base in about two seconds, and payment clears before your handler runs, with an Ed25519 signed receipt per call. You reprice in one field; Loomal's fee is 5% of settled transactions, currently waived.
Discovery vs distribution vs revenue
Sort the jobs and the comparison resolves itself. Community awareness among Cursor users: Cursor Directory. Presence across every MCP client and discoverability by agents: Loomal Index. Per-call revenue from the calls that discovery produces: only Loomal, because only it carries a payment rail.
A free, open-source server might be perfectly served by community directories alone. The moment you want calls to pay for the infrastructure serving them, you need the listing that can charge.
Use both, for different reasons
There's no exclusivity question here — appear in Cursor Directory for the community reach, and claim your Loomal listing for cross-client discovery and the option to charge per call. The Cursor users who find you in one place and the agents that find you in the other are different audiences, and you want both.
FAQ
Is Loomal Index a Cursor Directory alternative?
Only partially. Cursor Directory is community curation — MCP servers, rules files, and prompts — for Cursor users specifically. Loomal Index lists servers for all MCP clients and adds x402 monetization. They overlap on visibility but diverge on audience breadth and on payments.
Does Cursor Directory support paid MCP servers or x402?
Cursor Directory is described as a curated community listing site; monetization isn't part of that description. Check the site itself for anything current. On Loomal, x402 payment is available on every listing by design.
My server is popular with Cursor users — why list on Loomal too?
Because the same server works in Claude, Windsurf, and every other MCP client, and because agents querying Loomal Index can find and pay it autonomously. A client-specific directory captures one community; the index captures the rest, plus the revenue option.
Can I keep my server free for the community and still list on Loomal?
Your software can stay free and open source — that's independent of the listing. If you do enable paid calls on Loomal, the per-call price starts at $0.01; pricing is your choice and adjustable in one field.
Reach beyond one editor.
Claim your listing — discoverable by every client, payable by every agent.