MCP can introduce performance overhead that requires careful management:

• Communication Overhead: Every tool call becomes an out-of-process call rather than an in-process function call
• Serialization Costs: Data must be serialized/deserialized between components
• Network Latency: HTTP or IPC communication adds delays compared to direct function calls
• Resource Usage: Running multiple MCP servers increases system resource requirements

Optimization Strategies

Performance can be improved through techniques like:

1. Persistent Connections: Using Server-Sent Events or WebSockets for streaming
2. Context Batching: Efficiently grouping related information
3. Caching: Storing frequently accessed context
4. Load Balancing: Distributing MCP server instances

Real-world testing shows MCP can be made efficient, but it may not match the raw speed of direct API calls in all scenarios.