// MCP TOKEN COST

The Livedatalink MCP server costs 52,729 tokens before the first call.

Every request your agent makes carries every tool definition this server exposes — context your code, documents and conversation can't use, mostly for tools the agent never calls. You don't need them all in the window, and you don't have to pay for them.

QUICK ANSWER The Livedatalink MCP server's 280 tool definitions consume 52,729 tokens — 26% of a 200k context window, and 25× the median MCP server (2,142 tokens). A scoped grant exposing only the tools you use cuts that roughly in proportion.

MEASURED FROM SCHEMAS tiktoken o200k_base · rank #20 of 5,402 measured servers · refreshed every build Method →

// CONTEXT WINDOW SHARE

What that costs before your agent starts working.

Tool definitions are overhead: they occupy context on every request and compete with your code, documents and conversation history for the same window.

200K WINDOW 26%

1M WINDOW 5.3%

Corpus context: Livedatalink ranks #20 of 5,402 measured MCP servers by definition cost. The median is 2,142 tokens, p90 is 11,749, and the heaviest (Ainumbers Mcp Apps) is 161,750 — 81% of a 200k window on its own. New to this? See MCP token cost and context window in the glossary.

Token cost is one axis. See the risk picture across your whole stack →

// PER-TOOL BREAKDOWN

Where the 52,729 tokens go.

Each row is one tool definition as a tools/list entry — name, description and input schema — counted with o200k_base. Average: 188 tokens per tool.

Tool	Category	Tokens	% of server
search_available_datasets	Read	473	0.9%
talent_market_brief	Write	462	0.9%
facility_care_quality	Write	434	0.8%
beneficial_owner_screen	Destructive	425	0.8%
clinical_site_selector	Execute	421	0.8%
disaster_recovery_profile	Read	407	0.8%
market_size_estimator	Read	402	0.8%
resolve_entity	Write	388	0.7%
fred_quick_indicator	Read	387	0.7%
prescriber_ties_profile	Read	385	0.7%
corporate_ownership_tree	Read	361	0.7%
census_business	Read	358	0.7%
company_complaint_profile	Read	355	0.7%
cost_of_doing_business_index	Read	353	0.7%
security_exposure	Read	353	0.7%
nrel_pvwatts	Read	348	0.7%
company_trust_check	Read	345	0.7%
ok_wells_search	Read	342	0.6%
census_demographics	Read	337	0.6%
census_population	Read	335	0.6%
fred_observations	Read	333	0.6%
census_income_housing	Read	331	0.6%
bounce_scanner	Read	329	0.6%
influence_network_map	Read	329	0.6%
carrier_vetting_score	Read	328	0.6%
census_commute_employment	Read	322	0.6%
college_value_score	Read	319	0.6%
environmental_site_risk	Read	317	0.6%
product_liability_screen	Read	315	0.6%
recall_screen	Read	306	0.6%
grants_search	Read	305	0.6%
supplier_esg_scorecard	Read	300	0.6%
issuer_diligence_dossier	Read	295	0.6%
cpsc_recall_search	Read	292	0.6%
lei_lookup	Read	292	0.6%
lobbying_search	Read	291	0.6%
tx_wells_near	Read	287	0.5%
eia_electricity_state	Read	286	0.5%
epa_facility_search	Read	280	0.5%
nrel_alt_fuel_stations	Read	276	0.5%
cfpb_search_complaints	Read	267	0.5%
bank_health_report	Read	263	0.5%
open_payments_search	Read	262	0.5%
reg_search	Read	261	0.5%
fda_drug_adverse_events	Read	260	0.5%
location_risk_report	Read	260	0.5%
counterparty_risk_score	Read	257	0.5%
paper_search	Read	256	0.5%
worldbank_indicator	Read	255	0.5%
caselaw_search	Read	253	0.5%
spending_search_awards	Read	252	0.5%
local_search	Read	250	0.5%
book_search	Read	249	0.5%
eia_oil_supply	Read	247	0.5%
eia_renewable_generation	Read	245	0.5%
property_lookup	Read	243	0.5%
crypto_price	Read	242	0.5%
trials_search	Read	242	0.5%
lei_hierarchy	Read	240	0.5%
usgs_earthquake_search	Read	239	0.5%
fec_candidate_search	Read	238	0.5%
parcel_search	Read	238	0.5%
sanctions_screen_entity	Read	234	0.4%
stock_history	Read	234	0.4%
eia_gasoline_prices	Read	233	0.4%
org_funding_profile	Read	232	0.4%
geocode_address	Read	229	0.4%
eia_series_lookup	Read	228	0.4%
cfpb_complaint_trends	Read	225	0.4%
open_payments_ownership	Read	225	0.4%
open_payments_top	Read	225	0.4%
iv_analytics	Read	224	0.4%
sanctions_screen_batch	Read	222	0.4%
entity_dossier	Read	219	0.4%
bls_indicator	Read	219	0.4%
fda_drug_recalls	Read	219	0.4%
open_payments_research	Read	219	0.4%
eia_energy_consumption	Read	218	0.4%
paper_fulltext_search	Read	218	0.4%
sanctions_search_alias	Read	218	0.4%
fec_committee_search	Read	217	0.4%
fda_device_510k	Read	215	0.4%
cdc_dataset_query	Execute	214	0.4%
congress_bill_details	Read	213	0.4%
eia_natural_gas	Read	213	0.4%
congress_search_bills	Read	210	0.4%
fdic_search_institutions	Read	210	0.4%
earthquake_recent	Read	209	0.4%
sanctions_screen_address	Read	208	0.4%
energy_market_snapshot	Read	207	0.4%
disaster_declarations	Read	204	0.4%
paper_get_text	Read	204	0.4%
college_search	Read	203	0.4%
fda_food_recalls	Read	203	0.4%
property_search_area	Read	203	0.4%
chemical_hazards	Read	202	0.4%
reg_cfr_section	Read	201	0.4%
congress_bill_cosponsors	Read	200	0.4%
fec_independent_expenditures	Read	200	0.4%
patent_search	Read	200	0.4%
usgs_water_realtime	Read	199	0.4%
congress_bill_actions	Read	198	0.4%
edgar_full_text_search	Read	198	0.4%
fda_device_recalls	Read	198	0.4%
fred_search	Read	198	0.4%
edgar_recent_filings	Read	197	0.4%
fmcsa_carrier_compare	Read	197	0.4%
vehicle_recalls	Read	196	0.4%
book_fulltext_search	Read	195	0.4%
cdc_weekly_deaths_by_state	Read	192	0.4%
recreation_search_facilities	Read	192	0.4%
court_case_search	Read	191	0.4%
fmcsa_safety_scores	Read	191	0.4%
options_chain	Read	188	0.4%
stock_compare	Read	188	0.4%
edgar_filing_content	Read	186	0.4%
edgar_filings_by_form_type	Read	186	0.4%
edgar_company_facts	Read	185	0.4%
fred_compare	Read	184	0.3%
options_history_chain	Read	184	0.3%
chemical_lookup	Read	182	0.3%
paper_details	Read	182	0.3%
price_to_rent_ratio	Read	181	0.3%
cve_search_by_vendor	Read	180	0.3%
fmcsa_carrier_lookup	Read	180	0.3%
entity_resolve	Read	180	0.3%
crypto_compare	Read	179	0.3%
property_value_history	Read	177	0.3%
cms_hospital_search	Read	176	0.3%
nonprofit_search_name	Read	176	0.3%
property_search_owner	Read	176	0.3%
reg_cfr_search	Read	176	0.3%
epa_water_or_air_violations	Read	175	0.3%
census_geography_lookup	Read	174	0.3%
options_history_contract	Read	173	0.3%
book_get_text	Read	172	0.3%
college_trends	Read	172	0.3%
options_history_atm_iv	Read	172	0.3%
stock_quote_batch	Read	172	0.3%
usgs_earthquake_feed	Read	172	0.3%
vin_decode	Read	170	0.3%
weather_forecast	Read	170	0.3%
fec_candidate_financials	Read	169	0.3%
npi_search_provider	Read	169	0.3%
weather_current	Read	169	0.3%
nonprofit_search_location	Read	168	0.3%
fdic_failures	Read	167	0.3%
npi_search_specialty	Read	167	0.3%
candlestick_signals	Read	166	0.3%
realestate_search	Read	165	0.3%
recreation_nearby	Read	165	0.3%
fda_drug_lookup	Read	164	0.3%
fmcsa_carrier_authority	Read	164	0.3%
recreation_search_recareas	Read	164	0.3%
cdc_drug_overdose_deaths	Read	163	0.3%
worldbank_compare	Read	163	0.3%
realestate_trend	Read	162	0.3%
list_tool_groups	Read	161	0.3%
sanctions_get_changes	Read	161	0.3%
congress_search_members	Read	160	0.3%
nfip_flood_claims	Read	159	0.3%
cdc_leading_causes_of_death	Read	158	0.3%
company_info	Read	158	0.3%
parcel_details	Read	158	0.3%
cdc_outbreak_reports	Read	157	0.3%
fmcsa_carrier_search	Read	157	0.3%
nws_active_alerts	Read	157	0.3%
package_track	Read	157	0.3%
stock_quote	Read	156	0.3%
caselaw_opinion_text	Read	155	0.3%
fred_category_series	Read	154	0.3%
air_quality	Read	152	0.3%
fred_releases	Read	152	0.3%
nrel_solar_resource	Read	152	0.3%
nrel_utility_rates	Read	152	0.3%
spending_recipient_summary	Read	151	0.3%
cdc_excess_deaths_covid	Read	150	0.3%
cve_recent	Read	150	0.3%
lobbying_contributions	Read	150	0.3%
options_history_volhist	Read	149	0.3%
crypto_info	Read	148	0.3%
bls_series	Read	147	0.3%
epa_facility_compliance	Read	147	0.3%
npi_search_organization	Read	147	0.3%
nonprofit_details	Read	145	0.3%
nonprofit_status	Read	145	0.3%
cpsc_recent_recalls	Read	144	0.3%
congress_recent_laws	Read	143	0.3%
cve_search_by_keyword	Read	142	0.3%
cms_nursing_home_search	Read	141	0.3%
lobbying_lobbyists	Read	141	0.3%
patent_inventor_search	Read	141	0.3%
nonprofit_lookup_ein	Read	140	0.3%
recreation_search_campsites	Read	140	0.3%
treasury_auctions	Read	140	0.3%
treasury_debt	Read	140	0.3%
epa_facility_details	Read	138	0.3%
cms_home_health_search	Read	137	0.3%
caselaw_citation_lookup	Read	135	0.3%
cms_hospice_search	Read	135	0.3%
edgar_company_lookup	Read	135	0.3%
support_resistance_levels	Read	135	0.3%
parcel_sales_history	Read	134	0.3%
cfpb_complaint_aggregations	Read	132	0.3%
fdic_financials	Read	131	0.2%
treasury_exchange_rates	Read	131	0.2%
epa_enforcement_search	Read	130	0.2%
geocode_batch	Read	130	0.2%
grants_get_opportunity	Read	130	0.2%
reg_document	Read	130	0.2%
trials_details	Read	129	0.2%
geocode_coordinates	Read	129	0.2%
patent_assignee_search	Read	129	0.2%
cdc_vaccination_coverage	Read	127	0.2%
disaster_history_summary	Read	127	0.2%
fbi_wanted	Read	127	0.2%
treasury_interest_rates	Read	126	0.2%
cdc_flu_surveillance	Read	124	0.2%
court_docket_lookup	Read	124	0.2%
fred_series_info	Read	124	0.2%
fec_candidate_details	Read	123	0.2%
ip_reputation	Read	123	0.2%
realestate_rents	Read	122	0.2%
realestate_home_values	Read	121	0.2%
usgs_earthquake_detail	Read	121	0.2%
github_repo	Read	119	0.2%
patent_recent	Read	117	0.2%
edgar_insider_transactions	Read	117	0.2%
npm_package	Read	117	0.2%
fdic_deposits	Read	116	0.2%
rdap_ip	Read	115	0.2%
cfpb_state_complaints	Read	114	0.2%
patent_details	Read	114	0.2%
spending_award_details	Read	114	0.2%
sanctions_get_entity	Read	113	0.2%
crypto_trending	Read	112	0.2%
flood_zone_lookup	Read	112	0.2%
rdap_domain	Read	112	0.2%
court_oral_argument_search	Read	111	0.2%
book_details	Read	110	0.2%
caselaw_case_details	Read	110	0.2%
college_metrics	Read	110	0.2%
court_opinion_search	Read	110	0.2%
cve_lookup	Read	110	0.2%
fdic_summary	Read	108	0.2%
congress_member_details	Read	107	0.2%
congress_house_votes	Read	106	0.2%
npi_lookup	Read	103	0.2%
court_recent_filings	Read	102	0.2%
fdic_history	Read	102	0.2%
hurricane_tracker	Read	101	0.2%
lobbying_detail	Read	100	0.2%
cwe_lookup	Read	99	0.2%
open_payments_by_company	Read	99	0.2%
lobbying_registrants	Read	98	0.2%
recreation_facility_detail	Read	96	0.2%
worldbank_country_profile	Read	96	0.2%
college_compare	Read	95	0.2%
college_demographics	Read	95	0.2%
pypi_package	Read	95	0.2%
nrel_alt_fuel_station_detail	Read	94	0.2%
cfpb_suggest_company	Read	93	0.2%
court_citation_resolver	Read	93	0.2%
kev_status_check	Read	93	0.2%
epss_score	Read	92	0.2%
reg_cfr_titles	Read	92	0.2%
college_outcomes_by_program	Read	90	0.2%
cargo_crate	Read	89	0.2%
treasury_cash_balance	Read	89	0.2%
college_accreditation	Read	87	0.2%
court_judge_lookup	Read	87	0.2%
open_payments_by_specialty	Read	86	0.2%
cfpb_complaint_detail	Read	84	0.2%
paper_status	Read	83	0.2%
open_payments_state_totals	Read	83	0.2%
book_status	Read	82	0.2%
realestate_status	Read	77	0.1%
open_payments_national_summary	Read	69	0.1%
parcel_coverage	Read	60	0.1%
sanctions_status_summary	Read	60	0.1%

// CUT THE COST

Your agent uses a handful of these tools. It pays for all 280.

You don't need all 280 of those definitions in the window. PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway that sits in front of Livedatalink: only the tools you grant are exposed to the agent, the rest never load. A smaller window means a sharper agent — less noise when it picks a tool — and every request costs less:

Grant scope	Definition cost	Reduction
All 280 tools (no gateway)	52,729 tokens	—
3 granted tools	~565 tokens	−99%
5 granted tools	~942 tokens	−98%
10 granted tools	~1,883 tokens	−96%

The risk dividend: 1 of these 280 tools are critical-risk (destructive or financial) and cost 425 tokens (1% of the definition load). Block them — the recommended starter policy — and you reclaim that context before tuning anything else.

Create a free account and register Livedatalink — nothing to install.
Grant only the tools you use — ungranted definitions never enter the context window.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

CUT LIVEDATALINK TOKEN COST →

Instant setup, no code required.

Model your own stack in the token-cost calculator, or see the Livedatalink policy for what a sensible grant looks like.

//FAQ

Livedatalink token-cost questions.

How many tokens does the Livedatalink MCP server use?+

Its 280 tool definitions total 52,729 tokens — 26% of a 200k context window — measured with tiktoken o200k_base over the serialised tools/list payload. Exact counts vary slightly by client and model.

Why does Livedatalink consume tokens before I send a message?+

MCP clients load every connected server's tool definitions — name, description, and input schema — into the model's context so it knows what it can call. That payload is charged against your context window on every request, whether or not a tool is used.

How do I reduce Livedatalink's token usage?+

Expose fewer tools. A PolicyLayer grant scopes Livedatalink to only the tools you allow — ungranted definitions are filtered out of the tool list, so they never enter the context window. A grant of 3 typical tools costs roughly 565 tokens, a 99% reduction.

Does deferred tool loading fix this?+

Partially, in some clients. Claude Code defers MCP tool schemas behind a tool-search step by default, and VS Code has experimental grouping — but you still pay tokens per search and reload, and Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI load definitions upfront. Reducing the exposed tool set cuts the cost in every client.

// METHOD & REVIEW

How these numbers were measured.

01

Serialisation

Each tool is serialised as a tools/list entry — name, description, input schema — from the schemas in the PolicyLayer scan database. Clients differ slightly in framing, so treat counts as close estimates.

02

Tokeniser

tiktoken o200k_base (GPT-4o/o-series). Anthropic's current tokeniser isn't published, so Claude's exact counts will differ; for English text and JSON schemas the totals are close enough to treat these as estimates.

03

Deferred loading

Some clients now defer schema loading (Claude Code's tool search; VS Code experimental grouping). You still pay per search and reload — and Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI load everything upfront.

Computed 23-07-2026 from the PolicyLayer scan database over all 280 catalogued Livedatalink tools. Counts refresh with every site build.