Can I use an API key instead of OAuth?

With Todoist you can: its local @doist/todoist-mcp stdio server authenticates with a TODOIST_API_KEY token, while the hosted endpoint uses OAuth. ClickUp is OAuth-only — you cannot authenticate its remote server with a personal API key, which keeps every action tied to an authenticated ClickUp identity.

Which is better for a whole team versus one person?

ClickUp is built for teams: spaces, folders, lists, dependencies, custom fields, Docs, time tracking, and chat give an agent a full project-management surface. Todoist is leaner and shines for individuals and small teams doing daily planning, though it does support collaborators, project sharing, and workspace insights.

ClickUp vs Todoist

ClickUp MCP and Todoist MCP both let an agent manage work through natural language, but they fit teams of very different shapes. ClickUp's official remote server at https://mcp.clickup.com/mcp covers a full project-management workspace: tasks (singly or in bulk) with assignees, priorities, custom fields, tags, dependencies, and links; spaces, folders, and lists; Docs; time tracking and time-in-status reporting; chat channels; and a universal search. It is OAuth-only — you cannot use a personal API key — so every action is tied to an authenticated identity with its existing permissions. Todoist's official server from Doist is leaner and personal-productivity-shaped: tasks, projects, sections, labels, filters, reminders, comments, collaborators, and goals, plus planning helpers like get-overview and find-tasks-by-date and a set of productivity analytics. Its recommended endpoint at https://ai.todoist.net/mcp uses OAuth, with a local stdio package and API token available. Here is a fair look at how they differ on depth, structure, and who each serves.

How they compare

Dimension	ClickUp	Todoist
Product shape	Full project-management platform: a deep workspace hierarchy of spaces, folders, and lists with custom fields, dependencies, Docs, and chat.	Personal and small-team task manager: projects, sections, labels, filters, reminders, and goals, focused on getting things done day to day.
Breadth of tools	Very broad: dozens of tools spanning tasks, bulk operations, Docs, time tracking, time-in-status reporting, chat, and member resolution.	Broad but task-centric: full CRUD on tasks/projects/sections/labels plus planning helpers and productivity, project-health, and workspace analytics.
Authentication	OAuth only — no personal API key — which ties every action to an authenticated ClickUp identity with its existing workspace permissions.	OAuth via the hosted endpoint (browser authorization on first use); a local @doist/todoist-mcp stdio server with a TODOIST_API_KEY token is also available.
Collaboration features	Strong team collaboration: assignees by name or email, dependencies, threaded task comments, chat channels, and shared Docs.	Lighter collaboration: assign and reassign tasks to collaborators, comments, and project collaborator lookup, suited to individuals and small teams.
Best-fit task	Running a project from chat — read the hierarchy, create tasks with assignees and due dates, link dependencies, and roll up a status report.	Planning a day or capturing work fast — ask what is due today, reschedule and complete items, and file new tasks under the right project.

Verdict

Pick by the scale and structure of the work you are managing. Reach for ClickUp MCP when a team coordinates real projects and you want an agent to operate a deep workspace — custom fields, dependencies, Docs, time tracking, and chat — across spaces, folders, and lists, all under OAuth-only identity-scoped permissions. Reach for Todoist MCP when the goal is personal or small-team productivity: fast daily planning with get-overview and find-tasks-by-date, lightweight projects and labels, and built-in productivity analytics, with the flexibility of either an OAuth endpoint or a local API-token server. In short: ClickUp for heavyweight team project management with a broad workspace surface; Todoist for fast, focused personal and small-team task management. Both are official and OAuth-capable, so the deciding factor is how much structure your work actually needs.

FAQ

Can I use an API key instead of OAuth?: With Todoist you can: its local @doist/todoist-mcp stdio server authenticates with a TODOIST_API_KEY token, while the hosted endpoint uses OAuth. ClickUp is OAuth-only — you cannot authenticate its remote server with a personal API key, which keeps every action tied to an authenticated ClickUp identity.
Which is better for a whole team versus one person?: ClickUp is built for teams: spaces, folders, lists, dependencies, custom fields, Docs, time tracking, and chat give an agent a full project-management surface. Todoist is leaner and shines for individuals and small teams doing daily planning, though it does support collaborators, project sharing, and workspace insights.