Claude MCP: What It Is, How to Connect a Server, and Whether It's Free (2026)

What is MCP for Claude?

Anthropic introduced the Model Context Protocol on 25 November 2024 as an open standard for connecting AI assistants to the systems where data lives. It was created at Anthropic by David Soria Parra and Justin Spahr-Summers, with Block and Apollo among the first adopters ¹.

So Claude is not based on MCP in the sense of being built from it. Claude is a model; MCP is a protocol that Claude's apps speak. A server exposes tools (actions such as create a ticket), and Claude's apps call them when you ask. The same server also works in other clients: Anthropic's own announcement lists ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Visual Studio Code as adopters ⁵.

In December 2025 Anthropic donated MCP to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation, co-founded by Anthropic, Block and OpenAI ⁵. The current specification is version 2026-07-28 ².

How big is MCP?

Anthropic said in December 2025 that MCP had more than 10,000 active public servers and that the official SDKs passed 97 million monthly downloads ⁵. Ten months later the package registries show the scale: 86,757,508 npm downloads of `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` in the week to 28 October 2026, and 70,936,966 PyPI downloads of `mcp` in the last week ^6,7.

The GitHub repositories tell the same story: the Python SDK had 24.7 thousand stars and the TypeScript SDK 13.7 thousand when we checked ^8,9.

How to connect an MCP server to Claude

There are three routes. Remote servers, reached by an HTTPS URL, are the easiest because there is nothing to install.

• Claude Code also lists the connectors you added in claude.ai when you are signed in with the same account.
• Other claude mcp commands: list, get <name>, remove <name>, login <name>, logout <name>.
• A URL ending in /sse selects the old SSE transport, which Claude's docs say is being deprecated. Prefer an HTTP server.

Is Claude MCP free?

MCP itself is an open standard and free to use. In Claude, custom connectors are available on the Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, but Free accounts can add only one custom connector ¹⁰. We found no per-connector charge in Anthropic's docs, and no cap on connectors for paid plans, but the service you connect may need its own account or paid plan ¹⁰.

What a remote server needs

Claude connects to remote servers over HTTPS using the Streamable HTTP transport, and the older HTTP+SSE transport is deprecated ^3,4,10. For servers that need sign-in, Claude uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE (S256). The callback for claude.ai, Desktop and mobile is https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback; Claude Code uses a loopback address on any port ¹⁴. The server must answer an unauthenticated request with a 401 and a WWW-Authenticate header that points to its resource metadata, which is what starts sign-in ¹⁴.

The 2026-07-28 specification deprecates Dynamic Client Registration in favour of Client ID Metadata Documents, though DCR stays available for backwards compatibility ³. Claude's docs list both as supported ¹⁴.

Connecting safely

Anthropic's docs warn that custom connectors allow connections to unverified services: connect only to organizations you trust, review the permission scopes, watch for prompt injection, and use Always allow only for trusted servers. Each tool can be set to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked ¹⁰. The MCP specification adds that tools represent arbitrary code execution and that hosts must obtain explicit user consent before invoking any tool ¹⁷.

A connector's developer controls its tools and can change them at any time, whether it is labelled Verified or Community ¹⁶. Verified means Anthropic tested quality and compatibility; Community means screened but not reviewed in depth, and the docs say verification is not a security audit ^15,16.

• To list a server in Claude's directory, submit it at claude.ai/directory/manage. It needs HTTPS, OAuth 2.0 for authenticated services, a title and a read-only or destructive hint on every tool, a privacy policy and a test account for reviewers ¹⁵.

Is there a ChatGPT MCP for Claude?

There is no separate ChatGPT MCP for Claude, because MCP is one open standard. A server built once works in Claude and in ChatGPT; each app connects to it separately. OpenAI's documentation describes adding a custom MCP server in ChatGPT and using remote MCP servers in its Responses API, and says custom servers are not developed or verified by OpenAI ¹⁸. We could not read OpenAI's help page on which ChatGPT plans can use it, so check your plan.

Where Convocore fits

Convocore runs a remote MCP server at https://mcp.convocore.app/mcp. Paste that URL into Claude as a custom connector, sign in with your Convocore account through OAuth, pick a workspace and click Allow, and you are connected with nothing to install. Claude can then build and manage customer-facing AI agents: scrape a website, create the agent, fill its knowledge base, test it like a customer and fix what fails. MCP access is included from the Business plan ($99 a month). The full walkthrough is on the Claude MCP AI agent builder page.

What the evidence does not show

• The release date of the 2026-07-28 specification is not stated on the MCP site.
• Anthropic's 10,000 servers and 97 million downloads figures are from December 2025; we found no current count in the official registry, which returns pages without a total.
• We could not read OpenAI's help page on ChatGPT plan eligibility, so we do not state which plans support MCP.
• Download counts include automated installs and do not equal users.
• We did not test every connection route ourselves; commands and menu paths come from Anthropic's and MCP's docs.

Getting started with Claude MCP

Pick one remote server you actually use, add it as a custom connector in claude.ai, and set each tool to Needs approval until you trust it. If you build customer-facing agents, connect Convocore's remote server and let Claude build and test one for you.

Method and limits

• Facts come from pages and APIs we opened on 30 October 2026. Dated figures keep their dates.
• Claude's plan prices change; check claude.com/pricing before buying.
• Convocore sells an AI agent platform with an MCP server, so it has a commercial interest. If you find an error, write to support@convocore.ai.

Sources

1. Introducing the Model Context ProtocolPrimary source
   Anthropic. 25 November 2024.
2. VersioningPrimary source
   Model Context Protocol. Read 30 October 2026.
3. Key changes in the 2026-07-28 specificationPrimary source
   Model Context Protocol. Read 30 October 2026.
4. TransportsPrimary source
   Model Context Protocol. Read 30 October 2026.
5. Donating the Model Context Protocol and establishing the Agentic AI FoundationPrimary source
   Anthropic. 9 December 2025.
   Server and download figures are as of December 2025.
6. npm downloads API: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, last weekPrimary source
   npm. Week to 28 October 2026.
   Includes automated installs.
7. pypistats: mcpPrimary source
   pypistats.org. Read 30 October 2026.
   Includes automated installs.
8. modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdkPrimary source
   GitHub. Read 30 October 2026.
9. modelcontextprotocol/python-sdkPrimary source
   GitHub. Read 30 October 2026.
10. Add a connector that isn't in the directoryPrimary source
    Anthropic. Read 30 October 2026.
11. PricingPrimary source
    Anthropic. Read 30 October 2026.
12. Connect Claude Code to tools via MCPPrimary source
    Anthropic. Read 30 October 2026.
13. Connect to local MCP serversPrimary source
    Model Context Protocol. Read 30 October 2026.
14. Authentication for connectorsPrimary source
    Anthropic. Read 30 October 2026.
15. Submit a connector to the directoryPrimary source
    Anthropic. Read 30 October 2026.
16. Connector verificationPrimary source
    Anthropic. Read 30 October 2026.
17. Specification overviewPrimary source
    Model Context Protocol. Read 30 October 2026.
18. Add a custom MCP serverPrimary source
    OpenAI. Read 30 October 2026.

Questions

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