Best AI Apps That Support MCP (MCP Clients) in 2026

An MCP client is the AI app that connects to MCP servers and uses their tools. Claude, ChatGPT, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf), Zed, Google Antigravity and Microsoft Copilot Studio all support the Model Context Protocol in some form as of October 2026.

They differ in three ways that matter to a business. Some connect only to remote servers over the internet. Others can also launch local servers on your computer. And the plan you pay for decides who can add servers and who can block them.

This list covers what each app's own documentation says. We checked every entry against the vendor's docs on 28 October 2026. We did not install or test these apps for this article.

How we chose

We used the MCP Guide's standard listicle criteria:

• Live and public. The app must be available today, with MCP support described in its own documentation that we could open.
• Clear pricing. The vendor must publish pricing, or offer a clear way to get it.
• Security basics. The docs must describe at least one control, such as OAuth sign-in, tool approval, allowlists or admin policies.

The order below is not a ranking. If you are new to the terms, start with what MCP is and how MCP works.

Comparison at a glance

1. Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Cowork): MCP for everyday business chat

What it is. Anthropic's Claude apps connect to remote MCP servers through "custom connectors." Anthropic's help center says custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, in Claude, Cowork and Claude Desktop. Claude Desktop can also run local servers, packaged as one-click desktop extensions (.mcpb files).

Best for: Business users who want to ask questions of their tools in a chat window, without touching config files.

Pricing: Free at $0. Pro is $20 per month billed monthly, or $17 per month billed annually. Max starts at $100 per month. Team standard seats are $25 per seat monthly, and Enterprise is $20 per seat per month plus usage, per Claude's pricing page.

Pros:

• Remote connectors work on every plan, including Free.
• Desktop extensions store fields marked sensitive in the operating system's secure store (Keychain on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows).
• Team and Enterprise owners can allow or block public extensions and upload custom ones.

Cons:

• Free users are limited to one custom connector.
• Local servers added through Claude Desktop are not available in Cowork or on claude.ai.

Checked against: Anthropic help center on 28 October 2026.

2. Claude Code: MCP for developers and agentic coding

What it is. Claude Code is Anthropic's command-line coding agent. Its MCP docs list HTTP as the recommended transport for remote servers and stdio for local processes. The older SSE transport is marked deprecated.

Best for: Developers and technical teams who want MCP inside a coding workflow. See our Claude Code learning hub for background.

Pricing: "Claude Code is included in all paid plans," according to Claude's pricing page. It is not on the Free plan.

Pros:

• Three scopes (local, project and user) let a team share approved servers through a .mcp.json file in version control.
• OAuth 2.0 tokens are stored securely and refreshed automatically, per the docs.
• The oauth.scopes setting can restrict a server to a security-approved subset of permissions.

Cons:

• Setup happens in a terminal, which suits developers more than business users.
• Claude Code asks for approval before using project-scoped servers, which adds a step for new team members.

Checked against: Claude Code MCP docs on 28 October 2026.

3. ChatGPT and the OpenAI API: MCP through plugins

What it is. OpenAI's developer docs describe adding a server in ChatGPT under Plugins, then "Add custom MCP server." OpenAI's connection guide says a public endpoint needs its full URL, while a private server can connect through Secure MCP Tunnel. Developers can also call remote MCP servers from the Responses API, which supports Streamable HTTP and HTTP/SSE servers.

Best for: Teams already using ChatGPT that want internal tools available in chat, or developers building on the OpenAI API.

Pricing: Included in eligible ChatGPT plans, not sold separately. OpenAI's custom MCP server help article says custom servers and full MCP are for ChatGPT Business and Enterprise/Edu on the web, and Pro users can connect servers with read/fetch permissions only, as of October 2026. It adds that you don't need to turn on Developer Mode first.

Pros:

• Secure MCP Tunnel connects a private server without exposing it to the public internet.
• The Responses API asks for approval before sending data to a remote server, unless you configure require_approval to skip it for trusted tools.
• ChatGPT implements the open MCP Apps UI standard, according to OpenAI's quickstart.

Cons:

• Plus and Free plans aren't listed for custom servers, and Pro is limited to read/fetch, per OpenAI's help article. Custom servers are web only.
• OpenAI warns that custom MCP servers "are not developed or verified by OpenAI."

Checked against: OpenAI developer docs on 28 October 2026.

4. VS Code with GitHub Copilot: MCP in the most common code editor

What it is. VS Code's MCP docs support remote servers over HTTP and local servers launched as a command (stdio). GitHub's docs say Copilot also supports MCP in Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Xcode and Eclipse.

Best for: Developers and website teams already working in VS Code or on GitHub.

Pricing: Copilot Free is $0, Pro is $10 per month, Pro+ is $39 per month and Max is $100 per month, per GitHub's plans page. The plans table lists "Integrates with MCP servers" in agent mode on all four. Business pricing is a "Copilot for business" add-on, and Enterprise is through sales.

Pros:

• MCP in agent mode is listed even on the Free plan.
• Organizations can restrict which servers are available.
• GitHub-managed "Copilot connectors" offer MCP connections without local setup, currently in preview.

Cons:

• For Copilot Business and Enterprise members, the "MCP servers in Copilot" policy is off by default and must be enabled by an admin.
• VS Code warns that local MCP servers can run code on your machine using your permissions.

Checked against: GitHub Docs on 28 October 2026.

5. Cursor: MCP for AI-first coding teams

What it is. Cursor is an AI code editor. Cursor's MCP docs list three transports: stdio for local servers, plus SSE and Streamable HTTP, which can run locally or remotely and use OAuth.

Best for: Development teams that do most of their coding with AI agents.

Pricing: Free at $0. Paid individual plans are Plus ($8 per month), Premium ($30), Super ($100) and Ultra ($200). Teams start at $30 per user per month, and Enterprise is custom, per Cursor's pricing page.

Pros:

• OAuth uses the authorization code flow with PKCE (a standard protection for sign-in codes).
• Tool approval is required by default.
• Enterprise admins can set an MCP allowlist covering stdio commands, remote URLs and individual tools.

Cons:

• The docs do not state numeric limits, such as server counts or timeouts.
• Third-party model usage is billed separately from the plan price.

Checked against: Cursor MCP docs on 28 October 2026.

6. Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf): MCP with strict team allowlists

What it is. Windsurf's documentation and pricing pages now redirect to Devin's site, where the editor is called Devin Desktop. Its MCP docs list stdio, Streamable HTTP and SSE transports, with OAuth available for each.

Best for: Teams that need admins to control exactly which MCP servers developers can use.

Pricing: Free at $0. Pro is $20 per month and Max is $200 per month. Teams costs $80 per month plus $40 per month per full developer seat, and Enterprise is custom, per Devin's pricing page.

Pros:

• Admins can toggle MCP access for the whole team.
• Allowlisting even one server blocks every non-allowlisted server, which is a strict default.
• Individual tools can be switched off with a disabledTools list.

Cons:

• Cascade has "a limit of 100 total tools" at any one time.
• Enterprise users must turn MCP on manually in settings.

Checked against: Devin Desktop MCP docs on 28 October 2026.

7. Zed: MCP in an open-source editor

What it is. Zed is an open-source code editor. Zed's MCP docs say it supports MCP's Tools and Prompts features, with both local and remote servers added from the settings screen.

Best for: Developers who want a fast, open-source editor and prefer to bring their own AI keys.

Pricing: The Personal plan is $0, "free forever." Pro is $10 per month and Business is $30 per seat per month, per Zed's pricing page.

Pros:

• MCP servers can be installed as Zed extensions, such as GitHub and Context7.
• Remote servers without an Authorization header trigger the standard MCP OAuth flow.
• Configured servers are forwarded to external agents over the Agent Client Protocol.

Cons:

• Only Tools and Prompts are supported, not every MCP feature.
• Admin controls are a Business-plan feature.

Checked against: Zed MCP docs on 28 October 2026.

8. Google Antigravity and Gemini Enterprise: MCP across Google's tools

What it is. Google Antigravity is Google's agent app, IDE and CLI. Google's Gemini CLI docs say unpaid-tier and Google One users had Gemini CLI replaced by Antigravity CLI on 18 June 2026. Antigravity's MCP docs support local stdio servers, while remote servers "must use the Streamable HTTP transport." For companies, Gemini Enterprise offers a custom MCP server connector that also supports only Streamable HTTP.

Best for: Teams already on Google Cloud or Google Workspace.

Pricing: Antigravity has a $0 individual plan. Business plans through Google Cloud start at $30 per seat per month, with a pay-as-you-go option, per Antigravity's pricing page.

Pros:

• A built-in MCP Store lists integrations across databases, developer tools, security and analytics.
• Antigravity's app, IDE and CLI share one MCP config file.
• Gemini Enterprise supports OAuth 2.0 for custom servers.

Cons:

• Antigravity does not support the legacy HTTP+SSE transport for remote servers.
• The consumer Gemini app's custom MCP servers are limited to US users aged 18 and over with personal Google Accounts, per Google's help article, so they don't help work accounts.

Checked against: Antigravity MCP docs on 28 October 2026.

9. Microsoft Copilot Studio: MCP for Microsoft 365 agents

What it is. Copilot Studio is Microsoft's tool for building AI agents. Microsoft's docs say it currently supports MCP tools and resources, and that changes on the server show up in the agent automatically.

Best for: Microsoft 365 organizations building agents for staff or customers.

Pricing: See Microsoft's licensing guide. MCP requires generative orchestration, which Microsoft's licensing page lists for the standalone Copilot Studio subscription but not for the Teams plan in Microsoft 365. A free trial lets you build and test agents but not publish them.

Pros:

• A wizard connects an agent to an existing MCP server.
• Tools and resources update dynamically when the server changes.
• MCP connectors can be published for use across tenants.

Cons:

• You "must turn on generative orchestration to use MCP."
• Microsoft states you are responsible for the tools and resources you access from non-Microsoft MCP servers.

Checked against: Microsoft Learn on 28 October 2026.

How to pick an MCP client

Start with who will use it. Business users usually do best in a chat app such as Claude or ChatGPT. Developers will want an editor or command-line tool that can run local servers.

Then check control. If more than a handful of people will connect servers, look for allowlists, admin policies and OAuth scopes. Our guide to MCP security risks explains why this matters, and MCP authentication and OAuth covers how sign-in works.

Finally, check the servers you need. A client is only as useful as the servers it connects to. Our checklist on how to choose MCP servers helps with that step. If you want help setting up Claude Code for your team, see our Claude Code consulting service.

Next step

Want the short version of which AI apps support MCP, without the plan details? Read Which AI Apps Support MCP?, or browse the full MCP Guide.

Frequently asked questions