12 Best SEO MCP Servers for Claude, Codex and Cursor (2026)

Updated October 20, 2026, by the Rillow team. Rillow makes one of the SEO MCP servers on this list, and it is ranked by the same rules as the others. There are no affiliate links here, and every price and feature was checked on the vendor's own pages that day.

An SEO MCP server gives your AI agent real SEO data: keyword volumes, live Google results, backlinks, rankings and your own Search Console numbers. For most people whose agent does the SEO work, the pick is OpenSEO: it covers all six kinds of data we compared for $10 a month. If you already pay for Ahrefs, its MCP server is included from the $129 Lite plan and covers the same six, with Ahrefs' own keyword and backlink index. Rillow, which we make, ranks third.

How we ranked them

We ranked the servers by two things a reader can check:

1. Data types covered. Six kinds of data an agent needs to research, write and track SEO work: keyword volume and difficulty, live Google results, backlinks, rank tracking, AI visibility (whether AI answers cite a site) and Google Search Console. Each counts once, and a partial one counts half.
2. The cheapest way in. Within the same coverage, the lower price shown for a plan that includes MCP access ranks higher.

Three more criteria don't change the order, but each entry lists them:

3. A free way to try it: a free plan, a trial or a self-hosted version.
4. Sign-in: OAuth in the browser, or an API key you paste into a config file.
5. What it can change: whether the server only reads data or can also save, edit or publish.

We read each vendor's pricing page, docs and setup guides on October 20, 2026. We counted only what the MCP server itself offers, not the rest of each product, so a data type listed as missing means the server's own pages don't list it. Where a vendor's pages disagree, the entry says so.

The SEO MCP servers at a glance

"Data" counts the six data types each server covers. Sign-in and what each server can change are in its entry below.

The 12 SEO MCP servers, ranked

1. OpenSEO: best for most people on a small budget

OpenSEO is an open source SEO tool with a hosted MCP server at https://app.openseo.so/mcp. It covers all six data types: keywords, live Google results, backlinks, rank tracking, AI visibility and Search Console, plus local and Google Business Profile data. The data comes from DataForSEO underneath.

• Price: one hosted plan from $10 a month, which includes $10 of usage. Search Console doesn't use that allowance. The GitHub README says the hosted plan adds a 28% markup on DataForSEO requests.
• Free way to try: a trial with $0.50 of credits, or self-host it for free under the MIT license with your own DataForSEO key.
• Sign-in: OAuth, or an API key.
• Can it change things: yes. It saves keywords, sets up prompt tracking, saves reports and can publish a public report link.
• Agents with setup steps: ChatGPT, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and Codex.
• Drawbacks: site audits appear on the pricing page but not as a documented MCP tool, and Gemini CLI has no setup guide.

Best for a solo founder or a small team who wants broad data at the lowest price, and for anyone who would rather self-host.

2. Ahrefs: best if you already pay for Ahrefs

Ahrefs' MCP server runs at https://api.ahrefs.com/mcp/mcp and gives your agent Ahrefs' own index: Site Explorer, backlinks, Keywords Explorer, SERP overviews, Rank Tracker, Site Audit, Brand Radar for AI visibility, Web Analytics and Search Console, in 20 tool groups.

• Price: every paid plan from Lite includes "API and MCP access": Lite $129, Standard $249, Advanced $449 and Enterprise $1,499 a month (pricing). Starter ($29) and Ahrefs Free don't include it.
• Usage limits: MCP calls spend API units, at least 50 per call. Lite has 200,000 units a month, Standard 800,000 and Advanced 2 million, shared with the Ahrefs API.
• Free way to try: none for MCP. Ahrefs says it never runs discounts.
• Sign-in: a browser login and consent screen, which creates an API key for MCP. Local setup is no longer supported.
• Can it change things: not stated. The tool groups include management of projects, keyword lists and Brand Radar settings.
• Agents with setup steps: claude.ai, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, Copilot Studio, Lovable, n8n and others. Codex and Gemini CLI have no guide.
• Drawbacks: the price, and units that run out on big requests.

Best for teams and agencies who already pay for Ahrefs, and anyone who needs Ahrefs' own backlink and keyword index rather than a resold one.

3. Rillow: best for an agent that writes and tracks your posts

We make Rillow. It is an MCP server at https://rillow.ai/mcp with 18 tools, and it holds the work as well as the data: a content plan, a memory of your site, saved drafts with SEO checks, and daily Google positions for the posts you publish.

• Data: keyword ideas with volume and difficulty, live Google results with Google's AI Overview and the sites it cites, backlinks for any domain, the keywords any site ranks for, competitors, rank tracking for your published posts, and Search Console and Google Analytics once you connect them. The data comes from DataForSEO.
• Why half a point for AI visibility: Rillow shows Google's AI Overview for any search, but it doesn't track mentions in ChatGPT or Perplexity.
• Price: Solo is $19 a month with 100 credits, and Pro is $49 a month for five sites with 350 credits. A credit is $0.10, and each paid tool result says what it used.
• Free way to try: 30 credits on your first site, without a card.
• Sign-in: OAuth in the browser.
• Can it change things: yes, but only inside Rillow (the plan, the memory and saved drafts). It publishes to your site only through a webhook you set up.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude Code, claude.ai, Codex, Cursor and Gemini CLI.
• Drawbacks: no site audit crawler and no ChatGPT setup guide yet. Its keyword and backlink data is DataForSEO's, not an index of its own like Ahrefs or Semrush.

Best for a founder whose agent researches, writes and publishes posts in the site's own code, and who wants the plan and the rankings kept between sessions.

4. Ubersuggest: best for beginners who want one plan

Ubersuggest's MCP connector from NP Digital runs at https://ubersuggest-mcp.neilpatelapi.com/mcp. Its app page lists 42 tools in 8 groups: domains, keywords with volume, difficulty and Google results, backlinks, site audit, AI brand visibility, content and rank tracking.

• Price: MCP is on any Ubersuggest plan. The pricing page shows "US$ 29 - US$ 99" without saying monthly or yearly, with 250, 500 or 1,000 credits a month, and lifetime plans too.
• Free way to try: a one-time 7-day trial.
• Sign-in: OAuth through your Ubersuggest account.
• Can it change things: no, the connection is read-only.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Windsurf.
• Drawbacks: no Search Console tools, and an unclear billing period on the pricing page.

Best for someone new to SEO who wants keywords, audits and rank tracking in one low-priced plan.

5. ContextBolt: best flat price for AI visibility checks

ContextBolt SEO runs at https://seo.contextbolt.app/mcp. It covers keywords, the live top 10, backlink gaps, AI visibility, page audits and Search Console, and it keeps a memory between sessions.

• Price: $35 a month flat with 1,000 credits. Research tools cost 1 credit, backlink tools 3, an AI visibility check 8, and Search Console and memory are free.
• Free way to try: a 7-day trial with 100 credits, card required.
• Sign-in: OAuth with your email and a code sent to it.
• Can it change things: not stated. The Search Console connection is read-only.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, VS Code and others.
• Drawbacks: no scheduled rank tracking, so it can't tell you when a page drops.

Best for checking whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews mention you, on one predictable bill.

6. SE Ranking: best for agencies on a mid-size budget

SE Ranking's MCP server runs at https://api.seranking.com/mcp and covers keywords, Google results, backlinks, rank tracking, audits and AI visibility through SE Visible. SE Ranking calls it "180+ SEO and GEO tools", and notes that not every API endpoint is in the MCP server.

• Price: MCP is in every subscription. Core is $129 a month ($103.20 billed yearly) with 25,000 API credits, and Growth is $279 ($223.20 billed yearly) with 100,000. An API-only wallet costs $50 for 250,000 credits that don't expire (API pricing).
• Free way to try: a 14-day trial with 100,000 API credits and MCP, no card.
• Sign-in: OAuth 2.1, or an API key. Read-only keys aren't available yet.
• Can it change things: not stated. A key has the same access as your account.
• Agents with setup steps: all six we looked for: claude.ai, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor and Gemini CLI.
• Drawbacks: no Search Console tools, and its two pricing pages disagree on how many credits the API add-on gives.

Best for agencies that track many sites and want broad data below Ahrefs' and Semrush's prices.

7. DataForSEO: best for developers who want raw data

DataForSEO sells the data several servers on this list resell, including OpenSEO and Rillow. Its MCP server runs at https://mcp.dataforseo.com/v3/mcp or locally with npx dataforseo-mcp-server. The current version has four tools: three search its docs, and api_request calls any endpoint.

• Data: Google results, keyword data, DataForSEO Labs, backlinks, on-page checks, domain analytics and AI Optimization (mentions in AI answers).
• Price: pay as you go with no subscription, and a $50 minimum top-up. A live Google results page of 10 results costs $0.002, and the standard queue $0.0006 (pricing).
• Free way to try: a $1 trial credit.
• Sign-in: OAuth for the hosted server, or your API login and password for the local one.
• Can it change things: not stated.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT and Gemini CLI.
• Drawbacks: no rank tracker or Search Console, and with one generic tool your agent has to know which endpoint to call.

Best for developers who want the lowest cost per request and don't mind building the workflow themselves.

8. BlogSEO: best for publishing straight to a CMS

BlogSEO's MCP server runs at https://mcp.blogseo.io/mcp with 52 tools. It covers keywords with volume and difficulty, Search Console rankings, article scoring and backlinks, and it publishes to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and more than 20 other platforms.

• Price: the Ambition plan, which lists the MCP server, is $97 a month or $889 a year. The Starter plan ($59) doesn't list MCP, although the MCP page says it is in every plan.
• Free way to try: a 3-day trial, card required.
• Sign-in: OAuth 2.1, no API key.
• Can it change things: yes. It edits, schedules and publishes articles.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex CLI, Cursor, Gemini CLI and others.
• Drawbacks: no live Google results or AI visibility, and it publishes, so review what it changes.

Best for a team that publishes through a CMS and wants the agent to post there directly.

9. Nightwatch: best for rank tracking with AI visibility

Nightwatch's SEO MCP runs at https://mcp.nightwatch.io/sse. It covers rankings on Google, Bing and YouTube, keyword volume, CPC and difficulty, AI visibility in AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity, site audits and competitors.

• Price: Starter €79, Professional €159 and Agency €399 a month billed yearly. Its pages disagree on which plans include MCP: the MCP page says Professional and above, and the pricing page says every plan.
• Free way to try: a 14-day trial without a card, though the MCP page says MCP isn't in the trial.
• Sign-in: an API key, which you can scope.
• Can it change things: read-only by default. Write access can be turned on per key.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, Windsurf, Zed and others.
• Drawbacks: no backlinks or Search Console, and prices only in euros.

Best for tracking many keywords across search engines and AI answers.

10. Serpstat: best for keyword and backlink research on a team plan

Serpstat's MCP server has 63 tools for keywords, competitors, backlinks, site audit, rank tracking and reports. It runs hosted with OAuth or locally with your API token. Its own pages show two different hosted addresses, so copy the one in your account.

• Price: MCP starts on the Team plan, shown at $100 a month (pricing). The page doesn't say whether that is billed monthly or yearly.
• Free way to try: a 7-day trial that renews unless you cancel.
• Sign-in: OAuth hosted, or an API token locally.
• Can it change things: not stated.
• Agents with setup steps: claude.ai, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI and Cursor.
• Drawbacks: no live Google results, AI visibility or Search Console tools.

Best for teams who want many research tools on one plan below Semrush's price.

11. Semrush: best if your team already works in Semrush

Semrush's MCP server runs at https://mcp.semrush.com/v2/mcp, and its docs list 14 tools. It covers domain overviews, organic keywords, competitors, backlinks, traffic estimates, paid search, shopping, position tracking, site audits and projects.

• Price: MCP is on Semrush One Starter ($199 a month, $165.17 billed yearly) and Pro+ ($299), with 50,000 API units that refresh each billing period (pricing). The developer docs also list SEO Classic Pro and Guru. Every MCP query uses API units.
• Free way to try: a 7-day trial.
• Sign-in: OAuth by default, or an API key.
• Can it change things: no. The connection is read-only.
• Agents with setup steps: claude.ai, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Perplexity and others. Codex has no guide.
• Drawbacks: no live Google results, AI visibility or Search Console tools, and the highest entry price here. It is strongest where our six data types don't look: traffic estimates and paid search data.

Best for marketing teams who already use Semrush and want their agent to read the same reports.

12. Answer Socrates: best for question keywords

Answer Socrates' MCP server runs at https://answersocrates.com/api/mcp with six tools: rising topics, Google Trends, question and comparison keywords, clustering, saving to a project and usage.

• Price: from the Seneca plan, $39 a month or $32.50 billed yearly, with 6,000 API requests a year (pricing). The Lite plan has no MCP.
• Free way to try: none for MCP. The free plan has 3 searches a day without MCP.
• Sign-in: account sign-in in claude.ai, Gemini and Perplexity, an API key elsewhere.
• Can it change things: yes, it saves to and creates projects.
• Agents with setup steps: Claude Code, claude.ai, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini CLI and others.
• Drawbacks: its MCP pages name no search volume, difficulty, Google results or backlinks.

Best for finding the questions people ask around a topic, to plan FAQ sections and new posts.

Which SEO MCP server fits you

• The most data for the lowest price: OpenSEO.
• You already pay for Ahrefs: Ahrefs.
• Your agent plans, writes, publishes and tracks posts in your site's code: Rillow.
• New to SEO and want one simple plan: Ubersuggest.
• Mostly mentions in AI answers: ContextBolt or Nightwatch.
• An agency with many sites: SE Ranking.
• Your own tools, paying per request: DataForSEO.
• Publishing through WordPress, Shopify or Webflow: BlogSEO.
• You already work in Semrush: Semrush.
• FAQ sections and question posts: Answer Socrates.

Free MCP servers for your own Google data

If you only need your own numbers, you don't need any of the paid servers above. Search Console and Google Analytics both have free servers that run on your computer:

• Search Console: Google doesn't publish an official one, but the open source mcp-gsc is free. Our Google Search Console MCP setup guide covers it and the hosted options.
• Google Analytics: Google's own Analytics MCP server is free and open source. Our Google Analytics MCP setup guide walks through it.

They give your agent clicks, queries and visitors, but no keyword volumes, competitors or backlinks.

Also worth knowing

• Screaming Frog added an MCP server to its SEO Spider in version 24. It runs on your computer and lets your agent run crawls and export the data. It is a crawler for your own site rather than a data source, so it isn't ranked here, and we couldn't confirm whether it needs a paid license.
• Moz isn't on the list because we couldn't open its MCP documentation and pricing pages on the day we checked. For how Moz compares to Ahrefs and Semrush as tools, see Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Moz.

Frequently asked questions