mcpsearchconsole vs search-console-mcp

This is the easiest self-hosted server to set up that we have looked at: it ships its own Google OAuth client, so for Search Console you do not create a Google Cloud project. The remaining difference is that it runs on your computer.

search-console-mcp, per its Quick Start and installation docs on 2 October 2026:

1. Run npx search-console-mcp setup. It opens your browser, you sign in with Google, and it stores the token in your operating system's keychain.
2. Add an mcpServers block running npx search-console-mcp to your client's config.
3. Restart the client and ask a question.

You need Node.js 18 or later, unless you use the one-click .mcpb bundle for Claude Desktop. Bing needs an API key, GA4 a service account (with its own Cloud project), and AdSense a separate OAuth approval, each through setup --engine=....

Search Console MCP, the hosted Google Search Console MCP server:

1. Add https://mcpsearchconsole.com/mcp as a connector in your AI client.
2. Sign in with Google and approve the read-only Search Console permission.
3. Ask a question.

Both ask Google for the read-only Search Console scope by default. The trade-off is where requests go: through our server, or from your machine straight to Google.

What search-console-mcp can do that Search Console MCP cannot

• Bing, GA4 and AdSense. It queries Bing Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics 4 and AdSense next to Search Console, and compare_engines puts Google and Bing side by side. We cover Google Search Console only.
• Submit URLs for indexing. indexing_submit sends URLs through IndexNow or the Google and Bing APIs (Google's Indexing API uses a separate scope). We do not submit URLs.
• Manage properties. sites_manage adds or removes properties. We have no property-management tools.
• More analysis tools. Anomaly detection, drop attribution, brand versus non-brand and lost-query audits, keyword research, schema validation and genai_query_insights, a heuristic that flags likely AI-assistant style queries (its README says no official API exists for this).
• Many Google accounts at once. Connect 20 or more accounts and it picks the one that owns each site automatically. We use the one Google account you sign in with.
• A command line. npx search-console-mcp run calls any tool directly and prints JSON, CSV or a table, handy for scripts.
• Stay on your machine. Tokens live in your keychain and requests go straight to Google.

What Search Console MCP can do that search-console-mcp cannot

• Work in web chat and cloud agents. claude.ai, ChatGPT and Grok Bot need a remote server with sign-in. Its docs cover desktop and editor clients only.
• Nothing to install or update. No Node, no config file, no restarts after an npm release. It shipped four commits on 2 September 2026 alone, which is good maintenance, and also updates you apply yourself.
• A small, focused tool list. 16 tools for one data source. Fewer, plainer tools can make it easier for the AI to pick the right one; we have not measured this for either server.
• Site checks. DNS records, redirect chains, robots.txt rules and TLS certificates, alongside PageSpeed.
• Notes that persist, shared across your company on Team.
• One sign-in for a team. On Team, everyone on your company domain connects with their own Google account under one flat plan; with a local server each person installs and signs in separately.

What neither does

Neither stores Search Console history beyond Google's 16 months. Both read the same Search Console API, so the numbers match.

search-console-mcp is free to download. Its cost is your time: the first setup (short, by self-hosted standards), plus restarts and fixes when Node, your client or the package changes. Search Console MCP has a price and almost no time cost.

self-hosted yearly cost = (setup hours + upkeep hours per month × 12) × your hourly rate
hosted yearly cost      = monthly price × 12

Example only, with assumptions you should replace with your own: say setup takes 15 minutes, upkeep averages 10 minutes a month, and your time is worth R an hour. That is (0.25 + 0.17 × 12) × R ≈ 2.3 × R a year. Solo costs €59.88 a year before VAT, so in this example the two break even at about R = €26 an hour. If you also need Bing, GA4 or AdSense, search-console-mcp covers sources we do not, so the comparison is no longer like for like.

The full plan details are on our pricing page.

From search-console-mcp to Search Console MCP

1. Add https://mcpsearchconsole.com/mcp as a connector and sign in with the Google account that has your properties.
2. Ask "list my Search Console properties" to confirm.
3. Remove the search-console block from your client's config, so the AI does not choose between two similar tool sets.
4. Optional: run npx search-console-mcp logout to clear the stored token.

Plain-language prompts carry over. Prompts that name its tools need rewording (analytics_query becomes search_analytics; seo_audit with striking_distance or cannibalization becomes search_insights). Keep it installed if you still want Bing, GA4 or AdSense.

From Search Console MCP to search-console-mcp

1. Run its setup wizard and add it to a desktop or editor client.
2. Copy anything you saved with add_note (ask "list my notes").
3. Remove our connector, cancel any paid plan, and revoke our access in your Google account.

Conversations in claude.ai or ChatGPT on the web would move to a desktop client. For another self-hosted option, see our comparison with mcp-gsc.