The 14 Best MCP Clients in 2026

The Model Context Protocol has a server problem and a client problem. There are thousands of MCP servers — our list of the 100 best MCP servers is a small slice — but a server does nothing until a client connects to it. The client is the application that holds the model, discovers the server's tools, decides when to call them, and asks you before anything dangerous happens.

So the client decides most of what MCP is actually like to use. Four things separate them:

1. Transports. Local servers speak over stdio; remote servers over HTTP (streamable HTTP, or the older SSE). A client that only speaks one limits which servers you can use.
2. Authentication. Hosted MCP servers increasingly use OAuth. Clients that handle the OAuth flow connect in one click; the rest need API keys pasted into JSON.
3. Model choice. Some clients lock you to one vendor's models. Others let you use any provider, including local models — where tool-calling quality matters most.
4. What happens after a tool call. A chat client shows you the answer. An agent client can chain tool calls into workflows, run them on a schedule, and keep a record.

At a glance

Client	Type	Local servers	Remote servers	Model choice	Cost
AGNT	Agent OS	Yes	Yes, incl. OAuth	20+ providers + local	Free locally
Claude (desktop and web)	Chat app	Yes (desktop)	Yes, custom connectors	Claude	Free plan: 1 custom connector
Claude Code	Coding agent	Yes	Yes	Claude	Paid Claude plan or Console
ChatGPT	Chat app	No	Yes	OpenAI	Varies by plan
VS Code (GitHub Copilot)	IDE	Yes	Yes	Copilot models	Copilot plans
Cursor	IDE	Yes	Yes	Several	Free and paid plans
Codex CLI	Coding agent	Yes	Yes	OpenAI	ChatGPT plan or API key
Gemini CLI	Coding agent	Yes	Yes	Gemini	Free tier
LM Studio	Local model app	Yes	Yes	Local models	Free
Goose	Desktop agent	Yes	Yes	15+ providers	Free (Apache-2.0)
Cline	IDE agent	Yes	Yes	Any	Free (Apache-2.0)
LibreChat	Self-hosted chat	Yes	Yes	Any	Free (MIT)
5ire	Desktop chat	Yes	Yes	Several	Free
Dust	Team agents	—	Yes	20+ models	Free seat; from $24/seat/mo

The clients

1. AGNT

Disclosure: AGNT is our product, and it is listed first because this is our site. Every other entry is described from its maker's own documentation.

AGNT is an MCP client inside an agent operating system. It connects to local servers over stdio and remote servers over HTTP and streamable HTTP, including servers that use OAuth. The difference from a chat client is what happens next: MCP tools become tools that any agent, visual workflow or scheduled goal can use, with approval gates before consequential calls and a receipt of every call a run made.

• Models: 20+ providers plus local models through Ollama and LM Studio, chosen per agent
• Cost: free with unlimited local runs
• Where others are better: for MCP inside an editor, Cursor, VS Code or Claude Code; for the simplest first connection, Claude
• Source: AGNT MCP · download AGNT

2. Claude (desktop and web)

Anthropic's apps were the first MCP clients and remain the reference implementation. The desktop app runs local servers; custom connectors add remote servers by URL, with the OAuth login handled in-app.

• Cost: custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise; the Free plan supports one
• Best for: trying MCP for the first time with almost no setup
• Source: Claude connectors documentation

3. Claude Code

The strongest MCP client for developers. Servers can be scoped to a user or a single repository, and Claude Code combines MCP tools with its shell, git and subagents. Many MCP servers ship a Claude Code plugin that installs the server and matching skills together.

• Cost: a paid Claude plan or an Anthropic Console account
• Source: Claude Code overview · AGNT vs Claude Code

4. ChatGPT

ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers as apps and connectors, which brings MCP to the largest consumer audience of any client. Remote servers only — there is no local stdio support in the ChatGPT apps.

• Source: OpenAI MCP documentation

5. VS Code with GitHub Copilot

Copilot's agent mode uses MCP servers configured per workspace or per user, with support for both local and remote servers — the natural choice if your team already works in VS Code.

• Source: Use MCP servers in VS Code

6. Cursor

The AI code editor configures servers in an mcp.json file — a format other clients, including LM Studio, now copy. Both local and remote servers are supported.

• Source: Cursor MCP documentation

7. Codex CLI

OpenAI's open-source coding agent adds MCP servers from the terminal, alongside its sandboxed shell and file tools.

• Cost: included with ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise, or an API key
• Source: github.com/openai/codex · Apache-2.0 · AGNT vs Codex

8. Gemini CLI

Google's open-source terminal agent supports MCP for custom integrations, and its free tier — 60 requests a minute, 1,000 a day with a personal Google account — makes it the cheapest capable MCP client for coding.

• Source: github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli · Apache-2.0

9. LM Studio

Since version 0.3.17, LM Studio is an MCP host: it connects local and remote servers to models running entirely on your machine, configured with Cursor-style mcp.json or one-click "Add to LM Studio" links.

• Watch out for: servers built for Claude or GPT can use more tokens than a local model's context comfortably holds
• Source: LM Studio MCP documentation

10. Goose

An open-source desktop agent where MCP servers are "extensions". It works with 15+ model providers and runs as a native app on macOS, Windows and Linux, plus a CLI.

• Source: github.com/aaif-goose/goose · Apache-2.0

11. Cline

An autonomous coding agent for your IDE, CLI or SDK that connects MCP servers alongside its file and terminal tools, and asks before it runs them.

• Source: github.com/cline/cline · Apache-2.0

12. LibreChat

The most complete self-hosted chat interface: agents, MCP, skills, and every major provider in one deployment you control. A good choice for giving a whole team MCP-backed chat on your own infrastructure.

• Source: github.com/LibreChat-AI/LibreChat · MIT

13. 5ire

A cross-platform desktop AI assistant designed around MCP from the start, compatible with the major model providers.

• Source: github.com/nanbingxyz/5ire

14. Dust

A hosted platform for team agents that supports native and remote MCP servers alongside its connectors to Slack, Notion, GitHub and Drive. Enterprise plans remove the limit on MCP servers.

• Cost: Free seat with 500 lifetime credits; Pro $24/seat/mo billed yearly
• Source: dust.tt pricing

Which MCP client should you use?

• Your first MCP connection: Claude desktop.
• MCP while coding: Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code; Gemini CLI if cost matters most.
• MCP with a private, local model: LM Studio, Goose or AGNT.
• MCP for a whole team on your own servers: LibreChat.
• MCP tools running unattended in workflows and schedules: AGNT or Dust.

FAQ

What is an MCP client?

The application that connects a language model to MCP servers. It discovers each server's tools, passes their descriptions to the model, executes the calls the model chooses, and returns the results.

What is the difference between an MCP client and an MCP host?

The MCP specification distinguishes them: the host is the application the user runs, and it creates one client connection per server. In practice, "MCP client" usually means the host application.

Which MCP clients support remote servers?

Nearly all of them now — every client on this list supports remote servers. Claude and AGNT handle the OAuth login for hosted servers in-app; for the others, check whether a given server needs OAuth or an API key.

Can I use MCP with a local model?

Yes. LM Studio, Goose, Cline, LibreChat and AGNT all connect MCP servers to local models. Choose a model with reliable tool calling, and keep the number of connected tools small — local models degrade faster than frontier models as tool lists grow.

Is MCP safe?

MCP servers can run code, read files and use your network. Install servers only from sources you trust, prefer clients that ask before tool calls, and remove servers you no longer use.

Sources

• Model Context Protocol: what MCP is and who supports it
• Each client's documentation or repository, linked in its entry
• Dust pricing

Reviewed 24 September 2026.