Claude connectors vs MCP servers: which one to add, and where each one works

Claude connectors are MCP servers that run on the internet, added to Claude by their address. A local MCP server is the same kind of program running on your own computer. Both speak the Model Context Protocol. Where the server runs decides whether you can ask from claude.ai and your phone or only from one laptop, and who has to install what. This guide compares the two and shows how to pick.

The short answer

Anthropic calls a remote MCP server added to Claude a connector. Claude connects to it from Anthropic’s cloud, not from your device, so the server must be reachable on the public internet. In exchange it works on claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Cowork and the mobile apps.

A local MCP server runs on your computer. Claude Desktop starts it from a desktop extension or from its config file, and Claude Code starts it from the terminal. Anthropic’s connector help states that local servers configured in Claude Desktop are not available on claude.ai or in Cowork. For the wider vocabulary, such as what a connector means in ChatGPT or Cursor, see What is an MCP connector?

Three ways to add an MCP server to Claude

A directory connector and a custom connector work the same way. The directory lists services Claude shows by name; a custom connector is any remote server you add by its address, and if that address matches a directory listing, Claude shows it under that service’s name and branding.

Which one to pick

Pick a connector when you want to ask from anywhere. If you ask on your phone, in claude.ai or with teammates, the server has to be remote. You also skip installing anything, and the server keeps working when your laptop is closed.

Pick a local server when the data is on your computer. A server that reads your files, a local database or a project folder belongs on your machine. Developers who run tools in Claude Code often prefer local servers, because the code and the server sit on the same machine.

Check who can add connectors on your plan. Anthropic lists custom connectors on the Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise plans, and Free allows one. On Team plans only owners and primary owners add them; on Enterprise, owners and people whose role allows it. Each member then clicks Connect and signs in to their own account.

For business accounts such as your store, your ads, your analytics and your payments, a remote server is almost always the right choice. The data already lives on the internet, and a connector lets everyone on the team ask about it from whichever Claude app they have open.

Adding HeyMetra to Claude

HeyMetra is a remote MCP server for the accounts you run your business on, so it goes into Claude as a custom connector:

1. Connect your accounts in HeyMetra. Each one, such as Stripe, Google Analytics 4 or Google Search Console, takes a sign-in or a key and a few minutes.
2. Add the connector in Claude. Open Customize, then Connectors, choose Add, then Add custom connector, and paste https://mcp.heymetra.com/mcp. Our Claude page keeps the current menu path.
3. Ask. The connector works on claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Cowork and the mobile apps. For Claude Code, our page gives the command.

Because every account answers through that one connector, a question can read several of them at once:

Claude

How did sign-ups in GA4 and new paid subscriptions in Stripe move week by week this month?

Read Google Analytics and Stripe with HeyMetra

Sign-ups held near 300 a week, but new paid subscriptions fell from 39 to 26 in week 3, the same week the annual plan’s price went up. Week 4 recovered to 35, almost all on monthly plans.

Reply to Claude…

The same address works in ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, Codex, Cursor and Antigravity, and every plan starts with a seven-day free trial.