Remote MCP servers: what they are and how to connect one

Q: Can I add a remote MCP server on a free plan?

Yes. Claude's Free plan allows one custom connector. In ChatGPT we added one on a Free account on November 3, 2026.

A remote MCP server is an MCP server that runs at a web address. Your AI app connects to it over the internet, you sign in once, and nothing is installed on your computer. On November 10, 2026, 67 percent of the 60,115 servers in the official MCP Registry were remote, by our count.

By Amelia Cardona HernandezUpdated November 10, 2026Sources checked November 10, 20265 min read

What a remote MCP server is

An MCP server gives an AI agent tools it can call. The protocol has two ways to reach one. A local server runs as a program on your own computer and usually serves a single client. A remote server runs on someone else's platform, speaks Streamable HTTP, and typically serves many clients at once.¹

For a business, remote is the simple case. The software maker runs the server, you paste its address into your AI app and sign in, and the same connection works wherever you use that app. If MCP itself is new to you, start with what an MCP server is.

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Remote and local servers compared

	Remote server	Local server
Where it runs	At a web address, on the maker's platform	As a program on your own computer
How the app reaches it	Streamable HTTP¹	Standard input and output¹
Who it serves	Many clients at once¹	Usually one client¹
Sign-in	OAuth 2.1 for servers that hold private data,² or a key	Whatever the program reads from your machine
In Claude	Works on the web, phone, Desktop, Cowork and Claude Code¹⁰	Claude Desktop and Claude Code only¹⁰
Good for	Cloud services you sign in to	Local files, a database on your machine, a desktop app¹⁰

Claude's help center calls remote connectors the default choice and says most connectors are remote.¹⁰

How many MCP servers are remote

We counted the official MCP Registry on November 10, 2026. Of its 60,115 servers, 40,562 list a web address to connect to, which is 67 percent. Almost all of those, 98 percent, use Streamable HTTP, and 1,100 still offer the older SSE transport. The registry is in preview and lists only the servers their makers published there.¹² The full count is on our statistics page.

SSE is on its way out. Intercom, for one, labels its SSE addresses legacy and deprecated and recommends Streamable HTTP.⁸

Remote MCP servers you can connect today

These makers publish the address of their own remote server.

Server	Address	Signs in with
Stripe	`https://mcp.stripe.com`	OAuth, or an agent API key³
PayPal	`https://mcp.paypal.com`	Your PayPal account⁴
Square	`https://mcp.squareup.com/mcp`	Your Square account⁵
HubSpot	`mcp.hubspot.com`	OAuth through a HubSpot app⁶
Asana	`https://mcp.asana.com/v2/mcp`	Your Asana account⁷
Intercom	`https://mcp.intercom.com/mcp` in the US, `https://mcp.eu.intercom.com/mcp` in the EU	Your Intercom account⁸
Conecto (ours)	`https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp`	OAuth, or a key¹³

The best MCP servers for small business says what each one can do and what to watch for.

How to connect a remote MCP server

In Claude

Custom connectors that use a remote MCP server are available on Claude's Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise plans, and Free accounts are limited to one.⁹

Go to Customize > Connectors.
Click "+ Add", then "Add custom connector".
Enter a name and the server's address.
Review the sign-in settings Claude detected, and continue.
Click Connect and sign in on the maker's own page.⁹

On Team and Enterprise plans an owner adds the connector first, and members then find it in the list and connect.⁹ More on this in Claude connectors.

In ChatGPT

Go to Plugins, select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
Enter a name and the server's public HTTPS address.
Set up its sign-in, read the risk warning and tick the box.
Select Create as a plugin and review the tools ChatGPT found.¹¹

We added a server this way on a Free account on November 3, 2026. In a Business workspace only admins and owners can create one.¹¹ More on this in ChatGPT connectors.

In a coding agent

Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and the other coding agents take the address in a command or a configuration file. Our pages for each agent show the exact line.

How a remote server signs you in

A remote server that holds private data has to know who is asking. The MCP specification builds that on OAuth 2.1: the server points the client to its authorization server, you approve the access there, and the client receives a token.² When you add a server to Claude, you can choose whether people sign in now, sign in when needed, or use no sign-in.⁹

Some servers also take a key. Stripe offers OAuth for a client that acts for your user account, and agent API keys for an AI application that needs independent, lasting access.³

When a local server is the better choice

Claude's help center says to use a local one, which Claude calls a desktop extension, when the tool runs on your computer, needs access to your files or local processes, or has no cloud version to connect to.¹⁰ A local server reaches things a remote one can't. It also works only in the desktop app and Claude Code, and not on the web or your phone.¹⁰

What to check before you connect one

Who runs it. A server published by the maker of the software is the safest start.
What it can change. Reading is low risk. Sending, paying, refunding and deleting need care.
Whether you can take the access back. Stripe lists each authorized client under OAuth sessions, where you can revoke it.³
Whether it asks first. Stripe recommends turning on your client's tool approval so you can review each call before it runs.³

Where Conecto fits

Conecto, our product, is a remote MCP server that hosts the business systems itself: a CRM, an inbox, invoices, bookkeeping, a phone line and bookings. There is one address for every area, https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp, and each area also has an address of its own.¹³ You add it to Claude or ChatGPT the same way as any server above.

Questions

What is a remote MCP server?

An MCP server that runs at a web address on its maker's platform. Your AI app connects to it over Streamable HTTP, and many clients can use the same server.¹

What is the difference between a local and a remote MCP server?

A local server is a program on your own computer that usually serves one client. A remote server runs elsewhere and serves many.¹ In Claude, remote connectors work everywhere you use Claude, and local ones only in Claude Desktop and Claude Code.¹⁰

Can I add a remote MCP server on a free plan?

Yes. Claude's Free plan allows one custom connector.⁹ In ChatGPT we added one on a Free account on November 3, 2026.

Do remote MCP servers use OAuth?

The specification's sign-in for remote servers is built on OAuth 2.1.² Some servers also accept a key, as Stripe's does for agents.³

Can a server on my own network work as a remote server?

In ChatGPT, yes. A custom MCP server needs a public HTTPS address, or a Secure MCP Tunnel for a server on a private network.¹¹

Is SSE still supported?

Some servers still offer it. In the official registry, 1,100 of 40,562 remote servers listed SSE on November 10, 2026, and 98 percent listed Streamable HTTP. Intercom marks its SSE addresses as deprecated.⁸

Sources

We read these pages on November 10, 2026. Each number in the guide links to the page behind that sentence.

Conecto publishes this guide and sells business tools for AI agents. How we write our guides. To report a mistake, write to hello@conecto.chat.

Written by Amelia Cardona Hernandez, Co-founder of Conecto. LinkedIn