Best Social Media MCP Servers in 2026, Compared

A social media MCP server lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT create, schedule, and sometimes publish posts through a scheduling tool you already use. The best one depends on the networks you post to, how you connect your assistant, and how much the assistant may do before you approve it. Buffer and Metricool include MCP on their free plans, Postiz is open source, Hootsuite suits teams with existing approval workflows, and developer APIs such as Upload-Post and Ayrshare suit agents you build yourself.

I compared eleven social media MCP servers using each vendor's own documentation and pricing pages, checked on October 26, 2026. I build PostQuest, one of the servers listed, so I describe it with the same fields as everyone else and say where another tool is the better choice. I did not sign up for the other services, so their entries describe what the vendor documents, not what I tested.

Most "best MCP server" lists rank their own product first and skip the question that matters most once an assistant can write to your accounts: can it publish without asking you? This comparison puts that question in the main table.

The short answer

• Cheapest way to try it: Buffer includes MCP on its free plan, with three channels.
• Analytics and best-time data in the same chat: Metricool, whose free plan also includes MCP.
• Self-hosting or the most networks: Postiz, open source under AGPL-3.0 with 30-plus platforms.
• X and LinkedIn writing: Typefully, which is built around drafts and threads.
• Teams that already require sign-off: Hootsuite, where Claude can't bypass existing approval workflows.
• Building your own agent or app: Upload-Post or Ayrshare, both API-first.
• Drafts by default, with approval enforced by the server: PostQuest, the scheduler I build.

What is a social media MCP server?

A social media MCP server is a connector that exposes a scheduling tool's actions, such as listing accounts, creating a post, or reading analytics, as tools an AI assistant can call through the Model Context Protocol. The assistant doesn't post to Instagram or LinkedIn itself. It asks the server to do it, and the server uses the scheduler's existing network connections, queue, and limits.

Most servers in this list are remote: you paste a URL into Claude, ChatGPT, or another client and sign in with OAuth in your browser. A few also accept an API key, which suits code editors such as Cursor and agents you run yourself. Whatever you connect, the server decides what the assistant can do. Some only create drafts, some schedule, and some can publish the moment the assistant calls the tool.

If you're new to MCP, my guide on using Claude MCP to schedule social media posts walks through one setup from start to finish.

How I compared them

I included services that publish to social networks through a documented, hosted MCP server and checked each one against the same fields:

• Connection: remote URL with OAuth, API key, local package, or self-hosted.
• Networks the MCP server can publish to.
• Write access: drafts, scheduling, and publishing immediately.
• Approval: whether the server holds posts as drafts or in an approval queue, or relies on the AI client to ask before each tool call.
• Price: whether MCP is on the free plan, and the cheapest paid plan that includes it.

Every fact comes from the vendor's own pages, linked in each entry, as of October 26, 2026. Pricing pages change often and vary by region, so check the price before you buy. Where a vendor's pages disagree with each other, I give a range or leave the field out.

Social media MCP servers compared

Two cautions apply to the whole table. First, every server that can write can also be told to write by text it reads, such as a comment or a scraped web page, so the approval column matters more than the network count. Second, "Yes" under free plans doesn't mean every network: Metricool's free plan excludes LinkedIn and X, and Upload-Post's excludes TikTok.

The servers, one by one

Buffer

Buffer's MCP server runs at mcp.buffer.com/mcp and works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Perplexity, Notion, Zapier, n8n, and others, using OAuth or a personal API key. Its tools list channels; create, edit, and delete posts; save drafts; and read aggregated post metrics. The create tool can share a post immediately, schedule it, or save it as a draft.

According to buffer.com/mcp, "MCP access is included on every plan, including Free." The free plan covers three channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel; paid plans are priced per channel. Media is attached by reference rather than uploaded through MCP, and there are no comment tools. Buffer's documentation says most MCP clients ask you to approve write tools before they run, so approval depends on your client settings.

Best for: trying MCP scheduling for free on up to three channels.

Metricool

Metricool's MCP server runs at ai.metricool.com/mcp, with official connectors for Claude and ChatGPT since September 10, 2026, and an open-source version on GitHub. It has more than 20 tools covering brands, analytics, best times to post, scheduling, ads reporting, and competitors. Posts can go out immediately or be scheduled, and they appear in Metricool's planner.

Every Metricool plan includes MCP, including Free, which allows one brand and 20 scheduled posts a month but excludes LinkedIn and X. Media must come from a URL, Google Drive, or Dropbox, and inbox and comment tools aren't available.

Best for: people who want analytics and posting suggestions in the same conversation.

Postiz

Postiz is an open-source scheduler (AGPL-3.0) with a remote OAuth server and a listing in Claude's connector directory. Its tools list channels, draft, schedule or publish, manage scheduled posts, read analytics, upload media from a URL, and handle comments. It supports more than 30 platforms, including Reddit, Discord, Telegram, Mastodon, and Nostr.

Postiz advises scheduling rather than publishing immediately and keeping a human in the loop, but the server doesn't enforce a confirmation step. Cloud plans start at $29 a month for five channels, and the self-hosted edition includes the MCP server, CLI, and API.

Best for: self-hosting, or posting to networks other schedulers don't cover.

PostQuest

PostQuest is the scheduler I build, for founders, creators, and small teams. Its MCP server connects to Claude, ChatGPT, and Claude Code with OAuth, and to Cursor and other clients with an API key. It publishes to ten networks: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Bluesky, and Mastodon. Its 20 tools cover accounts, drafts, per-network captions, validation against each network's rules, scheduling, media upload, and analytics.

PostQuest enforces approval on the server rather than leaving it to the client. Posts an assistant creates start as drafts, and scheduling, publishing, or deleting needs your explicit approval in the conversation. Publishing immediately stays unavailable until a workspace owner turns it on. MCP works during the seven-day trial, and paid plans start at $15 a month for eight accounts.

It has gaps. There's no free plan, no comment or inbox tools, and no best-time suggestions. Metricool offers best-time data over MCP, and Hootsuite and Postiz offer comment tools.

Best for: people who want the assistant to draft freely but never publish without a clear yes.

Typefully

Typefully's MCP server runs at mcp.typefully.com/mcp with OAuth or an API key, and works with ChatGPT, Claude, Notion, Cursor, and Claude Code. It focuses on writing: it creates, edits, and schedules drafts, threads, and multi-platform posts for X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon. Its API has a planned status that doesn't publish until confirmed, and drafts are reviewed in Typefully before they go out.

Typefully says MCP is available for all users. Its pricing page didn't load in my check, so I can't confirm the plan prices.

Best for: writers who post threads and long-form posts to X and LinkedIn.

Publora

Publora runs at mcp.publora.com/mcp and is listed in Claude's directory. Its 18 tools list accounts, create drafts that stay drafts until you give them a time, schedule, attach media from a URL, check the queue, and delete posts one at a time. It also includes LinkedIn comment, reaction, and reshare tools, plus a playground account for testing.

All Publora plans include MCP. The free plan allows 15 posts a month and three accounts but no X. Pinterest can be connected but not published to.

Best for: trying draft-first MCP scheduling on a free plan.

SocialPilot

SocialPilot's MCP server connects Claude, ChatGPT, and Zapier through account sign-in, and Cursor and Windsurf with an API key. It creates and schedules posts, including to account groups, publishes immediately on request, saves drafts for team or client approval, and checks the status of scheduled and failed posts.

It publishes to Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Threads, and Bluesky. MCP is included on every plan, starting at $30 a month for seven accounts, and there is no free plan. The assistant is limited to what your SocialPilot role allows.

Best for: agencies already running client approvals in SocialPilot.

Publer

Publer's MCP server connects ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor with OAuth. It reads your calendar, creates posts in your brand voice, schedules and publishes them, and analyzes your performance and competitors. It covers 13 destinations, including Google Business Profile, Telegram, and WordPress.

MCP is only on Publer's Business and Enterprise plans. Business starts at $10 a month for one account and scales with each account and team member. I couldn't confirm from Publer's pages whether its MCP saves drafts by default.

Best for: existing Publer Business users.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite runs a separate MCP server for each product: publishing, inbox, listening, and advocacy. The publishing server drafts, schedules, publishes, uploads media, and reads analytics; the inbox server triages and replies to messages. According to Hootsuite's Claude guide, Claude can't bypass approval workflows, so posts that need sign-off still need it.

You need a Hootsuite account with access to the relevant product. Hootsuite's plans page doesn't say which tiers include MCP, and its paid plans start at $99 per user a month on annual billing.

Best for: larger teams that need inbox and listening tools along with publishing.

Upload-Post

Upload-Post is an API for developers, with a hosted MCP server, a local npm package, and an MIT-licensed server you can host yourself. It works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Codex, and others. Its tools upload video, photos, text, and documents; manage the schedule and queue; read analytics; and handle comments and DMs. The vendor's pages give different tool counts, from 40 to 50.

MCP works on every plan, including a free plan with 10 uploads a month, two profiles, and no TikTok. I found no draft mode in its documentation.

Best for: developers building their own posting agent.

Ayrshare

Ayrshare's action server accepts only an API key, so it doesn't work as a personal connector in claude.ai or Claude Desktop. Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and n8n can connect. Its tools create, validate, update, and retry posts; read history and analytics; and manage comments, DMs, and ads, including a boost tool that spends ad budget.

It publishes to 13 networks, including Reddit, Snapchat, and Google Business Profile. Since March 31, 2026, posting to X requires your own X developer credentials. The cheapest plan is $149 a month, and there is no free plan.

Best for: companies building social posting into their own product.

Who approves the post: the client or the server?

There are two places a post can wait for your approval. Knowing which one a server relies on tells you how much can go wrong.

Client-side approval is the permission prompt Claude or ChatGPT shows before it calls a tool. It's useful, but you can turn it off with "always allow", it differs between clients, and it shows a raw tool call rather than a preview of the post. Buffer's documentation points to this kind of prompt.

Server-side approval means the server itself won't publish without a separate step. Typefully's planned status, Hootsuite's existing approval workflows, Publora's drafts without a time, and PostQuest's drafts-by-default with a workspace switch for publishing immediately all work this way. Even if the assistant is confused or misled, the worst it can do is create a draft.

The risk is real because assistants act on text they read. A comment, a DM, or a web page can contain instructions, and a server that can both read your inbox and publish immediately gives that text a direct path to your accounts. If you connect a server with inbox tools, keep publishing behind an approval step, and revoke the connection in the vendor's settings when you stop using it.

How to connect a social media MCP server

The steps are similar for every remote server in this list:

1. Find the server URL on the vendor's MCP page.
2. Add it to your client. In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, and add a custom connector. In ChatGPT, enable developer mode and create an app with the URL; OpenAI limits full write actions to Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces. In Claude Code, run claude mcp add --transport http <name> <url>.
3. Sign in with OAuth in your browser, and choose the workspace or brand the assistant may use.
4. Start read-only. Ask the assistant to list your accounts and upcoming posts before you ask it to create anything.
5. Create one draft and check it in the scheduler before you let the assistant schedule.

On Claude's Free plan you can add one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds the connector for the organization first. The Claude setup page and ChatGPT setup page show the exact screens for PostQuest.

MCP server, built-in AI writer, or Zapier?

A built-in AI writer inside a scheduler drafts captions in the scheduler's own editor. It's simpler, but it can't see your other tools, files, or conversations.

Zapier or n8n automations post on a trigger, such as a new blog post or a spreadsheet row. They suit repeatable pipelines that don't need judgment.

An MCP server lets the assistant you already work in plan and adapt posts in conversation, using the context you give it, then hand the result to the scheduler. It suits work that changes each time, such as turning a launch note into posts for five networks. Several vendors, including Buffer, Metricool, and SocialPilot, also connect their MCP servers to Zapier or n8n, so you can combine both.

Which social media MCP server should you choose?

• You want to try it for free: Buffer, then Metricool if analytics matter more than LinkedIn and X on the free plan.
• You post threads to X and LinkedIn: Typefully.
• You self-host or need niche networks: Postiz.
• You run client approvals: SocialPilot or Hootsuite, depending on team size and budget.
• You're building a product or agent: Upload-Post for a free start and wide client support, Ayrshare for an established API.
• You want drafts by default and a hard stop before anything publishes: PostQuest. You can start a seven-day trial and connect it to Claude or ChatGPT in a few minutes.

Whichever you pick, test it with a draft to an account you don't mind deleting a post from, and read the vendor's list of tools before you trust it with a client account.