What is the key difference between Substack MCP and Influence?

Substack MCP belongs to the Social Media category with local stdio execution, while Influence belongs to the Social Media category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution.

How do I install Substack MCP or Influence in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Substack MCP and Influence free or paid?

Substack MCP operates under a Free / Open Source model (other). Influence operates under a Paid Service model (API Key required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Substack MCP lists 14 tools with 4 views and 37 GitHub stars. Influence lists 0 tools with 0 views and 0 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Substack MCP and Influence together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Substack MCP vs Influence

In-depth architectural comparison of the Substack MCP and Influence MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Substack MCP

Social Media · Local stdio

Quality: 68/100 (Great) | Auth: other

Influence

Social Media · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 52/100 (Good) | Auth: API Key required

Verdict Summary: Choose Substack MCP if you need specialized Social Media tools running via a local process. Choose Influence if your workspace requires Social Media integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Substack MCP when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Social Media domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: other (Free / Open Source).
You have access to required keys: SUBSTACK_PUBLICATION_URL, SUBSTACK_SESSION_TOKEN, SUBSTACK_USER_ID, SUBSTACK_MCP_HOME.
Primary tools included: get_subscriber_count, list_published_posts, list_drafts.

Explore Substack MCP Details

Choose Influence when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Social Media domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: API Key required (Paid Service).

Explore Influence Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Substack MCP conorbronsdon Social Media	I Influence Social Media
Summary	MCP server for Substack — read posts, manage drafts, publish Notes, get comments, and upload images. Safe by design: cannot publish or delete posts.	Influence is a hosted Streamable HTTP MCP service for creating and editing social drafts, reviewing posts, scheduling or publishing approved posts, and checking publishing status. Customers connect their own Influence workspace with a scoped bearer API key; ChatGPT and Claude web also support the existing OAuth connection. An Influence account and the relevant paid plan or seven-day trial are required. The public connector configuration and customer guidance are available at https://github.com/influence-so/influence-mcp under MIT-0, with branding assets excluded. The hosted application and backend remain proprietary; the connector license does not license the service. Available tools depend on workspace permissions and enabled features.

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Substack MCP Tools (14)

get_subscriber_count

Get the current subscriber count for your Substack publication. Returns `precision`: 'exact' when the API reports a true count, 'approximate' when only Substack's rounded value is available (the real number is that or higher — render it hedged, e.g. '1,000+'), or 'unavailable' with count -1. Never treat an approximate value as exact.

list_published_posts

List published posts with pagination. Returns title, date, slug, and URL for each post.

list_drafts

List draft posts. Returns title, creation date, and audience for each draft.

get_post

Get the full content of a published post by ID. Returns title, body HTML, metadata.

get_draft

Get the full content of a draft post by ID. Returns title, body, metadata.

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Substack MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conorbronsdon-substack-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@conorbronsdon/substack-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SUBSTACK_PUBLICATION_URL": "YOUR_SUBSTACK_PUBLICATION_URL_HERE",
        "SUBSTACK_SESSION_TOKEN": "YOUR_SUBSTACK_SESSION_TOKEN_HERE",
        "SUBSTACK_USER_ID": "YOUR_SUBSTACK_USER_ID_HERE",
        "SUBSTACK_MCP_HOME": "YOUR_SUBSTACK_MCP_HOME_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Influence Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "influence": {
      "url": "https://influence.so/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Substack MCP is categorized under Social Media and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Influence belongs to Social Media using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Substack MCP when you need capabilities focused on social media and Influence when you require tools for social media.

More alternatives to Substack MCP More alternatives to Influence Social Media category hub