LightSpot vs The Profound Agency
A side-by-side look at the LightSpot and The Profound Agency MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
L
LightSpotMarketing · Local subprocess (stdio)Audit a website for SEO and AI search visibility (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) and read the fixes.53GoodAuth: api key requiredT
The Profound AgencyMarketingSearch, price and order press placements across 1,600+ publications. Free AI-visibility audits too.48FairAuth: no auth requiredVerdict: choose LightSpot for marketing work as a local process; choose The Profound Agency for marketing. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
LChoose LightSpot when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Marketing domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
LIGHTSPOT_API_KEY, LIGHTSPOT_BASE_URL. - You want tools like
audit_and_wait, run_audit, get_audit_status.
TChoose The Profound Agency when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Marketing domain.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
search_placements, quote_placements, plan_placements.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | L LightSpot | T The Profound Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Marketing | Marketing |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | API key required | No auth required |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Free |
| Required env vars | LIGHTSPOT_API_KEYLIGHTSPOT_BASE_URL | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 11 | 6 |
| Full listing | View LightSpot | View The Profound Agency |
Tools & capabilities
LightSpot tools 11
audit_and_waitRun an audit on a URL, wait for it to finish, and return a summary (score, top actions, main issues). The one-shot "audit this and tell me what's wrong."run_auditStart an audit without waiting (returns the audit id).get_audit_statusLightweight status of an audit (`PENDING`/`RUNNING`/`DONE`/`FAILED` + progress 0–1).get_auditAudit results — a trimmed summary by default, or the full payload with `full: true`.list_sitesList the sites in your team (with their latest score).get_siteA site's metadata and recent audits.list_site_auditsA site's paginated audit history.get_competitorsGet a site's latest competitor analysis (detected competitors, tiers, citations, recommendations). Read-only — does not trigger a new analysis. Requires the Zenith plan.get_expert_reportRead the latest report from our 8 experts (technical SEO, content, AI visibility, structured data, sitemaps, performance, visual, brand authority) for a site or a given audit: prioritized findings, recommended actions with steps, limitations and ready-to-apply artifacts. Summary by default, `full:…get_editorial_calendarRead a site's calendar over an ISO date range, including imported slots and content already preparing, scheduled, or published.create_editorial_calendarImport or update up to 50 dated editorial slots. Idempotent with `externalId`; it does not generate or publish content.
The Profound Agency tools 6
search_placementsSearch the network by price, Domain Authority, Domain Rating, category, region, turnaround, Google indexing and AI-crawler readiness.quote_placementsPrice a set of placements exactly as checkout would, fees included. Returns a link that opens the store with those placements in the cart. Reserves nothing.plan_placementsGive it a goal, audience and budget; get back a recommended set of publications, already quoted and inside budget.submit_campaign_briefAsk for a quote on a paid media campaign (display, CTV, social, search, audio, out-of-home). A person prices it and replies. Buys nothing.quick_visibility_checkAn instant check of five AI-visibility basics for any site: AI crawlers in robots.txt, llms.txt, structured data, title and description.request_auditRequest the full, free AI-visibility audit, scored out of 100. A person runs it and replies by email.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
LightSpot
{
"mcpServers": {
"lightspot": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@lightspot/mcp"
],
"env": {
"LIGHTSPOT_API_KEY": "YOUR_LIGHTSPOT_API_KEY_HERE",
"LIGHTSPOT_BASE_URL": "YOUR_LIGHTSPOT_BASE_URL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
The Profound Agency
No confirmed install command for The Profound Agency yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Frequently asked questions
LightSpot is categorized under Marketing and uses a local stdio subprocess. The Profound Agency belongs to Marketing and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Pick LightSpot for marketing work and The Profound Agency for marketing.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client. The Profound Agency has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
LightSpot is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. The Profound Agency is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add lightspot and the-profound-agency as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, LightSpot has a quality signal of 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. The Profound Agency has 48/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.