Brightdata MCP vs Metalift
A side-by-side look at the Brightdata MCP and Metalift MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Brightdata MCP for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose Metalift for search & data extraction as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Brightdata MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
API_TOKEN. - You want tools like
GROUPS, TOOLS, search_engine.
Choose Metalift when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
METALIFT_API_KEY, METALIFT_API_URL. - You want tools like
metalift_scrape, metalift_batch_scrape, metalift_crawl.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 69/100 · Great | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Freemium | Not declared |
| Required env vars | API_TOKEN | METALIFT_API_KEYMETALIFT_API_URL |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2,684 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 6 | 11 |
| Full listing | View Brightdata MCP | View Metalift |
Tools & capabilities
Brightdata MCP tools 6
GROUPSTOOLSsearch_enginescrape_as_markdownask_brightdata_assistantcustom
Metalift tools 11
metalift_scrapeScrape a single URL (default: fast direct static markdown, **`response_detail=compact`**; use `standard` / `full` for more)metalift_batch_scrapeScrape multiple URLs (same `response_detail`; default `compact`)metalift_crawlCrawl a websitemetalift_mapDiscover site URLs from page HTML linksmetalift_sitemapFetch XML sitemap URLs (robots.txt / sitemap.xml)metalift_web_searchWeb search — top 10 SERP results (title, url, snippet). **2 credits** per search. Does not fetch page content; use `metalift_scrape` separately for URLs you needmetalift_job_statusPoll async jobsmetalift_list_strategiesList scrape strategiesmetalift_seed_sessionStore browser session cookies for a domainmetalift_warm_sessionWarm WAF/retail cookiesmetalift_list_sessionsList stored domain sessions
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.
Brightdata MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"luminati-io-brightdata-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"@brightdata/mcp"
],
"env": {
"API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Metalift
{
"mcpServers": {
"metalift": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@metalift/mcp"
],
"env": {
"METALIFT_API_KEY": "YOUR_METALIFT_API_KEY_HERE",
"METALIFT_API_URL": "YOUR_METALIFT_API_URL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Brightdata MCP is categorized under Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Metalift belongs to Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Brightdata MCP for search & data extraction work and Metalift for search & data extraction.
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.
Brightdata MCP is listed as freemium — a free tier with paid plans. Auth: api key required. Metalift has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. 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 luminati-io-brightdata-mcp and metalift as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Brightdata MCP has a quality signal of 69/100 (Great) with 4 views, 0 installs and 2,684 GitHub stars. Metalift has 48/100 (Fair) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.