A side-by-side look at the Podwise and Podcastindex MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Podwise for podcasts work over a hosted endpoint; choose Podcastindex MCP for podcasts over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
PODCASTINDEX_API_KEY, PODCASTINDEX_API_SECRET.search_by_person, search_by_term, search_by_title.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | P Podwise | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Podcasts | Podcasts |
| Quality signal | 60/100 · Good | 55/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | OAuth 2.0 | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | PODCASTINDEX_API_KEYPODCASTINDEX_API_SECRET |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 18 |
| Full listing | View Podwise | View Podcastindex MCP |
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
search_by_personSearch for episodes where a person appeared as host or guest. Returns matches across all indexed podcasts.search_by_termFull-text search across all podcasts by topic, show name, or keyword.search_by_titleSearch for podcasts by title.podcast_by_feed_urlLook up a podcast by RSS feed URL. Returns feed ID, iTunes ID, categories, last update, and feed health.podcast_by_feed_idLook up a podcast by its Podcast Index feed ID. Returns full metadata.podcast_by_itunes_idLook up a podcast by its Apple Podcasts (iTunes) ID.podcast_by_guidLook up a podcast by its `podcast:guid` tag value.trending_podcastsGet currently trending podcasts, with optional language and category filters.episodes_by_feed_idGet episodes for a specific podcast by feed ID.episode_by_idLook up a single episode by its Podcast Index episode ID.episodes_liveGet episodes that are currently live (actively streaming).recent_episodesGet the most recently published episodes across the entire index.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.
{
"mcpServers": {
"podwise": {
"url": "https://docs.podwise.ai/mcp"
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"conorbronsdon-podcastindex-mcp": {
"url": "https://mcp.transistor.fm"
}
}
}