Refd vs Simulatte
A side-by-side look at the Refd and Simulatte MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Refd for research work over a hosted endpoint; choose Simulatte for research as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Refd when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
JWT_SECRET, BRIGHTDATA_API_TOKEN, BRIGHTDATA_WEBHOOK_SECRET, ADMIN_EMAILS, EXA_API_KEY, PUBLIC_BASE_URL, DASHBOARD_ORIGIN, PUBLIC_SITE_ORIGIN.
Choose Simulatte when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
SIMULATTE_API_KEY. - You want tools like
simulatte_run_study, simulatte_get_results, simulatte_ask_insights.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 40/100 · Fair | 52/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | JWT_SECRETBRIGHTDATA_API_TOKENBRIGHTDATA_WEBHOOK_SECRETADMIN_EMAILSEXA_API_KEYPUBLIC_BASE_URLDASHBOARD_ORIGINPUBLIC_SITE_ORIGIN |
Tools & capabilities
Refd tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Simulatte tools 7
simulatte_run_studyRun any of 26 research SKUs — concept testing, pricing, messaging, B2B committee, and moresimulatte_get_resultsRetrieve full structured results for a completed studysimulatte_ask_insightsAsk a natural-language question across your entire study historysimulatte_list_poolsList all synthetic persona pools in your workspacesimulatte_create_poolCreate a new persona pool with custom demographic/psychographic specssimulatte_depth_interviewRun a multi-turn simulated depth interview with a synthetic personasimulatte_estimate_costGet a credit + USD cost estimate before running a study (local — no API call)
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.
Refd
{
"mcpServers": {
"refd": {
"url": "https://api.refd.ai/mcp"
}
}
}
Simulatte
{
"mcpServers": {
"simulatte": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@simulatte-io/mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SIMULATTE_API_KEY": "YOUR_SIMULATTE_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Refd is categorized under Research and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Simulatte belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Refd for research work and Simulatte for research.
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.
Refd has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Simulatte 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 refd and simulatte as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Refd has a quality signal of 40/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Simulatte has 52/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.