The short answer
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets an AI application, a chat assistant or an agent, plug into outside systems: data, tools, automations. An MCP server is the program that exposes those tools; the AI application connects to it as a client. Without tools, an assistant only answers. MCP is a standard way to give it some, so it can act inside your apps.
Anthropic published the protocol on November 25, 2024 (Anthropic, “Introducing the Model Context Protocol” (accessed )). Its documentation compares it to a USB-C port for AI applications: one plug instead of one cable per device (modelcontextprotocol.io, “What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?” (accessed )).
One example: “add this lead and tell the team”
You type to your AI assistant: “add this lead to the spreadsheet and tell the team.”
- Without MCP, the assistant writes a reply. It has no access to the spreadsheet or to your messaging app.
- With an MCP server connected, for instance the one from your automation tool, the assistant sees a list of tools: “add a row,” “send a message.” It picks the ones it needs, calls them with the right information, gets the result and answers you.
You wrote no connector. The server describes its tools, and the assistant discovers them.
How it works
The protocol’s documentation names three roles (modelcontextprotocol.io, “Architecture overview” (accessed )).
- The host: the AI application you use.
- The client: the part of that application that holds the connection to a server. There is one per server.
- The MCP server: the program that provides tools and data.
A server can expose three things: tools (functions the AI can call, such as “create an invoice”), resources (data to read, such as the contents of a file) and prompts (reusable templates).
There are two kinds of servers. A local server runs on your machine, next to the application. A remote server runs at a vendor and is used over the internet; for that case the documentation recommends OAuth for authorization, the “allow access” window you already know.
MCP does not replace a webhook: a webhook tells you an event happened, while MCP lets an AI ask for an action.
Two meanings to keep apart
When a vendor writes “MCP” on its pricing page, it can mean two things.
- The tool is an MCP server. Your automations become tools for an AI assistant. On n8n, that is the job of the MCP Server Trigger (n8n documentation, “MCP Server Trigger” (accessed )).
- The tool is an MCP client. The AI agent you build in the tool can use outside MCP servers. On n8n, that is the job of the MCP Client.
Which tools covered here support MCP
These tables show the “MCP protocol” row of our data, with the source of each cell. Only tools with that row filled in appear here: a tool’s absence says nothing about it.
| Criterion | n8nAutomation tool | ZapierAutomation tool | MakeAutomation tool | ActivepiecesAutomation tool | Pabbly ConnectAutomation tool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP protocol | MCP Server Trigger and MCP Client included in every Cloud plan and in the Community editionsource | Zapier MCP available on every plan; 2 tasks per successful tool callsource | "MCP server" included in every plan according to the pricing pagesource | Built-in MCP server; "Free on every plan, cloud or self-hosted" according to the vendorsource | "MCP Servers", "MCP Workflow Builder", "MCP Integration Builder": Unlimited subscription onlysource |
| Billing unit | executionssource | taskssource | creditssource | creditssource | taskssource |
| Free plan | Nosource | 100 tasks per monthsource | 1,000 credits per monthsource | 1,000 credits per monthsource | 100 tasks per monthsource |
| Vendor | Visit n8n (opens in a new tab) | Visit Zapier (opens in a new tab) | Visit Make (opens in a new tab) | Visit Activepieces (opens in a new tab) | Visit Pabbly Connect (opens in a new tab) |
Data recorded from the official pages: n8n (), Zapier (), Make (), Activepieces (), Pabbly Connect ().
| Criterion | LindyAI agent | Relevance AIAI agent |
|---|---|---|
| MCP protocol | Yes: the website advertises "3,000+ integrations + MCP"source | Yes: MCP is listed among the integration methodssource |
| Billing unit | creditssource | actionssource |
| Vendor | Visit Lindy (opens in a new tab) | Visit Relevance AI (opens in a new tab) |
Data recorded from the official pages: Lindy (), Relevance AI ().
- n8n: MCP Server Trigger and MCP Client included in every Cloud plan and in the Community edition, so also when self-hosting.
- Zapier: Zapier MCP is available on every plan, and each successful tool call counts as 2 tasks. The vendor has announced that from December 1, 2026, MCP calls to its free apps (Tables, Forms) will no longer count.
- Make: “MCP server” included in every plan, according to the pricing page. What a call uses in credits is not recorded.
- Activepieces: built-in MCP server, which the vendor says is free on every plan, cloud or self-hosted.
- Pabbly Connect: the MCP features (“MCP Servers,” “MCP Workflow Builder,” “MCP Integration Builder”) are reserved for the Unlimited subscription; they are not in the Free or Standard plans.
- Lindy: the website says “3,000+ integrations + MCP,” the documentation “1,500+ integrations, plus any MCP server.” The vendor’s pages contradict each other on the number of integrations, not on MCP.
- Relevance AI: MCP is listed among the integration methods, with no further detail recorded.
What MCP does to the bill: the Zapier example
Zapier is the only tool in our data with a recorded counting rule for MCP: 2 tasks per tool call, where an ordinary action step counts as 1.
Back to the example. Your assistant calls 10 tools per working day, about 220 calls a month: that is 440 tasks. The Free plan includes 100 tasks a month, or 50 calls. The Professional plan starts at 750 tasks, or 375 calls if no Zap runs alongside, because tasks form a single quota shared by Zaps, AI steps and MCP.
For classic automation, the cost calculator does the math tool by tool; it does not count MCP calls. The guide to billing units explains what each vendor calls a task, a credit or an execution.
What this changes when you pick a tool
- If you want to drive your automations from an AI assistant, you need a tool that is an MCP server, and you need to check which plan: every Cloud plan on n8n, every plan on Zapier and Make, the Unlimited subscription only on Pabbly Connect.
- If you are building an agent that has to use outside tools, you need a tool that is an MCP client: see the guide on how to build an AI agent and the AI agent builders comparison.
- If you self-host, n8n includes MCP in its Community edition, and Activepieces says it is available when self-hosting.
- If you count every unit, remember that on Zapier a call through MCP costs twice an ordinary step.
To compare automation tools on other criteria, see the automation tools comparison.
Data recorded from the official pages: n8n (), Zapier (), Make (), Activepieces (), Pabbly Connect (), Lindy (), Relevance AI ().
Frequently asked questions
What is an MCP server?
It is a program that makes tools and data available to an AI application, following the MCP protocol. The application (the client) asks for the list of tools, then calls the one it needs. An MCP server can run on your computer or remotely, at a vendor.
Is MCP free?
The protocol itself is an open standard with public documentation. What you pay for is the tool that implements it: according to the recorded plan grids, MCP is included in every n8n Cloud plan and in every Make and Zapier plan, reserved for the Unlimited subscription on Pabbly Connect, and each tool call counts as 2 tasks on Zapier.
Does n8n support MCP?
Yes, in both directions. According to the pricing page, the MCP Server Trigger, which turns n8n into an MCP server, and the MCP Client, which connects an n8n agent to outside servers, are included in every Cloud plan and in the Community edition.
Does Zapier MCP use tasks?
Yes: 2 tasks per successful tool call, according to the vendor's rate grid, against 1 task for an ordinary action step. Those tasks come out of the same quota as your Zaps. Zapier MCP is available on every plan, Free included.
What is the difference between MCP and an API?
An API is made for a program written by a developer who knows in advance what to call. MCP describes tools so that a language model can discover them and choose which one to use. Most MCP servers sit on top of an existing API.