Salesforce MCP Explained: Which Server Does What and What It Costs

Salesforce MCP Explained: Which Server Does What and What It Costs

Yes, Salesforce has its own MCP servers, and when people say "Salesforce MCP" they usually mean Salesforce Hosted MCP Servers: endpoints run by Salesforce that let Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP client read and change records in your org under each user's own permissions. They have been generally available since 29 April 2026 for Enterprise Edition orgs and above. An administrator has to switch them on, and Salesforce says they are intended for customers with Flex Credits.

Developers usually mean something else: the open-source Salesforce DX MCP server, which runs on their own machine. MuleSoft and Heroku have MCP offerings of their own. This guide separates the four, shows the setup and the billing rules as Salesforce documents them on 8 October 2026, and compares the approach with a CRM whose MCP server ships with the product. Disclosure: Customermates, the second CRM discussed here, publishes this guide.

At a glance

For CRM data

Hosted MCP Servers: run by Salesforce, generally available since April 2026, Enterprise Edition and above, per-user OAuth.

For developers

The Salesforce DX MCP server runs locally through npx, uses your Salesforce CLI login and works on metadata, tests and code.

Setup

A System Administrator enables a server in Setup and creates an External Client App with the mcp_api and refresh_token scopes.

Cost

Intended for Flex Credits customers. Salesforce has announced per-call metering for registered agents, with the rate still listed as TBA.

Built-in alternative

A CRM with its own MCP endpoint, such as Customermates, needs no server project. The trade-off is a much smaller platform.

The four Salesforce MCP offerings

If you work in sales or service and want your AI assistant to see accounts and opportunities, only the first row matters to you.

Salesforce Hosted MCP Servers

A hosted MCP server is an endpoint Salesforce runs in front of your org. You don't install anything. Each person connects their AI client, signs in with OAuth, and every tool call runs as that person: object permissions, field-level security and sharing rules apply, and a record the agent changes shows that user's name in the audit trail.

Standard servers. Salesforce ships preconfigured servers with fixed tool sets. They are disabled by default, and an admin can enable them but not change their tools. The standard servers reference lists these:

The split SObject servers are the practical control here. A pilot group can get SObject Reads first, and write or delete access later, per server rather than per prompt.

Custom servers. Beyond the standard set, admins can build custom servers whose tools are Apex invocable actions, @AuraEnabled methods, Apex REST methods, Flows, named queries and API Catalog endpoints. Prompt Builder templates can appear as MCP prompts, though not every client supports MCP prompts. This is where a Salesforce org with years of custom logic gets the most out of MCP: a validated "create renewal opportunity" Flow becomes one tool instead of five raw record writes.

Change over time. Salesforce states in its end-of-life notice that tools, prompts and resources may change from release to release and that servers can be retired with advance notice. Pin your expectations to the server reference, not to a blog post from last quarter.

Is Salesforce MCP free?

Not in a way you can rely on. The hosted MCP overview says the servers are "intended only for customers with Flex Credits" and that "you may be billed for server usage".

A Salesforce Help article from 17 September 2026, Understand AIforce Impact, describes where this is going:

• Salesforce is targeting November for agent registration and a new billing model. Each external agent gets its own identity and can get a narrower permission set than the human it works for.
• Every successful call a registered agent makes, over MCP or the direct API, is metered as a Headless Platform Interaction (HPI) against Flex Credits.
• The HPI multiplier is listed as "TBA", and agentic usage isn't metered yet. Salesforce promises 30 days' notice before metering starts.
• Use of any Salesforce MCP server will require agent registration within three months of Salesforce's notice, for all customers. Existing customers that use agents with Salesforce APIs migrate those connections to the new billing model at renewal.
• Sandboxes, scratch orgs and Developer Edition orgs don't incur HPI metering.
• An org needs Flex Credit billing enabled, for example through Salesforce Foundations, which the article lists as currently available at $0 (checked on 8 October 2026).

So the honest answer on cost is: HPI metering is not active yet, Salesforce already reserves the right to bill for server usage, and the size of the announced per-call charge is unknown. If you plan a rollout to a whole sales team, ask your account executive for the HPI rate before you budget, and run the pilot in a sandbox, where calls are not metered.

How to turn on Salesforce MCP

Salesforce's GA announcement puts the shortest path at under 30 minutes. The steps below follow the setup overview and the GA announcement.

1. Check edition and permissions

   You need an Enterprise Edition org or above and System Administrator (or equivalent) rights to create an External Client App.

2. Enable a server

   In Setup, go to API Catalog, then MCP Servers, and enable one server. Start with SObject Reads in a sandbox.

3. Create an External Client App

   Register the MCP client with the mcp_api and refresh_token OAuth scopes, enable PKCE and JWT-based tokens, and enter the callback URL your client documents. The mcp_api scope grants MCP access only, not the existing REST APIs.

4. Connect the client

   Add the server URL in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Postman, sign in, and ask a read question about an account you know well, so you can check the answer.

5. Widen access deliberately

   Add SObject Mutations or custom servers for a named pilot group once reads behave as expected. Keep SObject Deletes off unless someone needs it.

The Salesforce DX MCP server

The Salesforce DX MCP server is open source under Apache 2.0 and runs locally with npx @salesforce/mcp. It only reaches orgs you have already authorized on your computer through the Salesforce CLI or VS Code, and the --orgs argument limits which ones. Its toolsets cover orgs, metadata, data, users, testing, code analysis, DevOps, Lightning Web Components, Aura and mobile, with more than 60 tools in total. Tools that are not generally available need the --allow-non-ga-tools flag.

Use it when a coding assistant such as Claude Code or Cursor should deploy metadata, run Apex tests or query a scratch org. It is not the way a sales rep should reach CRM data.

MuleSoft and Heroku MCP

The MuleSoft MCP Connector lets Mule apps act as MCP servers or MCP clients. That matters when an AI agent should reach an ERP or legacy system that has no MCP server of its own, with MuleSoft in between. Heroku publishes an Apache 2.0 MCP server that runs through the Heroku CLI or npx, or can be deployed to Heroku, and manages apps, dynos, add-ons and pipelines. Neither is a sales tool.

Which one you need

A CRM with a built-in MCP server

If you have not committed to Salesforce yet, there is a different model: a CRM whose MCP server is part of the product. Customermates is one. It is an open-source, AI-native CRM for small client-facing teams, and it exposes one MCP endpoint at /api/v1/mcp on every cloud plan and on self-hosted installations. A connected client discovers 53 tools for contacts, organizations, deals, services, tasks and your own lists, the data model, saved views, dashboards, routines and webhooks. On Pro and higher, in Customermates Cloud, the unified inbox tools for email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram are added.

Connection works two ways, as the MCP documentation describes. Claude and ChatGPT connect as a custom connector: paste the URL, sign in, approve. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Gemini CLI use an API key that inherits its creator's permissions. To expose only part of the tool surface, append ?toolsets= to the endpoint URL, for example ?toolsets=records.

The cost arithmetic is plain. A five-person team on Starter pays €60 per month and gets the full CRM tool set over MCP. The inbox tools need Pro, €145 per month for the same team. The AI client's own subscription comes on top, from Anthropic, OpenAI or whichever provider you use. Current prices are on the pricing page.

One control difference matters. The Customermates MCP server tells clients to get the user's confirmation before deleting or sending, but that confirmation happens in the client. Once an authorized client calls a tool, the server executes it. Check how your client handles approvals, and start with reads and drafts.

Where Customermates is the wrong choice. If you already run Salesforce with custom objects, Apex logic, territory or sharing models and field-level security, stay on Salesforce and use the hosted servers: moving loses more than it gains. Customermates also has no custom tool definitions and no field-level permissions. It fits a consultancy, agency or founder-led team choosing its first real CRM, or leaving a large one. The Salesforce alternative comparison covers that decision, and the HubSpot MCP guide covers HubSpot's remote server.

Frequently asked questions

Salesforce, MuleSoft and Heroku details checked on 8 October 2026 against the hosted MCP overview, the standard servers reference, Understand AIforce Impact, the Salesforce DX MCP repository, the MuleSoft MCP Connector docs and the Heroku MCP repository.