Membrane MCP Server vs Excel MCP Server

A side-by-side comparison of two Productivity servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Membrane MCP Server Expose actions from your connected Membrane integrations to AI agents as MCP tools. Unverified HTTP (remote) API key TypeScript	Excel MCP Server Create, read, and modify Excel workbooks with your AI agent — no Microsoft Excel required. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Python
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Language	TypeScript	Python
Transport	HTTP (remote)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	38	3.9k
Last commit	3 months ago	2 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`git clone https://github.com/membranehq/mcp-server.git`	`uvx excel-mcp-server stdio`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Membrane MCP Server if you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install.

Pick Excel MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

Add Membrane MCP Server

Install / run

git clone https://github.com/membranehq/mcp-server.git

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "membrane-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://<HOSTED_MCP_SERVER_URL>/sse?token={ACCESS_TOKEN}"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop connects to remote servers through the `mcp-remote` proxy (installed on first run via npx). Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Add Excel MCP Server

Install / run

uvx excel-mcp-server stdio

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excel-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "excel-mcp-server",
        "stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

FAQ

Membrane MCP Server or Excel MCP Server — which is better?

Pick Membrane MCP Server if you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install. Pick Excel MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

Can I use both Membrane MCP Server and Excel MCP Server?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Membrane MCP Server and Excel MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Membrane MCP Server →View Excel MCP Server →More comparisons →