Quick answer: Yes, both have official MCP servers. HubSpot’s remote server at mcp.hubspot.com became generally available on April 13, 2026, and it plugs into Claude and ChatGPT on every HubSpot plan. Salesforce runs Hosted MCP Servers that stay off until an admin turns them on.
What a staffing agency should do first: Start read only, keep every write action on approval, and let your CRM permissions decide what the AI can see. Salesforce edition and pricing for MCP are not confirmed on Salesforce’s own pages, so check with your Salesforce rep before you plan around it.
This guide is part of our series on MCP servers for recruiters. It covers the two CRMs that staffing agencies use most for business development: HubSpot and Salesforce. If you are new to the idea, an MCP server is the official doorway that lets an AI assistant like Claude or ChatGPT read and update records in another tool, using your own login.
For an agency, that means you can ask Claude which clients you have not called in 60 days, or have ChatGPT log a call note on a deal, without leaving the chat. The catch is that a CRM holds client and candidate data, so the setup choices matter more than the prompts.
Do HubSpot and Salesforce have official MCP servers?
Yes. Both vendors run their own servers, so you do not need a third party wrapper to connect either CRM to an AI assistant.
HubSpot announced that its remote MCP server is generally available as of April 13, 2026. HubSpot also publishes setup guides for its Claude connector and its ChatGPT connector.
Salesforce offers a family of hosted MCP servers, each with a fixed set of tools. Its developer guide names Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and custom agents as clients.
| Question | HubSpot | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP server? | Yes, remote server at mcp.hubspot.com | Yes, Salesforce Hosted MCP Servers |
| Status | Generally available since April 13, 2026 | Documented by Salesforce; Headless 360 server is beta |
| Who turns it on | Super Admin approves and controls access | Admin turns on each server in Setup |
| What the AI can see | Only what your HubSpot permissions allow | Only what your Salesforce permissions allow |
| Delete records? | No delete in the Claude or ChatGPT connectors | Only if an admin turns on a server that includes deletes |
| Plan or price | All HubSpot plans, no connector fee listed | Not confirmed; check with Salesforce |
What can the HubSpot MCP server do for a staffing agency?
HubSpot’s server can read most of the CRM. The GA announcement lists contacts, companies, deals, tickets, line items, quotes, invoices, orders, products, subscriptions, segments, campaigns, landing pages, blog posts, site pages, marketing events and activities.
It can also create and update contacts, companies, deals, tickets, line items, products and activities. For an agency, the useful part is contacts, companies, deals and activities: your client list, your open job orders tracked as deals, and the call notes that go with them.
The connectors differ a little between assistants. Here is what HubSpot’s own help pages say.
| Detail | HubSpot in Claude | HubSpot in ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Create and update | Contacts, leads, companies, deals, tickets, custom objects, products, line items, campaigns, landing pages, marketing emails, engagements | Similar set of records |
| Read only | Invoices, orders, carts, payments, subscriptions, segments, conversations | Not listed separately |
| Delete | No | No |
| Limits worth knowing | API limits apply | Bulk writes capped at 10 records; custom validation rules not applied; one HubSpot account per ChatGPT account |
| Plans | All HubSpot plans; paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise) | All HubSpot plans |
| Source | HubSpot Claude guide | HubSpot ChatGPT guide |
The ChatGPT note on custom validation rules matters for agencies. If your HubSpot setup forces a field like “Industry” or “Placement type” on every new company, ChatGPT may write records that skip that rule. Check new records after a session.
HubSpot itself has a free CRM tier for up to two users, and paid Sales Hub seats start higher. See our HubSpot tool page for current pricing.
How do you connect HubSpot to Claude or ChatGPT?
The setup is short, but it runs through your HubSpot Super Admin. HubSpot says the Super Admin approves and controls access, and users only see what their own HubSpot permissions allow.
1. Confirm your plans
Any HubSpot plan works. On the Claude side, HubSpot’s guide says you need a paid Claude plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise.
2. Have the Super Admin approve the connector
The Super Admin turns on access for the account. If you have reps who should not touch certain deals or contacts, fix that in HubSpot permissions first. The AI inherits them.
3. Decide on sensitive data
HubSpot has a Sensitive Data setting that blocks engagement data from the connector. If your call notes include candidate salary, health or visa details, think about whether that data should reach an AI tool at all.
4. Set write tools to Needs Approval
HubSpot recommends “Needs Approval” for write tools. That way the assistant shows you each update before it saves.
5. Test with a read only question
Ask something harmless like “List my 10 most recently created companies.” If the answer looks right, try one small update you can check by hand. HubSpot audit logs record writes, so you can trace what changed.
Claude prompt: client follow up list
Using HubSpot, find companies owned by [YOUR NAME] in the [INDUSTRY] industry where the last logged activity is older than [NUMBER] days. For each one, show the company name, main contact, last activity date and any open deal. Then draft a short, friendly check in email for the top [NUMBER] accounts that mentions their last open role. Do not log anything or send anything. Show me the drafts first.
For more business development ideas, see our guide to finding clients with Claude. If you enrich client contacts in Apollo before they land in HubSpot, read our Apollo MCP guide too.
What can the Salesforce MCP server do?
Salesforce splits its hosted servers by job, so an admin can turn on only what a team needs. According to the server reference, every server is off until an admin turns it on in Setup, the tool sets are fixed, and each call runs with the signed in user’s permissions, including field level security, object permissions and sharing rules.
| Salesforce server | What it allows | Agency use |
|---|---|---|
| SObject Reads | Read and query only | Safest start: pipeline questions, client lookups |
| SObject Mutations | Create and update, no delete | Logging calls, updating job order stages |
| SObject Deletes | Deletes | Rarely needed; keep off |
| SObject All | Create, read, update, delete plus query and search | Broad; only for admins who know why |
| Data 360 | Data 360 access | Depends on your Salesforce setup |
| Tableau Next | Tableau Next access | Reporting teams |
| Headless 360 | Beta | Treat as a preview |
For most staffing agencies, SObject Reads is the right first step. It answers questions about accounts, contacts and opportunities without any risk of changing a record.
Salesforce does not publish the required edition or any MCP specific price on the pages we checked. Ask your Salesforce account team before you budget for it. Our Salesforce Recruiting CRM page lists the CRM’s own starting price.
How do you connect Salesforce to Claude?
In Claude, Salesforce is added as a custom connector rather than a one click directory listing. A third party guide walks through the steps and reports the servers went GA at TDX 2026. That is a secondary source, so confirm details with Salesforce.
1. Pick the server
Your admin turns on the server you want in Setup. Start with SObject Reads.
2. Create an External Client App
The admin creates an External Client App in Salesforce with Claude’s callback URL, the scopes mcp_api, refresh_token and offline_access, and PKCE turned on.
3. Add the custom connector in Claude
Each user then signs in with their own Salesforce login. Because calls run with that user’s permissions, a junior recruiter sees only what they already see in Salesforce.
4. Test and review
Ask a read only question you already know the answer to. Only move to the Mutations server once you trust the results.
What is the “Salesforce in Claude” plugin?
Salesforce announced a plugin on August 26, 2026 with 37 sales skills for Claude. At announcement it was with pilot customers, with an open beta expected in September 2026. We could not confirm that the open beta has started, so treat it as not yet available until Salesforce says otherwise.
If my ATS runs on Salesforce, can these servers reach it?
Possibly. Some agency ATS products, such as Bullhorn Recruitment Cloud, TargetRecruit and Talent Rover, are built on Salesforce objects. None of them has a first party MCP server that we found.
Because the Salesforce hosted SObject servers work on Salesforce objects with the user’s permissions, they may be able to reach those ATS records. That is a possibility, not a confirmed feature. Check with your ATS vendor before you rely on it. Our ATS MCP guide covers which ATS products have their own servers.
How should an agency keep CRM data safe with AI?
The same rules apply to both CRMs.
| Risk | What to do |
|---|---|
| AI changes the wrong record | Keep write tools on approval; start read only |
| Someone sees data they should not | Fix CRM permissions first; the AI inherits them |
| Candidate details leave the CRM | Block sensitive engagement data; do not paste personal details into prompts you do not need |
| Nobody knows what changed | Use HubSpot audit logs to review AI writes; in Salesforce, start with the read only server |
| Bulk mistakes | Avoid delete servers; note ChatGPT’s 10 record bulk cap in HubSpot |
Admin consent is the real gate. In HubSpot it is the Super Admin. In Salesforce it is whoever owns Setup. If that is not you, loop them in before anyone connects.
If you are using AI to screen or rank candidates, not just clients, check local rules with our AI hiring law checker.
Which other recruiting tools have MCP servers?
HubSpot and Salesforce are two of many. Our Claude connectors list groups every recruiting tool in our directory that runs its own MCP server, with server URLs. The live MCP tracker keeps the running count.
You can also connect the Work Insiders directory itself. Our free MCP server is read only and works in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.
Quick answers
Is the HubSpot MCP server free?
HubSpot lists no connector fee and supports all HubSpot plans. API limits apply. Claude needs a paid plan.
Can the HubSpot connector delete records?
No. HubSpot’s Claude and ChatGPT guides both say there is no delete.
Does Salesforce MCP cost extra?
Not confirmed. Salesforce’s pages do not state an edition or price. Check with Salesforce.
Will the AI see every record in our CRM?
No. Both vendors run each call with the signed in user’s permissions.
Which Salesforce server should an agency start with?
SObject Reads. It is read and query only.
Does Bullhorn have an MCP server?
We found no first party Bullhorn MCP server. See our ATS MCP guide.
The bottom line
HubSpot is the easier path for most staffing agencies: an official, generally available server, connectors in Claude and ChatGPT, no delete, and a clear “Needs Approval” setting. Salesforce is more flexible but more admin work, and its edition and pricing for MCP are not confirmed publicly. Either way, start read only, keep writes on approval, and let your CRM permissions do the guarding. For the full picture across email, calendar, LinkedIn and ATS tools, go back to our MCP servers hub.
Sources: HubSpot GA changelog, HubSpot Claude guide, HubSpot ChatGPT guide, Salesforce server reference, Salesforce MCP guide, Salesforce Time guide, Salesforce plugin news, Work Insiders HubSpot, Work Insiders Salesforce
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