Skip to content

CostBench

by costbench.com · remote · no sign-in to list tools · v1.1.0 · published by com.costbench

Verified pricing, hidden costs, negotiation data, price changes & TCO for 3,390+ software products.

Changes · 2
CompareRegistry entry

9 tools: 2 change things and 7 only read.

Scanned Oct 21, 2026

No check matched anything in the tool definitions. No finding is not a safety guarantee. How the checks work.

claude mcp add --transport http costbench https://costbench.com/mcp

Tools

Open a tool for its reasons and full description. Descriptions are the publisher's own words, shown as they are.

9 tools

Changes things 2Claude Code: ask
  • calculate_tcoTotal cost of ownership for a product and team size: sourced line items (licenses with price escalation, benchmark implementation), year-one + multi-year totals, effective per-seat…No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • Nothing in its name or description says what it does, so it is counted as a write.
    • The server marks it read-only (readOnlyHint: true), but an annotation never lowers a class.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Total cost of ownership for a product and team size: sourced line items (licenses with price escalation, benchmark implementation), year-one + multi-year totals, effective per-seat cost. The defensible "true cost for an N-person team" answer.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • estimate_llm_costEstimate the cost of an LLM/API workload (input + output tokens) for a usage-priced provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock…) from its real rate card.No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • Nothing in its name or description says what it does, so it is counted as a write.
    • The server marks it read-only (readOnlyHint: true), but an annotation never lowers a class.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Estimate the cost of an LLM/API workload (input + output tokens) for a usage-priced provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock…) from its real rate card.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
Only reads 7Claude Code: allow
  • compare_softwareSide-by-side pricing comparison of 2–4 products (starting price, enterprise tier, median annual cost, free tier, ratings).No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The name "compare_software" says "compare": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Side-by-side pricing comparison of 2–4 products (starting price, enterprise tier, median annual cost, free tier, ratings).

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • discover_softwareFind software products by name search or criteria (category, max price, free tier).No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The description's first verb is "find": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Find software products by name search or criteria (category, max price, free tier). Returns matching slugs to look up — use "query" to find the slug for a product name.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • get_hidden_costsThe documented hidden/implementation/add-on costs of a product (uplifts, onboarding fees, overages), each with a sourced quote + date.No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The name "get_hidden_costs" says "get": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    The documented hidden/implementation/add-on costs of a product (uplifts, onboarding fees, overages), each with a sourced quote + date. The "what they don't tell you" answer.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • get_negotiation_tipsSourced negotiation tactics for a product with success-likelihood (how to get a discount).No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The name "get_negotiation_tips" says "get": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Sourced negotiation tactics for a product with success-likelihood (how to get a discount).

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • get_price_changesRecent software pricing changes CostBench detected against vendor pricing pages (increases, decreases, plan restructures) — dated, with before/after price bands and a source link.No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The name "get_price_changes" says "get": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Recent software pricing changes CostBench detected against vendor pricing pages (increases, decreases, plan restructures) — dated, with before/after price bands and a source link. Filter by product slug, category, or lookback window. The "what changed lately" answer; each item links to the sourced record.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • get_price_historyDated per-quarter snapshots of a product's pricing page.No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The name "get_price_history" says "get": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Dated per-quarter snapshots of a product's pricing page. Returns observations, NOT a trend figure — CostBench does not publish one, because diffing snapshots across renamed/restructured plan lineups is ~90% measurement artifact.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false
  • get_pricingFull sourced pricing record for a software product: tiers, hidden costs, contract terms, market data, sentiment, negotiation tips, TCO scenarios, price history — every claim with i…No findings

    Why it is in this group

    • The name "get_pricing" says "get": a word for reading.
    Description, as the server wrote it
    Full sourced pricing record for a software product: tiers, hidden costs, contract terms, market data, sentiment, negotiation tips, TCO scenarios, price history — every claim with its sources + a confidence/verification envelope.

    Annotations the server declares

    • readOnlyHint: true
    • openWorldHint: false

This is not a safety rating, and no finding is not a safety guarantee. The groups and findings come from fixed checks of the tool definitions the server returned on the date shown, not from its code or what it does when called. How the checks work.

Install

Pinned to version 1.1.0. Values in angle brackets are yours to fill in.

claude mcp add --transport http costbench https://costbench.com/mcp

Run in a terminal.

Claude Code permissions

Allow the reads, ask before a change, deny the deletes. Paste into .claude/settings.json.

.claude/settings.json
{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [
      "mcp__costbench__get_pricing",
      "mcp__costbench__get_hidden_costs",
      "mcp__costbench__get_negotiation_tips",
      "mcp__costbench__get_price_history",
      "mcp__costbench__compare_software",
      "mcp__costbench__discover_software",
      "mcp__costbench__get_price_changes"
    ],
    "ask": [
      "mcp__costbench__calculate_tco",
      "mcp__costbench__estimate_llm_cost"
    ],
    "deny": []
  }
}

Tools that only read are allowed, tools that change things ask first, tools that delete or cancel are denied. It assumes the server is installed as costbench. Review it before you use it.