ChatGPT and Claude can now price UK business software from SME Compare's comparison tables. Describe your business, ask what payroll, accounting software or a card machine would cost, and the assistant answers with UK providers ranked by estimated monthly cost in pounds. The free plugin is listed as SMB Compare, the name of our US sister site, in both assistants' directories, and any other AI tool that supports MCP can use it by adding one URL. It's read-only and needs no account.
Key takeaways:
- Search for SMB Compare in ChatGPT's plugin directory or Claude's connectors directory.
- In Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code or another MCP client, add the connector URL below.
- Tell it you're in the UK and give it your figures (headcount, monthly card takings, contacts). It prices each provider at that size and links to the full comparison here.
Connector URL
https://smbcompare.com/api/mcpWhat it looks like in ChatGPT and Claude
An example, with live figures from our payroll comparison. The demo switches between Claude and ChatGPT; the figures are the same in both.
Claude
Used SMB Compare: compare- Sage, £24 (Payroll Essentials (6-10))
- Employment Hero, £30 (Core Payroll, monthly minimum)
- FreeAgent, £33 (Limited Company)
The assistant words the answer; the prices, plan names and order come from our tables.
Where you can use it
Claude's connectors directory has listed the plugin since 5 October 2026, and ChatGPT's plugin directory added it in late October.
It's an MCP server, the open standard both directories use, so any MCP client can connect. It's also published on the official MCP Registry as com.smbcompare/smb-compare.
How UK prices reach the assistant
The plugin has two parts. One lists the categories we price in a country and the figures each one needs. The other ranks providers by estimated monthly cost at the figures you give it.
For a UK business, both read the same tables you see on SME Compare, through the same cost engine. It picks the cheapest plan of each provider that covers your business, then prices that plan at your inputs. So if a provider's entry plan stops at five employees, a twelve-person business is priced on the plan above it.
Leave a figure out and it uses our calculator's default, and the response lists what it assumed. Some providers publish only a starting price, and some charge card fees on top of the software; the response marks both, and the assistant is told to say when a figure is partial.
Why your own figures change the ranking
A chatbot answering from memory tends to name familiar payroll providers with their entry prices, and an entry price is rarely the bill. Per-employee fees, contact tiers, card rates and plan caps all move the cost as a business grows, so two companies can see the same provider at very different monthly prices.
Our UK payroll cost report shows the order changing at each headcount. The plugin prices each provider at your own headcount.
What to ask it
Plain words work, with whatever numbers you know:
- "Which card machine is cheapest for a UK shop taking £20,000 a month on card?"
- "What would payroll software cost for a 12 person business in the UK?"
- "Compare accounting software for a sole trader in the UK."
Then name a provider you're already looking at, say "What about SumUp?", and the assistant places it in the same ranking.
It works across every category on SME Compare, including card machines, payroll, accounting software and email marketing. Providers that only price on request show as a quote. A new category here is available in the plugin the day it goes live.
How to add it
Claude
Add it once on a computer, at claude.ai or in the Claude desktop app, and it's then in the Claude app on your phone too. Anthropic says adding connectors from the phone app is still in beta.
- Go to Customize, then Connectors.
- Click + next to Connectors, search for SMB Compare and click Connect. There's no account to set up.
- Start a new chat and ask your question. If Claude answers without it, click +, open Connectors and switch SMB Compare on.
You can also open our listing in Claude's directory. On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner needs to enable it for your organisation first.
ChatGPT
On your phone:
- Open the menu and tap Explore, then Plugins.
- Search for SMB Compare and tap Connect.
On a computer:
- Click Plugins in the sidebar.
- Search for SMB Compare, select it and click Install plugin.
Then start a new chat and ask your question. ChatGPT uses the plugin when it fits, and you can call it directly by typing @SMB Compare. You can also open our listing in the plugin directory.
Other AI assistants and MCP clients
In Cursor, VS Code or any client that supports remote MCP servers, add a new server named SMB Compare, set the transport to Streamable HTTP (some clients call it HTTP), choose no authentication, and paste this URL:
Connector URL
https://smbcompare.com/api/mcpIn Claude Code, one command does it:
claude mcp add --transport http smb-compare https://smbcompare.com/api/mcpThe same URL also works as a custom connector in Claude. Our AI assistants page keeps the current steps for each.
Asking from outside the UK
The plugin tells the assistant to ask for your country if it doesn't already know it. Mention the UK in your question and it goes straight to pounds.
A US business gets US dollar prices from SMB Compare, and an Australian one gets Australian dollars from our Australian site, Merchant Compare. Each answer links only to the site for that country. Anywhere else, it uses our US prices and says so before the results, because a provider may charge differently there or not operate at all.
What it will not do
The plugin can't sign you up for anything or send a quote request on your behalf.
Your name, email address and phone number never reach us through it. It sees the country, the category, the business figures you give the assistant and any provider you name, and what you type into the assistant itself is covered by that company's privacy policy.
How we compare providers explains the method. Because the assistant writes its own answer around our numbers, check the linked comparison page before you decide.
