Delulu9 vs seo-mcp (cnych GitHub)
The seo-mcp project by cnych on GitHub is one of the most popular open-source SEO MCP servers. It’s free, it’s hackable, and it’s powered by Ahrefs data. Delulu9 is a hosted service that works out of the box. Different tradeoffs.
seo-mcp (cnych) Overview
This is a free, self-hostable MCP server that taps into Ahrefs data for keyword ideas, backlinks, traffic estimates, and difficulty scoring. Developers love it because you can fork it, customize it, and run it on your own infrastructure.
The catch: you need Ahrefs credits to power it, and you need to handle hosting, updates, and maintenance yourself.
How Delulu9 Compares
Delulu9 is fully hosted. Sign up, get an API key, and start querying from Claude Code. No Docker setup, no Ahrefs subscription, no server maintenance.
Delulu9 also pulls from Reddit as a data source, which the cnych project doesn’t do. And it includes intent categorization and Claude/Cursor templates that the open-source version lacks.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Delulu9 | seo-mcp (cnych) |
|---|---|---|
| MCP Server | Yes (hosted) | Yes (self-host) |
| Setup required | None | Docker + config |
| Data source | Google, Bing, Reddit | Ahrefs |
| Ahrefs required | No | Yes |
| Reddit keywords | Yes | No |
| Intent categorization | Yes | No |
| Claude templates | Yes | No |
| Maintenance | None | You handle it |
| Price | $12/mo | Free + Ahrefs costs |
How to Decide
If you enjoy tinkering, have an Ahrefs subscription already, and want full control over your SEO tooling, the cnych seo-mcp GitHub project is a solid choice. It’s genuinely well-built open-source software.
If you’d rather not manage infrastructure and want a seo-mcp GitHub alternative that works immediately with Reddit data and intent analysis included, Delulu9 saves you the setup time. For most indie developers, the $12/mo is cheaper than an Ahrefs subscription plus the time spent self-hosting.
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Keyword research from Claude Code. Google + Bing + Reddit data. $12/mo after trial.
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