Census MCP Server vs TimeBase

In-depth architectural comparison of the Census MCP Server and TimeBase MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Census MCP Server when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Census MCP Server Details

Choose TimeBase when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore TimeBase Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Census MCP Server Developer Tools	TimeBase Developer Tools
Summary	Query U.S. Census Bureau data, variables, and geography via MCP.	Explore and query TimeBase streams, schemas, QQL, symbols, and server status via MCP.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "census-mcp-server": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": [
        "@cyanheads/census-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "timebase": {
      "url": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction"
    }
  }
}

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