Geo vs Geonames
A side-by-side look at the Geo and Geonames MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Geo for location services work as a local process; choose Geonames for location services as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Geo when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
geocode, reverse_geocode, get_country.
Choose Geonames when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_geonames, get_nearby, get_timezone.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Location Services | Location Services |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 52/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 5 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Geo | View Geonames |
Tools & capabilities
Geo tools 5
geocodeConvert an address or place name to up to 5 matching coordinates via OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Returns latitude, longitude, display_name, and place type for each result.reverse_geocodeConvert coordinates to a physical address. Returns street address, city, country, and postal code. Use to identify locations from lat/lng pairs.get_countryGet country information by name or ISO code (e.g., 'US', 'FR'). Returns capital, population, currency, languages, and neighboring countries. Use for regional context or facts.get_timezoneLook up the IANA timezone name, current local time, and UTC offset (hours) for a given latitude and longitude via TimeAPI.io. Requires coordinates — does not accept city names.get_sunrise_sunsetFetch sunrise, sunset, solar noon, civil twilight begin/end, and day length (seconds) for a given latitude/longitude on an optional YYYY-MM-DD date (defaults to today) via the Sunrise-Sunset API.
Geonames tools 4
search_geonamesSearch for places (cities, towns, landmarks, regions) by name and get which STATE / PROVINCE / COUNTY / PREFECTURE / administrative division (German Bundesland, UK county, Canadian province, Japanese prefecture, Indian/Australian/Mexican state, etc.) they are in, plus country, coordinates, populati…get_nearbyFind places near a given latitude/longitude. Returns nearby cities, landmarks, and features sorted by distance. Example: get_nearby(48.8566, 2.3522) for places near Paris.get_timezoneGet timezone information for a latitude/longitude location. Returns timezone ID, GMT offset, DST offset, current local time, sunrise, and sunset. Example: get_timezone(40.7128, -74.0060) for New York.find_postal_codesLook up postal/ZIP codes and places by each other. Pass "postal_code" (+ country) to find the place(s) a code maps to ("what city is ZIP 90210"); or pass "place" (+ country) to find the postal codes for a place name ("postal codes for Paris"). Returns place name, country, admin region (state/county…
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Geo
{
"mcpServers": {
"geo-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-geo"
]
}
}
}
Geonames
{
"mcpServers": {
"geonames": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-geonames"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Geo is categorized under Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. Geonames belongs to Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Geo for location services work and Geonames for location services.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Geo has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Geonames has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add geo-2 and geonames as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Geo has a quality signal of 53/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Geonames has 52/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.