In-depth architectural comparison of the Open Sanctions and Open Corporates 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.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Open Sanctions
Developer Tools · Local stdio
Quality: 44/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
Open Corporates
Developer Tools · Local stdio
Quality: 44/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Open Sanctions if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a local process. Choose Open Corporates if your workspace requires Developer Tools integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
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Choose Open Sanctions 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).
Search global sanctions, watchlists, and PEP (politically exposed persons) databases. Returns matched entities with names, countries, datasets, and sanctions details. Example: search_entities("Vladimir Putin") or search_entities("Huawei", schema="Company")
get_entity
Get full details for a sanctioned entity by its OpenSanctions ID. Returns all properties including names, addresses, identifiers, sanctions programs, and related entities.
Open Corporates Tools (3)
search_companies
Search global company registries by name across 140+ jurisdictions. Returns company name, jurisdiction, status, type, incorporation date, and registered address. REQUIRES your own OpenCorporates API token via _apiKey — their public API is closed and keyless calls return 401. For keyless global comp…
get_company
Get full details for a specific company by jurisdiction and company number. Returns registration details, officers, filings, and industry codes. REQUIRES your own OpenCorporates API token via _apiKey — their public API is closed and keyless calls return 401. Example: get_company({jurisdiction:"us_d…
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).
Open Sanctions is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Open Corporates belongs to Developer Tools using local stdio subprocess. Select Open Sanctions when you need capabilities focused on developer tools and Open Corporates when you require tools for developer tools.
Search company officers and directors by name. Returns officer name, position, company, start/end dates, and nationality. REQUIRES your own OpenCorporates API token via _apiKey — their public API is closed and keyless calls return 401. Example: search_officers({query:"Elon Musk", _apiKey:"..."})