Openrouteservice vs PlaceRoot
A side-by-side look at the Openrouteservice and PlaceRoot MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Openrouteservice for location services work as a local process; choose PlaceRoot 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 Openrouteservice when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
PLATFORM_ORS_KEY.
Choose PlaceRoot when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Location Services | Location Services |
| Quality signal | 41/100 · Fair | 40/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | PLATFORM_ORS_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 3 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Openrouteservice | View PlaceRoot |
Tools & capabilities
Openrouteservice tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
PlaceRoot tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
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.
Openrouteservice
{
"mcpServers": {
"openrouteservice": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-openrouteservice"
],
"env": {
"PLATFORM_ORS_KEY": "YOUR_PLATFORM_ORS_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
PlaceRoot
{
"mcpServers": {
"placeroot": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"placeroot"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Openrouteservice is categorized under Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. PlaceRoot belongs to Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Openrouteservice for location services work and PlaceRoot 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.
Openrouteservice has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. PlaceRoot 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 openrouteservice and placeroot as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Openrouteservice has a quality signal of 41/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. PlaceRoot has 40/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 3 GitHub stars.