# MCP registry vs The MCP Census

The registry lists servers. The census checks health and ownership with evidence.

## Registry
The community MCP registry answers: *does this name exist as a published server record?* It is the discovery backbone. Its terms disclaim vetting — you still evaluate each server yourself.

## Census
The census answers: *given public evidence, what do we know about health and brand match?* We harvest the registry, then cross-check GitHub, npm, PyPI, remotes, and citations. Scores and badges always link to factors.

## Wedge line
The registry tells you a server exists. The census tells you if you should trust it — with honest gaps when we can’t verify yet.

## Try it
Search a brand on [lookup](/lookup). Compare Official vs community wrappers.