{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "commerce-layer", "name": "Commerce Layer API + MCP", "vendor": "Commerce Layer", "vendorUrl": "https://commercelayer.io", "kind": "http-api", "category": "commerce", "summary": "Commerce backend API for building custom storefronts and checkout experiences.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commerce-layer.json", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@commercelayer/sdk" } ], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "OAuth 2.0 tokens from https://auth.commercelayer.io/oauth/token. Integration credentials (client ID and secret, role-bound) for server-side agents, sales channel credentials (client ID only, scoped to a market) for storefront calls, authorisation code for user tokens. API calls go to https://\u003cyour-org\u003e.commercelayer.io/api. The Core MCP takes the same bearer token, or runs the OAuth flow in clients that support it.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Developer plan is free with no time limit, 100 live orders a month, 1,000 SKUs, 2 markets, 2 users, unlimited test orders and the Core API only. Enterprise is quoted by sales (custom yearly order volume, unlimited SKUs, adds the Metrics and Provisioning APIs and SLAs). Distributed OMS, promotion engine and metrics dashboard are add-ons. No transaction fees; payment gateway fees are separate (https://commercelayer.io/pricing).", "priceSummary": "Freemium", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 in the docs, pricing or MCP pages (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 11, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 7323, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.commercelayer.io", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.commercelayer.io/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://data.commercelayer.app/schemas/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "commerce.products", "commerce.cart", "commerce.checkout", "commerce.orders", "commerce.headless" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "typescript", "webhooks", "enterprise", "closed-source" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 63.7, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 269, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 629, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 25, "reliability": 70, "schema": 79, "security": 64, "transparency": 57 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Public OpenAPI 3.0 file and llms.txt. No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract.", "bestFor": "Teams that want a hosted headless backend and an agent that can work across every commerce object with scoped OAuth roles.", "strengths": [ "Public OpenAPI 3.0 file and llms.txt", "OAuth roles per resource and per operation, and market-scoped sales channel tokens", "Hosted Core MCP with 11 tools and preflight validation before writes", "Free Developer plan with no card and unlimited test orders", "Published per-IP rate limits for reads, writes and tokens" ], "weaknesses": [ "No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract", "No API versioning, and four breaking changes between 8 May and 2 September 2026", "429s carry no Retry-After or reset header", "Privacy policy last updated October 2020, with no DPA or subprocessor list linked", "No MCP tool annotations and no confirmation step for delete_resource" ], "agentNotes": [ "Call `get_resource_schema` before any write. Preflight rejects bad filter shapes before they reach the API", "Give the agent an integration credential tied to a narrow role rather than an admin role", "On a 429, wait out the sliding window. No Retry-After is sent, and the IP stays blocked while the rate stays high", "Place an order by PATCHing it with `_place: true` once line items, addresses, shipping and payment are set", "Move reads of `mode`, `organization_id` and `trace_id` to root-level meta before 5 October 2026" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 63.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 25, "reliability": 70, "schema": 79, "security": 64, "transparency": 42 }, "provenanceScore": 71 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -X POST https://auth.commercelayer.io/oauth/token -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d \"{\\\"grant_type\\\":\\\"client_credentials\\\",\\\"client_id\\\":\\\"$CL_CLIENT_ID\\\",\\\"client_secret\\\":\\\"$CL_CLIENT_SECRET\\\"}\"\ncurl \"https://$CL_ORG.commercelayer.io/api/skus?page[size]=5\" -H \"Accept: application/vnd.api+json\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $CL_ACCESS_TOKEN\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http commercelayer-core https://core-mcp.commercelayer.io/mcp --header \"Authorization: Bearer $CL_ACCESS_TOKEN\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "commercelayer-core": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${CL_ACCESS_TOKEN}" }, "url": "https://core-mcp.commercelayer.io/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/commerce.products", "tool": "https://letme.dev/commerce-layer" }, "area": "business", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Developer plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 0, "note": "100 live orders a month, 1,000 SKUs, unlimited test orders" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Commerce Layer, Inc.", "domain": "commercelayer.io", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://commercelayer.io/legal/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://commercelayer.io/legal/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.commercelayer.io", "changelog": "https://docs.commercelayer.io/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "rdap.org has no RDAP service for .io, so the registration date is blank." ], "score": 71 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer.json", "live": { "slug": "commerce-layer", "probe": { "target": "https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:43.947720191Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 158, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 31, "p95ms24h": 368, "samples24h": 272, "samples30d": 2135, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 217, "ok": 217 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.commercelayer.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:06:32.387971765Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@commercelayer/sdk", "version": "8.0.2", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:06:37.844723724Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 9990, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:43.982735573Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.commercelayer.io/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:16.192401378Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "commercelayer.io", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:08:11.061815908Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.commercelayer.io/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:29.576536548Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:29.576536548Z", "fingerprint": "e5cb8805bfc1" }, { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:39.095309353Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:38.904280664Z", "fingerprint": "e3367b1bb377" }, { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/legal/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:35.082859329Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:34.402907975Z", "fingerprint": "3803de1040c2" }, { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/legal/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:37.09797446Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:36.639863076Z", "fingerprint": "5a7da38cba38" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:43.947720191Z" } }, "answer": "commercetools scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Commerce Layer API + MCP leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "b": { "slug": "commercetools", "name": "commercetools", "vendor": "commercetools GmbH", "vendorUrl": "https://commercetools.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "commerce", "summary": "Headless commerce platform from commercetools GmbH in Munich, with HTTP and GraphQL APIs for catalogue, carts, checkout, orders and customers. Agents reach it through the API, four SDKs or a managed MCP server per project.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commercetools", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commercetools.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commercetools.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commercetools.json", "repo": "https://github.com/commercetools/commercetools-api-reference", "license": "Proprietary service under the commercetools Master Service Agreement. The API specifications are public, the SDKs are MIT (TypeScript, PHP) or Apache 2.0 (Java, .NET) and Commerce MCP is MIT", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@commercetools/platform-sdk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@commercetools/commerce-mcp" } ], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "OAuth 2.0. A person creates an API Client in the Merchant Centre (or through the API Clients API) with chosen scopes, and the secret is shown once. The client credentials flow at https://auth.{region}.commercetools.com/oauth/token returns a Bearer token valid for 48 hours by default. Scopes are view or manage per resource and per store, and `manage_project` grants everything. Password, anonymous-session and refresh flows exist for shoppers. A managed MCP server takes a token scoped to `mcp:{projectKey}:{mcpServerKey}` (30 days at most), OAuth client credentials discovery, or a browser sign-in with an Identity account. Access is self-serve through the trial sign-up form.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "No public prices. The pricing page describes order-based pricing and sends buyers to sales, and the product is also sold through the AWS and Google Cloud marketplaces. A 60-day trial has every core commerce API and the Merchant Centre, needs no card and does not convert automatically, so an agent can start without a contract. InStore, Frontend and the agent products are not in the trial (https://commercetools.com/free-trial, checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, llms.txt or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 221261, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.commercetools.com/api/", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.commercetools.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/commercetools/commercetools-api-reference/main/oas/api/openapi.yaml", "capabilities": [ "commerce.products", "commerce.cart", "commerce.checkout", "commerce.orders", "commerce.headless" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "enterprise", "closed-source", "mcp", "oauth", "openapi", "graphql", "llms-txt", "typescript", "java", "php", "dotnet", "webhooks", "sales-led", "status-page", "sla", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-07", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 71.3, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 110, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 629, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 83, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 20, "reliability": 73, "schema": 86, "security": 70, "transparency": 81 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A public OpenAPI file with 822 operations, per-resource OAuth scopes and a managed MCP server whose tools an administrator selects per agent. Prices are quoted by sales only, and the HTTP API publishes no platform-wide rate limit. A 60-day trial needs no card.", "bestFor": "Enterprises that already run or plan a composable commerce stack and want agents working across catalogue, pricing, carts and orders under scoped credentials.", "strengths": [ "Public OpenAPI 3.0 file with 822 operations, plus RAML, a GraphQL schema, llms.txt and Markdown copies of every docs page", "OAuth 2.0 API Clients with view and manage scopes per resource, a token revocation endpoint, and no tokens accepted in URL parameters", "Managed MCP server per agent with a chosen tool list, field filtering and redaction, and readOnlyHint and destructiveHint on every tool since 1 October 2026", "99.9 per cent monthly availability SLA with service credits, published in the docs", "60-day trial with every core commerce API and no card" ], "weaknesses": [ "No public price. The pricing page describes order-based pricing and sends buyers to sales", "The docs state that the HTTP API has no single documented platform-wide rate limit", "Managed MCP Servers, AI Hub and Platform Insights are excluded from the standard SLA", "API-wide change tracking needs the paid Audit Log Premium add-on. Audit Log Basic records Merchant Centre changes only", "No security.txt and no bug bounty found, and audit reports are released under NDA" ], "agentNotes": [ "Use the auth and API hosts for the project's region, such as auth.europe-west1.gcp.commercetools.com and api.europe-west1.gcp.commercetools.com. There are five regions", "Send the resource's current `version` with every update or delete. On 409 ConcurrentModification, re-read the resource and retry only if the change is still needed", "Retry 502 and 503 with exponential backoff from 200 ms, honour Retry-After, and check Content-Type before parsing an error body", "For MCP, ask for an API Client scoped to `mcp:{projectKey}:{mcpServerKey}` and a server limited to the tools the task needs, not `all`", "Keep page size at or under 500 and offset at or under 10,000. Product Search returns at most 100 per request" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 71.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 83, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 20, "reliability": 73, "schema": 86, "security": 70, "transparency": 75 }, "provenanceScore": 86 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install @commercetools/platform-sdk", "http": "curl https://{auth_host}/oauth/token -X POST \\\n --basic --user \"{clientId}:{clientSecret}\" \\\n -d \"grant_type=client_credentials\u0026scope=manage_project:{projectKey}\"\ncurl https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}/ \\\n -X GET \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer ${BEARER_TOKEN}\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "managed-mcp-servers": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer \u003cyour-ctp-token\u003e" }, "type": "http", "url": "\u003cyour-mcp-server-url\u003e" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/commerce.products", "tool": "https://letme.dev/commercetools" }, "area": "business", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "commercetools GmbH", "domain": "commercetools.com", "domainRegistered": "2002-05-13", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://commercetools.com/msa", "privacy": "https://commercetools.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.commercetools.com", "changelog": "https://docs.commercetools.com/docs/release-notes", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The imprint names commercetools GmbH, Adams-Lehmann-Str. 44, 80797 Munich, Amtsgericht München HRB 161496.", "The Master Service Agreement at commercetools.com/msa governs paid use once an Order Form is signed. Trial use falls under the 60 Days Trial Agreement at commercetools.com/trial-agreement, last updated 24 July 2024.", "The privacy notice covers the websites in section III and customers' use of the service in section IV. Data that customers store in the platform falls under the DPA at commercetools.com/dpa, last updated 1 October 2024.", "commercetools.com/.well-known/security.txt and docs.commercetools.com/.well-known/security.txt both return 404.", "API, auth and MCP hosts are subdomains of commercetools.com for each region. RDAP gives a registration date of 2002-05-13 for commercetools.com." ], "score": 86 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commercetools.json", "live": { "slug": "commercetools", "probe": { "target": "https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:43.983307366Z", "lastOk": false, "lastStatus": 0, "lastMs": 0, "lastNote": "invalid character \"{\" in host name", "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 0, "uptime30d": 0, "p50ms24h": 0, "p95ms24h": 0, "samples24h": 19, "samples30d": 19, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 19, "ok": 0 } ], "outages": [ { "start": "2026-10-08T17:31:33.341731081Z", "end": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "note": "invalid character \"{\" in host name" } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.commercetools.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T17:50:31.099632039Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.commercetools.com/docs/release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 404, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:30.793646678Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z" }, { "url": "https://commercetools.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:37.91248595Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "58be3463d4f5" }, { "url": "https://commercetools.com/msa", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:35.711051914Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c72525a36335" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:08:43.983307366Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Commerce Layer", "b": "commercetools GmbH", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources", "b": "https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth", "b": "OAuth", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "none", "b": "Proprietary service under the commercetools Master Service Agreement. The API specifications are public, the SDKs are MIT (TypeScript, PHP) or Apache 2.0 (Java, .NET) and Commerce MCP is MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "11", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-10-07", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-05-01", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no date given", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "7.3k npm/wk", "b": "221k npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "commercetools scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Commerce Layer API + MCP leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Commerce Layer API + MCP or commercetools?" }, { "answer": "Both use an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Commerce Layer API + MCP and commercetools need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Commerce Layer API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources and commercetools at https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}.", "question": "Can an agent call Commerce Layer API + MCP and commercetools without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Payments \u0026 pricing, 25 against 20" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams that want a hosted headless backend and an agent that can work across every commerce object with scoped OAuth roles.", "slug": "commerce-layer", "watchFor": "No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 86 against 79", "Agent ergonomics, 83 against 64", "Security \u0026 auth, 70 against 64", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 81 against 57" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "Runs on your own machine" ], "goodFor": "Enterprises that already run or plan a composable commerce stack and want agents working across catalogue, pricing, carts and orders under scoped credentials.", "slug": "commercetools", "watchFor": "No public price. The pricing page describes order-based pricing and sends buyers to sales" } ], "job": { "capability": "commerce.products", "name": "Commerce products" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commerce-layer.json", "title": "BigCommerce API + MCP vs Commerce Layer API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commerce-layer" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commercetools.json", "title": "BigCommerce API + MCP vs commercetools", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commercetools" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-elastic-path.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Elastic Path API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-elastic-path" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-medusa.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Medusa API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-medusa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Saleor API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopify.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Shopify API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopify" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopware.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Shopware", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopware" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-snipcart.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Snipcart API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-snipcart" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-square.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Square", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-square" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-swell.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Swell", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-swell" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-vendure.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Vendure", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-vendure" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-woocommerce.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs WooCommerce API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-woocommerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-elastic-path.json", "title": "commercetools vs Elastic Path API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-elastic-path" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-medusa.json", "title": "commercetools vs Medusa API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-medusa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-saleor.json", "title": "commercetools vs Saleor API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-saleor" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopify.json", "title": "commercetools vs Shopify API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopify" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopware.json", "title": "commercetools vs Shopware", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopware" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-snipcart.json", "title": "commercetools vs Snipcart API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-snipcart" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-square.json", "title": "commercetools vs Square", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-square" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-swell.json", "title": "commercetools vs Swell", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-swell" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-vendure.json", "title": "commercetools vs Vendure", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-vendure" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-woocommerce.json", "title": "commercetools vs WooCommerce API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-woocommerce" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 3, "commerce-layer": 70, "commercetools": 73, "edge": "commercetools", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 7, "commerce-layer": 79, "commercetools": 86, "edge": "commercetools", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 19, "commerce-layer": 64, "commercetools": 83, "edge": "commercetools", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 6, "commerce-layer": 64, "commercetools": 70, "edge": "commercetools", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 5, "commerce-layer": 25, "commercetools": 20, "edge": "commerce-layer", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 3, "commerce-layer": 82, "commercetools": 85, "edge": "commercetools", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 24, "commerce-layer": 57, "commercetools": 81, "edge": "commercetools", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "commercetools scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Commerce Layer API + MCP leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do commerce products.", "verdicts": { "commerce-layer": "Public OpenAPI 3.0 file and llms.txt. No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract.", "commercetools": "A public OpenAPI file with 822 operations, per-resource OAuth scopes and a managed MCP server whose tools an administrator selects per agent. Prices are quoted by sales only, and the HTTP API publishes no platform-wide rate limit. A 60-day trial needs no card." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.min.md" }, "markdown": "commercetools scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Commerce Layer API + MCP leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do commerce products.\n\n- Commerce Layer API + MCP: grade B, 63.7/100, rank #269 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commerce-layer.json\n- commercetools: grade BB, 71.3/100, rank #110 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commercetools.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commercetools.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Commerce Layer API + MCP (B)\n\nGood for: Teams that want a hosted headless backend and an agent that can work across every commerce object with scoped OAuth roles.\n\nAhead on:\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 25 against 20\n\nWatch for: No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract\n\n### commercetools (BB)\n\nGood for: Enterprises that already run or plan a composable commerce stack and want agents working across catalogue, pricing, carts and orders under scoped credentials.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 86 against 79\n- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 64\n- Security \u0026 auth, 70 against 64\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 81 against 57\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- Runs on your own machine\n\nWatch for: No public price. The pricing page describes order-based pricing and sends buyers to sales\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Commerce Layer API + MCP | commercetools | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 73 | commercetools +3 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 86 | commercetools +7 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 83 | commercetools +19 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 70 | commercetools +6 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 20 | Commerce Layer API + MCP +5 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 85 | commercetools +3 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 81 | commercetools +24 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **63.7 · B** | **71.3 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Commerce Layer API + MCP | commercetools |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Commerce Layer | commercetools GmbH |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources` | `https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |\n| Auth | OAuth | OAuth |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | Proprietary service under the commercetools Master Service Agreement. The API specifications are public, the SDKs are MIT (TypeScript, PHP) or Apache 2.0 (Java, .NET) and Commerce MCP is MIT |\n| Tools exposed | 11 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-10-07 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-05-01 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 7.3k npm/wk | 221k npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Commerce Layer API + MCP.** Public OpenAPI 3.0 file and llms.txt. No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract.\n\n**commercetools.** A public OpenAPI file with 822 operations, per-resource OAuth scopes and a managed MCP server whose tools an administrator selects per agent. Prices are quoted by sales only, and the HTTP API publishes no platform-wide rate limit. A 60-day trial needs no card.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Commerce Layer API + MCP\n\n1. Call `get_resource_schema` before any write. Preflight rejects bad filter shapes before they reach the API\n2. Give the agent an integration credential tied to a narrow role rather than an admin role\n3. On a 429, wait out the sliding window. No Retry-After is sent, and the IP stays blocked while the rate stays high\n4. Place an order by PATCHing it with `_place: true` once line items, addresses, shipping and payment are set\n5. Move reads of `mode`, `organization_id` and `trace_id` to root-level meta before 5 October 2026\n\n### commercetools\n\n1. Use the auth and API hosts for the project's region, such as auth.europe-west1.gcp.commercetools.com and api.europe-west1.gcp.commercetools.com. There are five regions\n2. Send the resource's current `version` with every update or delete. On 409 ConcurrentModification, re-read the resource and retry only if the change is still needed\n3. Retry 502 and 503 with exponential backoff from 200 ms, honour Retry-After, and check Content-Type before parsing an error body\n4. For MCP, ask for an API Client scoped to `mcp:{projectKey}:{mcpServerKey}` and a server limited to the tools the task needs, not `all`\n5. Keep page size at or under 500 and offset at or under 10,000. Product Search returns at most 100 per request\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Commerce Layer API + MCP or commercetools?\n\ncommercetools scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Commerce Layer API + MCP leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Do Commerce Layer API + MCP and commercetools need an API key?\n\nBoth use an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Commerce Layer API + MCP and commercetools without installing anything?\n\nYes. Commerce Layer API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources and commercetools at https://api.{region}.commercetools.com/{projectKey}.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"commerce-layer\", \"b\": \"commercetools\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare commerce-layer commercetools`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commerce-layer.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commercetools.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Commerce Layer API + MCP or commercetools\n\n- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Commerce Layer API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commerce-layer.md)\n- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs commercetools](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commercetools.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Elastic Path API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-elastic-path.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Medusa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-medusa.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Saleor API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Shopify API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopify.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopware.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Snipcart API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-snipcart.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Square](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-square.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Swell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-swell.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Vendure](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-vendure.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-woocommerce.md)\n- [commercetools vs Elastic Path API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-elastic-path.md)\n- [commercetools vs Medusa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-medusa.md)\n- [commercetools vs Saleor API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-saleor.md)\n- [commercetools vs Shopify API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopify.md)\n- [commercetools vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopware.md)\n- [commercetools vs Snipcart API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-snipcart.md)\n- [commercetools vs Square](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-square.md)\n- [commercetools vs Swell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-swell.md)\n- [commercetools vs Vendure](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-vendure.md)\n- [commercetools vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-woocommerce.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs commercetools", "url": "" } ], "description": "commercetools scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Commerce Layer API + MCP leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do commerce products. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Commerce Layer API + MCP B 63.7", "commercetools BB 71.3", "scores" ], "h1": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs commercetools", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.png", "path": "/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs commercetools for AI agents", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }