# Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Saleor API + MCP

> Saleor API + MCP has a score of 68.7 (B) against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.9 (B). Both do commerce products. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 22 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor.md (~1,650 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor.min.md (~380 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-saleor.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-04

Saleor API + MCP has a score of 68.7 (B) against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.9 (B). Both do commerce products. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 22 points.

- Commerce Layer API + MCP: grade B, 63.9/100, rank #192 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commerce-layer.json
- Saleor API + MCP: grade B, 68.7/100, rank #121 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/saleor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/saleor.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Commerce Layer API + MCP for reliability (+20).

Pick Saleor API + MCP for schema & documentation (+10), agent ergonomics (+22), security & auth (+7), payments & pricing (+20), transparency & trust (+18).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Commerce Layer API + MCP | Saleor API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 50 | Commerce Layer API + MCP +20 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 89 | Saleor API + MCP +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 86 | Saleor API + MCP +22 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 71 | Saleor API + MCP +7 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 45 | Saleor API + MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 85 | Saleor API + MCP +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 77 | Saleor API + MCP +18 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **63.9 · B** | **68.7 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Commerce Layer API + MCP | Saleor API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Commerce Layer | Saleor |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | BSD-3-Clause |
| Tools exposed | 11 | 8 |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-09-30 |
| Popularity | 7.3k npm/wk | 23k stars, 7.3k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Commerce Layer API + MCP.** Public OpenAPI 3.0 file and llms.txt. No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract.

**Saleor API + MCP.** One GraphQL schema with 78 typed error-code enums and 464 marked deprecations. The MCP server can't create checkouts or orders.

## Before you call either

### Commerce Layer API + MCP

1. Call `get_resource_schema` before any write. Preflight rejects bad filter shapes before they reach the API
2. Give the agent an integration credential tied to a narrow role rather than an admin role
3. On a 429, wait out the sliding window. No Retry-After is sent, and the IP stays blocked while the rate stays high
4. Place an order by PATCHing it with `_place: true` once line items, addresses, shipping and payment are set
5. Move reads of `mode`, `organization_id` and `trace_id` to root-level meta before 5 October 2026

### Saleor API + MCP

1. Pass the channel slug on product and checkout queries. Prices and availability are per channel
2. Send X-Saleor-API-URL and X-Saleor-Auth-Token on every MCP request, with a token holding MANAGE_PRODUCTS and MANAGE_ORDERS
3. Read the `errors` array in every mutation payload. A 200 response can still carry a CheckoutErrorCode
4. Keep queries under the 50,000 complexity cap and 100 items a page, and send at most 4 mutations per request
5. The 3.24 changelog removes the old dummy payment plugins, so test checkouts should use a payment app

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