{ "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": 375, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 11, "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": "2026-10-10T01:37:48.419888964Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 31, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 28, "p95ms24h": 373, "samples24h": 250, "samples30d": 2453, "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": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 17, "ok": 17 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.commercelayer.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T01:33:33.62205841Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@commercelayer/sdk", "version": "8.0.2", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:47:02.354701181Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 6724, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:39:57.729785302Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.commercelayer.io/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T14:01:43.044270927Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "commercelayer.io", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:08:11.061815908Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.commercelayer.io/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:36:58.729691638Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:29.576536548Z", "fingerprint": "e5cb8805bfc1" }, { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:15.903864918Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:38.904280664Z", "fingerprint": "e3367b1bb377" }, { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/legal/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:11.65011667Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:34.402907975Z", "fingerprint": "3803de1040c2" }, { "url": "https://commercelayer.io/legal/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:13.87818634Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:36.639863076Z", "fingerprint": "5a7da38cba38" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:48.419888964Z" } }, "answer": "Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "spree-commerce", "name": "Spree Commerce", "vendor": "Vendo Connect Inc", "vendorUrl": "https://spreecommerce.org", "kind": "http-api", "category": "commerce", "summary": "Spree Commerce is an open-source commerce platform on Ruby on Rails, maintained by Vendo Connect Inc. A self-hosted store runs a Store API for catalogue, cart and checkout, and an Admin API for back-office work.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spree-commerce", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spree-commerce.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spree-commerce.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/spree-commerce.json", "repo": "https://github.com/spree/spree", "license": "BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@spree/sdk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@spree/cli" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@spree/admin-sdk" }, { "registry": "rubygems", "name": "spree" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Store API calls need a publishable key (`pk_`) in the `X-Spree-Api-Key` header, plus a customer JWT as a Bearer token or a cart token in `X-Spree-Token` for guests. Admin API calls take a secret key (`sk_`) with `read_*` and `write_*` scopes per resource, or an admin JWT. Keys are created by the store's operator in the dashboard or with `spree api-key create`, with no vendor approval.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free to self-host under BSD 3-Clause, with no platform or transaction fee. The Enterprise Edition is custom pricing through sales. A free hosted Sandbox lets an agent's owner try the Admin API without a contract, for evaluation with test data only (https://spreecommerce.org/enterprise/, checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Freemium", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the OpenAPI files or the repository (checked 2026-10-09). Payments go through provider integrations such as Stripe, Adyen and PayPal.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 15750, "npmWeekly": 1576, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://spreecommerce.org/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://spreecommerce.org/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://spreecommerce.org/docs/api-reference/store.yaml", "capabilities": [ "commerce.products", "commerce.cart", "commerce.checkout", "commerce.orders", "commerce.headless" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "typescript", "ruby", "webhooks", "freemium" ], "lastRelease": "2026-07-28", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 70.4, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 155, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 90, "maintenance": 81, "payments": 55, "reliability": 82, "schema": 85, "security": 65, "transparency": 60 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": -5, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-07-20: six security advisories were published for `spree_api` and related gems between 8 January and 20 July 2026, four rated High, among them guest address and order disclosure without authentication (GHSA-87fh-rc96-6fr6, GHSA-p6pv-q7rc-g4h9, 5 February) and a guest cart takeover on `PATCH /api/v3/store/carts/:id/associate` (GHSA-4825-p4xm-pcf2, 20 July, fixed in 5.4.4 and 5.5.4). All are published with patched versions, so the deduction is reduced (https://github.com/spree/spree/security/advisories)." ], "verdict": "A self-hosted BSD 3-Clause platform with public OpenAPI files for the Store and Admin APIs, scoped secret keys, documented rate limits and idempotency keys on cart and checkout calls. GitHub lists six security advisories between January and July 2026, four rated High, and the default docs describe the 6.0 release candidate while 5.6.1 is the stable release.", "bestFor": "Teams that want to own a Rails commerce backend with marketplace, B2B and multi-region functions and drive it through REST.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.0.3 files for the Store API (81 paths, 99 operations) and Admin API (259 paths, 417 operations), plus llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page", "Secret keys carry `read_*` and `write_*` scopes per resource, are shown once and can be revoked, and a key cannot create a key with wider scopes", "`Idempotency-Key` on eight cart, checkout and payment calls, cached for 24 hours, with `Retry-After` on 429 responses", "Rate limits are published with numbers, 300 requests a minute per API key by default, and the operator can change them", "BSD 3-Clause backend and MIT TypeScript packages, with marketplace and B2B functions in the open-source edition" ], "weaknesses": [ "Six GitHub security advisories between 8 January and 20 July 2026, four rated High, most of them access-control flaws on guest carts, orders and addresses", "The default docs and the main-branch OpenAPI files describe 6.0, a release candidate dated 8 October 2026. The stable release is 5.6.1 of 28 July 2026", "The audit trail is in the paid Enterprise Edition only, and Enterprise prices are not published", "Supported-version end dates differ between `SECURITY.md` (5.x until 26 March 2027) and the docs security policy (5.0 until 26 March 2028)", "The official MCP server searches and reads the docs only. Store and admin MCP servers are open roadmap issues" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send a publishable key in `X-Spree-Api-Key` on every Store API call. Add `X-Spree-Token` with the cart token for guest carts, or a customer JWT as a Bearer token", "Send `Idempotency-Key` with the cart token or a customer JWT on cart, payment and completion calls. A request carrying only the publishable key is never cached", "Ask for `fields` and `expand` explicitly. Relations are left out by default and `limit` stops at 100", "Use a secret key with the narrowest scopes for the Admin API. `read_all` gives a read-only key, and the CLI's auto-minted local key is read-only", "Read the docs under `/docs/v5` for a 5.6 store. The default docs describe 6.0, which renames shipments to fulfilments and splits carts from orders" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "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": 70.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 90, "maintenance": 81, "payments": 55, "reliability": 82, "schema": 85, "security": 65, "transparency": 75 }, "provenanceScore": 45 }, "connect": { "install": "npx create-spree-app@latest my-store", "http": "curl -X GET 'http://localhost:3000/api/v3/store/products' -H 'X-Spree-Api-Key: pk_xxx'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http spree-docs https://spreecommerce.org/docs/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "spree-docs": { "url": "https://spreecommerce.org/docs/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/commerce.products", "tool": "https://letme.dev/spree-commerce" }, "area": "business", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Community Edition, self-hosted", "unit": "month", "usd": 0, "note": "BSD 3-Clause, the operator pays for its own servers" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Vendo Connect Inc", "domain": "spreecommerce.org", "domainRegistered": "2009-04-03", "endpointOnVendorDomain": false, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/spree/spree/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The Sandbox terms name VENDO CONNECT INC, a Delaware corporation (file number 7005612), 3500 S DuPont Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901, as the company behind the Spree Commerce project. The `LICENSE` file also names Vendo Sp. z o.o. as a copyright holder.", "The API runs on the operator's own server, so there is no vendor endpoint and no vendor status page.", "No terms or privacy document governs the self-hosted software, and the BSD 3-Clause licence stands in. The published terms (https://spreecommerce.org/terms-of-service/) and privacy notice (https://spreecommerce.org/privacy-policy-sandbox/), both dated 10 July 2026, cover only the hosted Sandbox and Vendo's websites.", "https://spreecommerce.org/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. `SECURITY.md` in the repository gives a security mailbox for reports.", "RDAP for spreecommerce.org gives a registration date of 2009-04-03 and GoDaddy.com, LLC as registrar." ], "score": 45 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spree-commerce.json", "live": { "slug": "spree-commerce", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "spree/spree", "version": "v5.6.1", "released": "2026-07-28", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:21:34.764539584Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@spree/admin-sdk", "version": "0.1.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:21:32.71633834Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@spree/cli", "version": "3.2.2", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:21:30.96599442Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@spree/sdk", "version": "1.2.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:21:28.899108995Z" } ], "githubStars": 15751, "npmWeekly": 1576, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T17:21:34.764539584Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Commerce Layer", "b": "Vendo Connect Inc", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "none", "b": "BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "11", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-07-28", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-05-01", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "7.3k npm/wk", "b": "16k stars, 1.6k npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Commerce Layer API + MCP or Spree Commerce?" }, { "answer": "Commerce Layer API + MCP uses an OAuth sign-in. Spree Commerce takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Commerce Layer API + MCP and Spree Commerce need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Commerce Layer API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources. No hosted endpoint is listed for Spree Commerce.", "question": "Can an agent call Commerce Layer API + MCP and Spree Commerce without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Commerce Layer API + MCP. Spree Commerce is open source (BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence).", "question": "Are Commerce Layer API + MCP and Spree Commerce open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": null, "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "No incidents deducted, where Spree Commerce loses 5 points for them" ], "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": [ "Reliability, 82 against 70", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 79", "Agent ergonomics, 90 against 64", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 55 against 25" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Teams that want to own a Rails commerce backend with marketplace, B2B and multi-region functions and drive it through REST.", "slug": "spree-commerce", "watchFor": "Six GitHub security advisories between 8 January and 20 July 2026, four rated High, most of them access-control flaws on guest carts, orders and addresses" } ], "job": { "capability": "commerce.products", "name": "Commerce catalogues" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-commerce-layer.json", "title": "Adobe Commerce (Magento) vs Commerce Layer API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-commerce-layer" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Adobe Commerce (Magento) vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "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-spree-commerce.json", "title": "BigCommerce API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs commercetools", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-ecwid.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Ecwid by Lightspeed", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-ecwid" }, { "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-wix.json", "title": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Wix Stores and eCommerce API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-wix" }, { "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-spree-commerce.json", "title": "commercetools vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elastic-path-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Elastic Path API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elastic-path-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Medusa API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Saleor API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopify-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Shopify API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopify-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Shopware vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/snipcart-vs-spree-commerce.json", "title": "Snipcart API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/snipcart-vs-spree-commerce" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-square.json", "title": "Spree Commerce vs Square", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-square" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-swell.json", "title": "Spree Commerce vs Swell", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-swell" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-vendure.json", "title": "Spree Commerce vs Vendure", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-vendure" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-wix.json", "title": "Spree Commerce vs Wix Stores and eCommerce API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-wix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-woocommerce.json", "title": "Spree Commerce vs WooCommerce API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-woocommerce" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 12, "commerce-layer": 70, "edge": "spree-commerce", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "spree-commerce": 82, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 6, "commerce-layer": 79, "edge": "spree-commerce", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "spree-commerce": 85, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 26, "commerce-layer": 64, "edge": "spree-commerce", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "spree-commerce": 90, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 1, "commerce-layer": 64, "edge": "spree-commerce", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "spree-commerce": 65, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 30, "commerce-layer": 25, "edge": "spree-commerce", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "spree-commerce": 55, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 1, "commerce-layer": 82, "edge": "commerce-layer", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "spree-commerce": 81, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 3, "commerce-layer": 57, "edge": "spree-commerce", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "spree-commerce": 60, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do commerce catalogues.", "verdicts": { "commerce-layer": "Public OpenAPI 3.0 file and llms.txt. No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract.", "spree-commerce": "A self-hosted BSD 3-Clause platform with public OpenAPI files for the Store and Admin APIs, scoped secret keys, documented rate limits and idempotency keys on cart and checkout calls. GitHub lists six security advisories between January and July 2026, four rated High, and the default docs describe the 6.0 release candidate while 5.6.1 is the stable release." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce.min.md" }, "markdown": "Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do commerce catalogues.\n\n- Commerce Layer API + MCP: grade B, 63.7/100, rank #375 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/commerce-layer.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commerce-layer.json\n- Spree Commerce: grade BB, 70.4/100, rank #155 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spree-commerce.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/spree-commerce.json\n- Best commerce platforms and checkout APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/commerce/index.md\n- All 136 commerce comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce/index.md\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\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- No incidents deducted, where Spree Commerce loses 5 points for them\n\nWatch for: No price between the free plan and a sales-quoted Enterprise contract\n\n### Spree Commerce (BB)\n\nGood for: Teams that want to own a Rails commerce backend with marketplace, B2B and multi-region functions and drive it through REST.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 82 against 70\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 79\n- Agent ergonomics, 90 against 64\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 55 against 25\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: Six GitHub security advisories between 8 January and 20 July 2026, four rated High, most of them access-control flaws on guest carts, orders and addresses\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Commerce Layer API + MCP | Spree Commerce | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 82 | Spree Commerce +12 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 85 | Spree Commerce +6 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 90 | Spree Commerce +26 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 65 | Spree Commerce +1 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 55 | Spree Commerce +30 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 81 | Commerce Layer API + MCP +1 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 60 | Spree Commerce +3 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | |\n| **Total** | | **63.7 · B** | **70.4 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Commerce Layer API + MCP | Spree Commerce |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Commerce Layer | Vendo Connect Inc |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence |\n| Tools exposed | 11 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-07-28 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-05-01 | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | |\n| Popularity | 7.3k npm/wk | 16k stars, 1.6k 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**Spree Commerce.** A self-hosted BSD 3-Clause platform with public OpenAPI files for the Store and Admin APIs, scoped secret keys, documented rate limits and idempotency keys on cart and checkout calls. GitHub lists six security advisories between January and July 2026, four rated High, and the default docs describe the 6.0 release candidate while 5.6.1 is the stable release.\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### Spree Commerce\n\n1. Send a publishable key in `X-Spree-Api-Key` on every Store API call. Add `X-Spree-Token` with the cart token for guest carts, or a customer JWT as a Bearer token\n2. Send `Idempotency-Key` with the cart token or a customer JWT on cart, payment and completion calls. A request carrying only the publishable key is never cached\n3. Ask for `fields` and `expand` explicitly. Relations are left out by default and `limit` stops at 100\n4. Use a secret key with the narrowest scopes for the Admin API. `read_all` gives a read-only key, and the CLI's auto-minted local key is read-only\n5. Read the docs under `/docs/v5` for a 5.6 store. The default docs describe 6.0, which renames shipments to fulfilments and splits carts from orders\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Commerce Layer API + MCP or Spree Commerce?\n\nSpree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Commerce Layer API + MCP's 63.7 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Do Commerce Layer API + MCP and Spree Commerce need an API key?\n\nCommerce Layer API + MCP uses an OAuth sign-in. Spree Commerce takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Commerce Layer API + MCP and Spree Commerce without installing anything?\n\nCommerce Layer API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://core.commercelayer.io/api/public/resources. No hosted endpoint is listed for Spree Commerce.\n\n### Are Commerce Layer API + MCP and Spree Commerce open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Commerce Layer API + MCP. Spree Commerce is open source (BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"commerce-layer\", \"b\": \"spree-commerce\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare commerce-layer spree-commerce`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/commerce-layer.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/spree-commerce.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Commerce Layer API + MCP or Spree Commerce\n\n- [Adobe Commerce (Magento) vs Commerce Layer API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-commerce-layer.md)\n- [Adobe Commerce (Magento) vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Commerce Layer API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-commerce-layer.md)\n- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs commercetools](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-commercetools.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Ecwid by Lightspeed](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-ecwid.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 Wix Stores and eCommerce API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-wix.md)\n- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-woocommerce.md)\n- [commercetools vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Elastic Path API + MCP vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elastic-path-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Medusa API + MCP vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Saleor API + MCP vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Shopify API + MCP vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopify-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Shopware vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Snipcart API + MCP vs Spree Commerce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/snipcart-vs-spree-commerce.md)\n- [Spree Commerce vs Square](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-square.md)\n- [Spree Commerce vs Swell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-swell.md)\n- [Spree Commerce vs Vendure](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-vendure.md)\n- [Spree Commerce vs Wix Stores and eCommerce API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-wix.md)\n- [Spree Commerce vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/spree-commerce-vs-woocommerce.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "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 Spree Commerce", "url": "" } ], "description": "Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) to Commerce Layer's 63.7 (B) for commerce catalogues. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Commerce Layer API + MCP B 63.7", "Spree Commerce BB 70.4", "scores" ], "h1": "Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Spree Commerce", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce.png", "path": "/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Commerce Layer vs Spree Commerce for AI agents (2026)", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-spree-commerce" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2850, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }