# Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Shopware

> Shopware scores 71.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Ecwid by Lightspeed's 63.2 (B), and leads in every scored category. Both do commerce products. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopware
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopware.md (~2,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopware.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopware.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: 2026-10-08

Shopware scores 71.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Ecwid by Lightspeed's 63.2 (B), and leads in every scored category. Both do commerce products.

- Ecwid by Lightspeed: grade B, 63.2/100, rank #316 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ecwid.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ecwid.json
- Shopware: grade BB, 71.4/100, rank #112 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/shopware.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/shopware.json

## Which one, for what

### Ecwid by Lightspeed (B)

Good for: An agent doing back-office work on an existing Ecwid store, such as catalogue edits, order export and discount coupons.

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- No incidents deducted, where Shopware loses 5 points for them

Watch for: Access tokens never expire and change only when the app is uninstalled and installed again

### Shopware (BB)

Good for: A merchant already on Shopware, or a team that wants an MIT PHP backend with a built-in MCP server for back-office work.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 66
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 66
- Security & auth, 73 against 61
- Payments & pricing, 50 against 15
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 79

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Open source

Watch for: The MCP server is marked experimental until 6.8, and 6.7.14.0 changed what tools/list returns on the Store API endpoint


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Ecwid by Lightspeed | Shopware | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 83 | Shopware +3 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 85 | Shopware +19 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 78 | Shopware +12 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 61 | 73 | Shopware +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 15 | 50 | Shopware +35 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 87 | Shopware +8 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 76 | Shopware +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **63.2 · B** | **71.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Ecwid by Lightspeed | Shopware |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Ecwid, Inc. (Lightspeed Commerce) | shopware AG |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://app.ecwid.com/api/v3` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Lightspeed Service Agreement. The `@lightspeed/ecom-headless` npm package is MIT and the Java API client on GitHub is Apache-2.0 | MIT for the Community Edition core. Paid plans add proprietary extensions under shopware AG's general terms |
| Tools exposed | none | 14 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-02-26 | 2026-06-10 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 22 stars, 307 npm/wk | 3.4k stars, 31k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Ecwid by Lightspeed.** The REST API has 40 access scopes, a published limit of 600 requests a minute per token with `Retry-After` on a 429, field selection through `responseFields`, and Markdown docs with an llms.txt index. Tokens never expire, there is no test mode or idempotency key, API access needs a paid plan, and carts are built only in the browser.

**Shopware.** MIT-licensed core with OpenAPI specs for both APIs and a built-in MCP server that advertises three discovery tools, previews writes by default and limits each integration to an allowlist. The MCP server is experimental until 6.8, and 20 security advisories were published between May and September 2026, four of them critical.

## Before you call either

### Ecwid by Lightspeed

1. Send the token as `Authorization: Bearer` to `https://app.ecwid.com/api/v3/{storeId}`. Tokens in the query string stopped working in March 2025
2. Use the secret token server-side only. The public token reads enabled products and places orders that are not marked paid
3. Add `responseFields`, for example `total,items(id,name,price)`, to keep responses small, and page with `offset` and `limit` (maximum 100)
4. Stay under 600 requests a minute per token and wait the `Retry-After` seconds on a 429. Repeated calls with a bad token get the token and IP blocked for longer
5. Work in a separate test store. There is no test mode, and `POST /orders` writes a real order with no idempotency key
6. After changing an app's scopes, uninstall and reinstall it, then replace the stored tokens. The old ones stop working

### Shopware

1. Ask the merchant for an integration without --admin, tied to an ACL role and an MCP allowlist. Send sw-access-key and sw-secret-access-key headers to /api/_mcp
2. Call shopware-tool-search first, then shopware-toolset-enable, and keep the Mcp-Session-Id header. A fresh session lists only three tools
3. Pass dryRun=false to commit a write. shopware-media-upload has no dry run and uploads at once
4. For shopping, call the Store API over HTTP with the sales channel's sw-access-key and keep the sw-context-token. The Store API MCP endpoint has no cart tools in core
5. Send `includes` in search criteria to cut response size, and read the 429 body for the wait time

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Ecwid by Lightspeed or Shopware?

Shopware scores 71.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Ecwid by Lightspeed's 63.2 (B), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Ecwid by Lightspeed and Shopware need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Ecwid by Lightspeed and Shopware without installing anything?

Ecwid by Lightspeed has a hosted endpoint at https://app.ecwid.com/api/v3. No hosted endpoint is listed for Shopware.

### Are Ecwid by Lightspeed and Shopware open source?

No open-source release is listed for Ecwid by Lightspeed. Shopware is open source (MIT for the Community Edition core. Paid plans add proprietary extensions under shopware AG's general terms).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopware.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopware.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "ecwid", "b": "shopware"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ecwid shopware`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ecwid.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/shopware.json

## Other comparisons with Ecwid by Lightspeed or Shopware

- [Adobe Commerce (Magento) vs Ecwid by Lightspeed](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-ecwid.md)
- [Adobe Commerce (Magento) vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-commerce-vs-shopware.md)
- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Ecwid by Lightspeed](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-ecwid.md)
- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-shopware.md)
- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Ecwid by Lightspeed](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-ecwid.md)
- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-shopware.md)
- [commercetools vs Ecwid by Lightspeed](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-ecwid.md)
- [commercetools vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commercetools-vs-shopware.md)
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- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Saleor API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-saleor.md)
- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Shopify API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-shopify.md)
- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Snipcart API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-snipcart.md)
- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Square](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-square.md)
- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Swell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-swell.md)
- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Vendure](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-vendure.md)
- [Ecwid by Lightspeed vs Wix Stores and eCommerce API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ecwid-vs-wix.md)
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- [Elastic Path API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elastic-path-vs-shopware.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-shopware.md)
- [Saleor API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-shopware.md)
- [Shopify API + MCP vs Shopware](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopify-vs-shopware.md)
- [Shopware vs Snipcart API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-snipcart.md)
- [Shopware vs Square](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-square.md)
- [Shopware vs Swell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-swell.md)
- [Shopware vs Vendure](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-vendure.md)
- [Shopware vs Wix Stores and eCommerce API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-wix.md)
- [Shopware vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/shopware-vs-woocommerce.md)