# Elastic Path API + MCP vs Medusa API + MCP

> Medusa API + MCP has a score of 63.6 (B) against Elastic Path API + MCP's 50.4 (D). Both do commerce products. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 39 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-05

Medusa API + MCP has a score of 63.6 (B) against Elastic Path API + MCP's 50.4 (D). Both do commerce products. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 39 points.

- Elastic Path API + MCP: grade D, 50.4/100, rank #358 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elastic-path.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elastic-path.json
- Medusa API + MCP: grade B, 63.6/100, rank #200 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/medusa.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/medusa.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Elastic Path API + MCP for reliability (+13).

Pick Medusa API + MCP for schema & documentation (+15), agent ergonomics (+39), payments & pricing (+38), maintenance & community (+16), transparency & trust (+9).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Elastic Path API + MCP | Medusa API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 55 | Elastic Path API + MCP +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 81 | Medusa API + MCP +15 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 33 | 72 | Medusa API + MCP +39 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 39 | 40 | Medusa API + MCP +1 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 12 | 50 | Medusa API + MCP +38 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 93 | Medusa API + MCP +16 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 73 | Medusa API + MCP +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **50.4 · D** | **63.6 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Elastic Path API + MCP | Medusa API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Elastic Path | Medusa |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://useast.api.elasticpath.com/v2` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 95 | none |
| 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 | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.medusajs/medusa-mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-09-28 |
| Popularity | 754 npm/wk | 37k stars, 203k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Elastic Path API + MCP.** Cart, promotion code, checkout and order endpoints cover the whole test flow. MCP server exposes 95 tools with full CRUD, no read-only mode and no public source or licence.

**Medusa API + MCP.** MIT core you can self-host, with Medusa Cloud running the same APIs and no GMV fee. The official MCP server is docs-only and limited to Cloud accounts.

## Before you call either

### Elastic Path API + MCP

1. Use a client_credentials token server-side only. It has full CRUD on the store
2. Pick the base URL for the store's region (useast or euwest), or every call returns 401
3. Loading the MCP server costs 95 tool definitions, so enable it only for agents that need the back office
4. On a 429, wait a few seconds and retry. No Retry-After header is sent
5. Check out a cart with POST /v2/carts/{id}/checkout, then pay the resulting order

### Medusa API + MCP

1. Send x-publishable-api-key on every /store call. It decides which sales channels and products the agent sees
2. Ask for only the fields you need with `fields`. Store routes reject relations nested more than three deep since 2.20.0
3. Read the store's regions before creating a cart, since prices and shipping options depend on region
4. Place the order with POST /store/carts/{id}/complete after shipping and payment sessions are set
5. Read the release notes before upgrading a minor version. Breaking changes land there

## Other comparisons with Elastic Path API + MCP or Medusa API + MCP

- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Elastic Path API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-elastic-path.md)
- [BigCommerce API + MCP vs Medusa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bigcommerce-vs-medusa.md)
- [Commerce Layer API + MCP vs Elastic Path API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce-layer-vs-elastic-path.md)
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- [Elastic Path API + MCP vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elastic-path-vs-woocommerce.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs Saleor API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-saleor.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs Shopify API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-shopify.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs Snipcart API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-snipcart.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs Swell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-swell.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs Vendure](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-vendure.md)
- [Medusa API + MCP vs WooCommerce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/medusa-vs-woocommerce.md)