Head to head · Design files · October 2026 research run
Framer Server API vs Melius
Melius scores 54.1 (C) on agent readiness against Framer Server API's 52.6 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Framer Server API leads on security & auth, payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do design files.
Which one, for what
Good for Coding agents that build or update Framer sites, CMS content and code components and can run Node.
Ahead on
- Security & auth, 50 against 43
- Payments & pricing, 25 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 66
- Transparency & trust, 75 against 55
Watch for
No REST endpoints and no official MCP server. You need Node 22 and the framer-api package
Melius C
Good for An agent producing batches of ad creative, product images or short videos on a shared canvas that people then review, with many models behind one key.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 69 against 43
Also in its favour
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
Watch for
API keys have no scopes. A key works with its creator's role in every team the creator belongs to
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Framer Server API | Melius | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 43 | 69 | Melius +26 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 69 | 70 | Melius +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 47 | 51 | Melius +4 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 50 | 43 | Framer Server API +7 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 25 | 20 | Framer Server API +5 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 77 | 66 | Framer Server API +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 75 | 55 | Framer Server API +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 52.6 · D | 54.1 · C |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Framer Server API | Melius |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Framer | Melius AI, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | https://api.melius.com/api/v1 |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | proprietary | Proprietary service under Melius's terms of service. The mel CLI on npm is MIT, with no public source repository found |
| Tools exposed | none | 75 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-10 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 336k npm/wk | 9 npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |
Verdicts
Framer Server API
Same surface as the Plugin API, so canvas nodes, components, code files and CMS are writable. No REST endpoints and no official MCP server. You need Node 22 and the framer-api package.
Melius
One backend serves a 59-operation REST API with a public OpenAPI spec, a hosted MCP server with OAuth sign-in and a JSON-only CLI, and the status page shows no incidents since July 2026. API keys carry no scopes and work with their creator's role, and no rate-limit numbers, changelog or per-model credit prices are published.
Before you call either
Framer Server API
connect(projectUrl, process.env.FRAMER_API_KEY)then call Plugin API methods, and close the connection when done- Publish creates a preview deployment. Promote it with
deploy()only after checking it - Keep batches small and idempotent, since a dropped connection can stop a run halfway
- For interactive work from a coding agent,
npx @framer/agent setupis the supported route and keeps changes on a branch - Check the changelog before upgrading. v5.0.0 changed CMS array fields and requires stable
idvalues
Melius
- Generate by creating a node on a canvas, starting a run with POST /nodes/{nodeId}/runs, then polling GET /node-runs/{nodeRunId} until
statusis finished or failed - Over MCP, call
get_guidefirst,show_presencebefore node changes andcanvas_plan_layoutbeforebulk_create_nodes - On 429 wait
Retry-Afterseconds. After a timeout or 5xx on a write, read the canvas or run state before resubmitting, because there are no idempotency keys - Read credit costs from GET /generation/models?category=image before a bulk run. A 400 can mean the team is out of credits
- Downloads arrive as a ZIP from a signed URL. Fetch that URL without the
Authorizationheader
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Framer Server API or Melius?
Melius scores 54.1 (C) on agent readiness against Framer Server API's 52.6 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Framer Server API leads on security & auth, payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.
Do Framer Server API and Melius need an API key?
Framer Server API needs an API key. Melius takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.
Can an agent call Framer Server API and Melius without installing anything?
No hosted endpoint is listed for Framer Server API. Melius has a hosted endpoint at https://api.melius.com/api/v1.
Other comparisons with Framer Server API or Melius
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/framer-vs-melius.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/framer.json·/api/v1/tools/melius.json - From a terminal
anchor compare framer melius(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "framer", "b": "melius"}at/mcp, no key