# Kintsugi vs Zamp

> Kintsugi scores 60.7 (C) on agent readiness against Zamp's 49.5 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Zamp leads on payments & pricing. Both do tax calculate. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kintsugi-vs-zamp
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- 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

Kintsugi scores 60.7 (C) on agent readiness against Zamp's 49.5 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Zamp leads on payments & pricing. Both do tax calculate.

- Kintsugi: grade C, 60.7/100, rank #392 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kintsugi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kintsugi.json
- Zamp: grade D, 49.5/100, rank #609 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zamp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/zamp.json

## Which one, for what

### Kintsugi (C)

Good for: An agent working for a seller that already has Kintsugi Premium and wants estimates, transaction sync, exemptions, nexus, registrations and filing status through one API, or read-only answers about an account through the OAuth MCP server.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 87 against 44
- Agent ergonomics, 75 against 64
- Security & auth, 52 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 78 against 42
- Transparency & trust, 60 against 50

Watch for: API access, SDKs and real-time tax calculation are listed only under Premium, which is priced on request. API keys need a paid plan that includes them

### Zamp (D)

Good for: An agent working for a US or Canadian seller that wants Zamp's team to register, file and remit, and needs calculation and transaction sync through a small API.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 20 against 13

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where Kintsugi loses 3 points for them

Watch for: No OpenAPI file for the API. The one file on the docs host is the documentation platform's plant store sample


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kintsugi | Zamp | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 73 | 72 | Kintsugi +1 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 44 | Kintsugi +43 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 64 | Kintsugi +11 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 52 | 40 | Kintsugi +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 13 | 20 | Zamp +7 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 78 | 42 | Kintsugi +36 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 50 | Kintsugi +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.7 · C** | **49.5 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kintsugi | Zamp |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kintsugi AI, Inc. | Zamp Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.trykintsugi.com` | `https://api.zamp.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Kintsugi Terms of Service. The Python SDK repository is MIT | Proprietary service under Zamp's Standard Terms and Conditions, which form part of a signed Order Form. The sandbox has its own Developer trial terms |
| Tools exposed | 55 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-08-31 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-29 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-04-13 | 2025-02-11 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 71 npm/wk, 10 PyPI/wk | none |

## Verdicts

**Kintsugi.** The docs are built for machine readers, with llms.txt, Markdown pages, a public OpenAPI 3.1 file, a dated changelog and an MCP server whose 55 tools carry read-only and destructive annotations. API keys need the custom-priced Premium plan and carry no scopes, no general rate limit is published, and breaking changes reached the pinned 2026-07-21 release in October 2026.

**Zamp.** A free 30-day sandbox key needs no card or sales call, and the docs are served as Markdown with llms.txt and a published limit of 1,000 requests a minute. There is no OpenAPI file, SDK, API changelog or published price, production keys come with a sales-led account, and the site footer says SOC 2 compliance is in progress.

## Before you call either

### Kintsugi

1. Send `Api-Key` and pin `Api-Version` (for example `2026-10-06`) on Tenanted API calls to `https://api.trykintsugi.com`. Without the header a request runs against `2026-07-21`
2. Use `x-api-key` and `x-organization-id` with `/v1` paths for the SDKs and the docs MCP server. They don't cover the Tenanted API
3. Call `POST /tax-estimations` for a quote. Nothing is stored. Record the sale with a transaction create, which answers 202, then check `processingStatus` before reading tax totals
4. Always send `externalId` on creates. A repeat with the same `externalId` and `source` returns the stored record with 200 and doesn't apply the new fields
5. Branch on the error `code`, not the message. Retry 429, 500 and 503 with exponential backoff, and restart paging from the first page on `stale_cursor`

### Zamp

1. Call `POST /calculations` for a quote and `POST /transactions` only when the sale is final. Put the returned `taxDue` in `taxCollected` when posting
2. Keep transaction and line item ids to 25 characters. A repeated `POST /transactions` with an existing id returns 409 `CONFLICT`, so a retry doesn't create a second record
3. For a refund, post a new transaction with `parentId` set to the sale's id and a negative `quantity`. Never send a negative `amount` on a line item
4. Send `shipToAddress.state` and `country` set to CA for Canadian orders. `POST /addresses` validates US addresses only
5. Page lists with `limit` (1 to 100, default 10) and `cursor` until `nextCursor` is null. `GET /transactions` returns only transactions written with the same key
6. Don't store sensitive or personal data in the sandbox. Trial data is deleted after 30 days and the trial terms forbid live customer data

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kintsugi or Zamp?

Kintsugi scores 60.7 (C) on agent readiness against Zamp's 49.5 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Zamp leads on payments & pricing.

### Do Kintsugi and Zamp need an API key?

Kintsugi takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Zamp needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Kintsugi and Zamp without installing anything?

Yes. Kintsugi has a hosted endpoint at https://api.trykintsugi.com and Zamp at https://api.zamp.com.


## For agents

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

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