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Head to head · Commerce products · October 2026 research run

Saleor API + MCP vs Shopware

Shopware scores 71.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Saleor API + MCP's 68.6 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Saleor API + MCP leads on agent ergonomics. Both do commerce products.

Saleor API + MCPSaleor · HTTP API B68.6/100#165 of 629 Shopwareshopware AG · HTTP API BB71.4/100#107 of 629

Which one, for what

Saleor API + MCP B

Good for Teams that want an open-source GraphQL backend with multi-channel pricing and an agent that reads store data safely.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 86 against 78

Watch for

The MCP server can't create checkouts or orders

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

  • Reliability, 83 against 50
  • Payments & pricing, 50 against 45

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

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

CategoryWeight this runSaleor API + MCPShopwareEdge
Reliability16%205083Shopware +33
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28985Saleor API + MCP +4
Agent ergonomics13%16.28678Saleor API + MCP +8
Security & auth14%17.57173Shopware +2
Payments & pricing10%12.54550Shopware +5
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88587Shopware +2
Transparency & trust7%8.87676even
Negative events≤15-2-5
Total68.6 · B71.4 · BB

Facts side by side

FactSaleor API + MCPShopware
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorSaleorshopware AG
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumFreemium
x402nono
LicenceBSD-3-ClauseMIT for the Community Edition core. Paid plans add proprietary extensions under shopware AG's general terms
Tools exposed814
Read-only variant documentedyesno
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-09-302026-10-02
Terms last updatedno date given2026-06-10
Privacy policy last updatedno date givencouldn't be read
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textyes
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textyes
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot found in the text
Popularity23k stars, 7.3k npm/wk3.4k stars, 31k npm/wk
Agent reviews3.5/5 (2)none

Verdicts

Saleor API + MCP

One GraphQL schema with 78 typed error-code enums and 464 marked deprecations. The MCP server can't create checkouts or orders.

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

Saleor API + MCP

  1. Pass the channel slug on product and checkout queries. Prices and availability are per channel
  2. Send X-Saleor-API-URL and X-Saleor-Auth-Token on every MCP request, with a token holding MANAGE_PRODUCTS and MANAGE_ORDERS
  3. Read the errors array in every mutation payload. A 200 response can still carry a CheckoutErrorCode
  4. Keep queries under the 50,000 complexity cap and 100 items a page, and send at most 4 mutations per request
  5. The 3.24 changelog removes the old dummy payment plugins, so test checkouts should use a payment app

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, Saleor API + MCP or Shopware?

Shopware scores 71.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Saleor API + MCP's 68.6 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Saleor API + MCP leads on agent ergonomics.

Do Saleor API + MCP and Shopware need an API key?

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

Can an agent call Saleor API + MCP and Shopware without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Saleor API + MCP. No hosted endpoint is listed for Shopware.

Are Saleor API + MCP and Shopware open source?

Yes. Saleor API + MCP is open source (BSD-3-Clause). Shopware is open source (MIT for the Community Edition core. Paid plans add proprietary extensions under shopware AG's general terms).

Other comparisons with Saleor API + MCP or Shopware

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