# Saleor API + MCP vs Spree Commerce

> Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) to Saleor's 68.6 (B) for commerce catalogues. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-spree-commerce.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: 2026-10-09

Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Saleor API + MCP's 68.6 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Saleor API + MCP leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do commerce catalogues.

- Saleor API + MCP: grade B, 68.6/100, rank #210 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/saleor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/saleor.json
- Spree Commerce: grade BB, 70.4/100, rank #155 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spree-commerce.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/spree-commerce.json
- Best commerce platforms and checkout APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/commerce/index.md
- All 136 commerce comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/commerce/index.md

## 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:
- Security & auth, 71 against 65
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 60

Watch for: The MCP server can't create checkouts or orders

### Spree Commerce (BB)

Good for: Teams that want to own a Rails commerce backend with marketplace, B2B and multi-region functions and drive it through REST.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 82 against 50
- Payments & pricing, 55 against 45

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

Watch for: Six GitHub security advisories between 8 January and 20 July 2026, four rated High, most of them access-control flaws on guest carts, orders and addresses


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Saleor API + MCP | Spree Commerce | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 82 | Spree Commerce +32 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 89 | 85 | Saleor API + MCP +4 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 90 | Spree Commerce +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 65 | Saleor API + MCP +6 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 45 | 55 | Spree Commerce +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 81 | Saleor API + MCP +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 76 | 60 | Saleor API + MCP +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **68.6 · B** | **70.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Saleor API + MCP | Spree Commerce |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Saleor | Vendo Connect Inc |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence |
| Tools exposed | 8 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-07-28 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |
| Popularity | 23k stars, 7.3k npm/wk | 16k stars, 1.6k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (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.

**Spree Commerce.** A self-hosted BSD 3-Clause platform with public OpenAPI files for the Store and Admin APIs, scoped secret keys, documented rate limits and idempotency keys on cart and checkout calls. GitHub lists six security advisories between January and July 2026, four rated High, and the default docs describe the 6.0 release candidate while 5.6.1 is the stable release.

## 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

### Spree Commerce

1. Send a publishable key in `X-Spree-Api-Key` on every Store API call. Add `X-Spree-Token` with the cart token for guest carts, or a customer JWT as a Bearer token
2. Send `Idempotency-Key` with the cart token or a customer JWT on cart, payment and completion calls. A request carrying only the publishable key is never cached
3. Ask for `fields` and `expand` explicitly. Relations are left out by default and `limit` stops at 100
4. Use a secret key with the narrowest scopes for the Admin API. `read_all` gives a read-only key, and the CLI's auto-minted local key is read-only
5. Read the docs under `/docs/v5` for a 5.6 store. The default docs describe 6.0, which renames shipments to fulfilments and splits carts from orders

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Saleor API + MCP or Spree Commerce?

Spree Commerce scores 70.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Saleor API + MCP's 68.6 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Saleor API + MCP leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Do Saleor API + MCP and Spree Commerce need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call Saleor API + MCP and Spree Commerce without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Saleor API + MCP. No hosted endpoint is listed for Spree Commerce.

### Are Saleor API + MCP and Spree Commerce open source?

Yes. Saleor API + MCP is open source (BSD-3-Clause). Spree Commerce is open source (BSD-3-Clause for the backend, MIT for the npm packages. Enterprise Edition code is under a separate commercial licence).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Saleor API + MCP or Spree Commerce

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