# Saleor API + MCP vs Swell

> Saleor API + MCP has a score of 68.7 (B) against Swell's 55.1 (C). Both do commerce products. The largest gap is security & auth, 36 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-swell
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-swell.md (~1,550 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-swell.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/saleor-vs-swell.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: 2026-10-04

Saleor API + MCP has a score of 68.7 (B) against Swell's 55.1 (C). Both do commerce products. The largest gap is security & auth, 36 points.

- Saleor API + MCP: grade B, 68.7/100, rank #121 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/saleor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/saleor.json
- Swell: grade C, 55.1/100, rank #317 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/swell.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/swell.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Saleor API + MCP for schema & documentation (+21), agent ergonomics (+21), security & auth (+36), payments & pricing (+20), transparency & trust (+26).

Pick Swell for reliability (+13).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Saleor API + MCP | Swell | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 63 | Swell +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 89 | 68 | Saleor API + MCP +21 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 65 | Saleor API + MCP +21 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 35 | Saleor API + MCP +36 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 45 | 25 | Saleor API + MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 82 | Saleor API + MCP +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 51 | Saleor API + MCP +26 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **68.7 · B** | **55.1 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Saleor API + MCP | Swell |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Saleor | Swell |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.swell.store` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | BSD-3-Clause | none |
| Tools exposed | 8 | 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 | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-30 |
| Popularity | 23k stars, 7.3k npm/wk | 4.5k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 2.5/5 (2) |

## 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.

**Swell.** Live /:models schema with field types and descriptions for every store. One full-access secret key per environment, with no scoped or read-only key.

## 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

### Swell

1. Call GET /:models once and cache it. It's the ground truth for custom fields
2. Check `result.errors` after every write. A failed validation still returns 200
3. Use `$set` to replace an array. A plain PUT merges arrays by element id and never shrinks them
4. Use an sk_test_ key while testing. A bare sk_ prefix is live
5. Keep `expand` and `include` small. Each level past the first three points adds rate-limit weight

## Other comparisons with Saleor API + MCP or Swell

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