Choosing a commerce backend
A plain comparison for developers and AI coding agents deciding what should handle products, stock, checkout and orders. It covers when CommerceForAI is the right choice and when it isn't.
The short version
| If you're… | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Adding a store to an app or site an agent is building | CommerceForAI | One command gives a working test store with no sign-up. The agent keeps writing your code; orders, stock and payments are handled. |
| Wanting an agent to run the store day to day | CommerceForAI | An MCP server any client can connect to, with refunds, labels and order edits allowed inside limits the owner sets. |
| Wanting a finished storefront, themes and an app store, with no code | Shopify | It's a complete hosted shop with a large ecosystem and a point-of-sale system. |
| Taking one-off payments with nothing to track | Stripe on its own | A Payment Link is enough. You don't need stock, orders or shipping. |
| Needing to self-host and change the commerce engine itself | Medusa or similar | Open-source engines you run and extend. More control, more to operate. |
What an agent has to build with each
| CommerceForAI | Stripe on its own | Shopify | Self-hosted engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start without a human signing up | Yes: npx commerceforai init | No: needs a Stripe account and keys | Needs an account to sell | Needs a server and database |
| Stock that can't oversell | Built in | You build it | Built in | Built in |
| Orders from payment events | Built in | You write the webhook handling | Built in | Built in |
| Refunds, returns, order edits | Built in | You build them | Built in | Built in or plugins |
| Your own code and design | Yes, any framework | Yes | Themes, or a separate headless build | Yes |
| Whose payment account | The merchant's own Stripe | The merchant's own Stripe | Shopify Payments or a gateway | Your choice |
| Something to host and patch | No | Your own order system | No | Yes |
| Cost with no sales | $0 | $0 | A monthly plan | Hosting |
Prices and a like-for-like monthly cost table are on the pricing page.
Why agents do well with it
- No sign-up to start. The agent runs one command and has a store and an API key. The owner claims it later with one link.
- It can check its own work.
setupStatus()lists what's left with the exact fix, andsimulateOrder()runs a full purchase without a browser. - Errors say what to do. A mistyped field names the right one. A request beyond a key's limit says so, with the numbers.
- Small to read. llms.txt is a short index, and every docs page is available as markdown by adding
.md. - Safe to hand over. The owner can give an agent a key that is read-only or capped per refund, label and gift card.
npx commerceforai init # a free test store and API key, no sign-up
npm install commerceforaiWhen not to use CommerceForAI
- You want a no-code shop with themes and an app marketplace. Use Shopify.
- You sell in person. There is no point-of-sale app.
- You need shipping prices that change by destination or weight at checkout. A store has one set of flat rates for the countries it ships to.
- You can't use Stripe, for example because of your country or what you sell.
- You need an uptime guarantee today. The service is in beta and has no service-level commitment yet. Live status and 90 days of uptime are on the status page.
Moving from Shopify
Products, variants, prices, stock and images come across from a Shopify export or the Admin API: see Move from Shopify. Past orders and customers come across from Shopify's order and customer exports as history. Discount codes aren't in Shopify's exports, so those are recreated.