Commerce Layer vs Saleor (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Commerce Layer grades higher than Saleor: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Commerce Layer grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Saleor grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Commerce Layer
API-first checkout and order management for headless commerce
Saleor
Open-source headless commerce with managed Cloud hosting
Which one is for you
Pick Commerce Layer if
- Fits if you are a developer who wants checkout and order APIs behind your own front end
- Works for prototypes and small live stores under 100 orders a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a ready-made storefront, as there isn't one
- Tight if you outgrow 2 users, 2 markets or 1,000 SKUs, since the next step is a sales quote
- Not for you if you want a published price above the free plan
- Watch out: payment gateway fees are not included in Commerce Layer's per-order cost, and there is no on-premise version
Pick Saleor if
- Fits if you're a high-volume merchant with engineers and want a custom headless build
- Works for teams that want the option to self-host and keep their data
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're small: Cloud starts at $1,599 a month, and Volume is $3,999
- Not for you if you want to try it on a real shop free, since Sandboxes are non-commercial
- Watch out: Accelerator is $6,000 and Forward Deployed Engineering $12,000, credited back over 12 months after go-live
- Skip it if you want a finished store, as Saleor Engine is beta and the storefront is yours to build
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACommerce LayerFair | 1.6GPASaleorWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe Developer plan is $0 with 1,000 SKUs and 100 free live orders a month, and Enterprise is a quote. Free but capped, with no published price in between. | DSelect is $1,599 a month for up to $200,000 in monthly sales, with 0.8% on orders above that. The category's dearest tenth starts at $89. Migration help and 24/7 support are included. |
| Free plan and trial | BDeveloper plan: 1 organization, 2 users, 2 markets, 1,000 SKUs, unlimited test orders and 100 live orders a month, which a small project could live on. | DSandboxes are free forever but for non-commercial use only, so you can't run a real shop on them. No trial is listed. |
| Features | CCheckout, order management, markets, price lists and promotions through APIs. The listing shows a gap: no built-in storefront, so a front end has to be built or bought. | CGraphQL core, Saleor Apps, a dashboard and Cloud-only Essential Apps. Saleor Engine is labeled beta, and a storefront has to be built. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. It is an API platform that developers must build on. | DNo store rating on record. Customising means building apps over GraphQL, so it needs developers. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb platform with a core API and MCP access. No desktop or phone app, and no integrations listed. | BWeb, with GraphQL, webhooks and pub/sub, and a Cloud or self-hosted option. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | developers building their own storefront | API-first stores for high-volume sellers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Commerce Layer and Saleor. How we grade
Where they differ
- Saleor is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Commerce Layer also covers inventory.
At a glance
| Commerce Layer | Saleor | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $1599 per month (Cloud Select, up to $200,000 monthly GMV) |
| Free plan | Developer plan: 1 organization, 2 users, 2 markets, 1,000 SKUs, unlimited test orders and 100 free live orders a month. | Sandboxes: free forever for non-commercial use such as prototyping and trying new features. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Commerce Layer, Inc. | Saleor Commerce |
| Price read from | commercelayer.io | saleor.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Commerce Layer
- It is an API platform with no built-in storefront, so a front end has to be built or bought separately.
- The Developer plan is capped at 2 users, 2 markets and 1,000 SKUs; above that, pricing is custom through sales.
- Payment gateway fees are not included in Commerce Layer's per-order cost.
- There is no on-premise version, and no trial period outside the free Developer plan.
Saleor
- Cloud pricing is tied to monthly GMV, and orders above the plan's limit add a percentage fee (0.8% on Select, 0.4% on Volume).
- The free Sandboxes plan is for non-commercial use only.
- Optional add-ons: the Accelerator Plan costs $6,000 and Forward Deployed Engineering $12,000, credited back over 12 months after go-live.
- Saleor Engine is labeled beta, and the Essential Apps run only on Saleor Cloud.
Key features
Commerce Layer
- Universal checkout API
- A stateless checkout that handles multiple markets and currencies and connects to the payment gateway and tax calculator a team picks.
- Distributed order management
- Tracks inventory across locations and covers the order lifecycle from reservation to shipment. Sold as an add-on to the Enterprise plan.
- Promotion engine
- Market-specific promotion rules set in a visual editor or a JSON-based rule language. Also an Enterprise add-on.
- Markets and price lists
- A market ties together a merchant, an inventory model and a price list, so one organization can sell in several regions or business models.
- Shoppable links
- Links turn a SKU or set of SKUs into a small storefront that can be shared by email, SMS or messaging apps without building a full site.
- Metrics and provisioning APIs
- The Metrics API pulls order, return and cart history for custom reports; the Provisioning API automates account and credential setup.
Saleor
- Headless GraphQL core
- Customization is done by building Saleor Apps that connect through GraphQL, webhooks and pub/sub, which keeps the core files untouched.
- Saleor Engine
- A beta feature that runs your storefront, apps and ERP sync alongside Saleor, with deployment, variables and logs managed from the Dashboard.
- Essential Apps
- Cloud-only apps cover multilingual customer emails, Adyen payments, Google Merchant Center feeds, MCP, ACP/UCP and Ink AI Search.
- Pulse dashboard
- Dashboard home shows revenue, orders, returns and low stock, and flags anything that looks unusual.
- Migration and engineering support
- Each Cloud plan includes migration from platforms such as Shopify Plus or Magento, a delivery lead, a Slack channel and 24/7 support with SLAs.
- Cloud and self-hosted
- Moving between Saleor Cloud and self-hosted open source is supported, though a data migration or version update may be needed.
Plans
Commerce Layer
Developer$0
1 organization, 2 users, 2 markets, 1,000 SKUs, unlimited test orders, 100 free live orders a month, core API and MCP access.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited organizations, users, markets and SKUs, a custom yearly order volume, dedicated support and SLAs. Quoted through sales.
Saleor
Sandboxes$0
Free forever, for non-commercial use only: prototyping, side projects and trying new features.
Select$1599
per month, up to $200,000 monthly GMV
For new projects and smaller companies; 0.8% charged on orders above the GMV limit, with a fair API usage policy.
Volume$3999
per month, up to $1,000,000 monthly GMV
For high-volume businesses; 0.4% charged on orders above the GMV limit, with a fair API usage policy.
EnterpriseCustom
Negotiated pricing with a fair API usage policy. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Commerce Layer
- Nonprofit
Pro bono plan for nonprofits
Commerce Layer says it offers pro bono plans to nonprofit organizations that apply and tell their story.
Saleor
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Commerce Layer or Saleor?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Commerce Layer publishes no starting price, and Saleor starts at $1599 per month (Cloud Select, up to $200,000 monthly GMV).
Which has a free plan, Commerce Layer or Saleor?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Commerce Layer and Saleor have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.