SCAPI vs. OCAPI - Which Salesforce Commerce API Really Matters for 2025

SCAPI vs. OCAPI: Which Salesforce Commerce API Really Matters for 2025?

You keep hearing these acronyms, SCAPI and OCAPI, tossed around as if everyone knows what they are and how they are different. But for most e-commerce teams trying to modernize, the only thing clear about Salesforce Commerce APIs is the confusion. So let’s clear it up, focusing on actual trade-offs and numbers where they exist, minus any of the sales fluff or alphabet soup.

What is OCAPI, Really?

OCAPI, or Open Commerce API, is the original integration workhorse behind Salesforce Commerce Cloud. It’s been in the wild for more than a decade. Most legacy Salesforce storefronts use OCAPI for everything from simple cart adjustments to full-scale inventory syncs. The API is built on REST principles, allows deep access to data, and splits up functionality into Shop, Data, and Meta endpoints. In plain words, OCAPI lets you manipulate almost every piece of business logic tied to your store, including custom hooks unique to your implementation.

Here are some real-world numbers: OCAPI currently supports thousands of production storefronts and, according to public developer forums, processes millions of daily requests across various Salesforce clients. Most companies running integrations built prior to 2020 almost certainly depend on OCAPI somewhere in their stack. Flexible permissions, robust access controls, and years of documentation make it relatively straightforward if not always future-proof.

But it is slowing down. Salesforce has officially said that there will be no new development for OCAPI beyond bug fixes. If you are waiting for innovation here, you will be disappointed. 

What is SCAPI and How is it Different?

SCAPI, or Salesforce Commerce API, is the answer to the demands of a more modern approach to commerce, specifically, the need for agility, speed, and “headless” builds where front-end and back-end systems run distinct from each other. Salesforce began rolling out SCAPI in 2020 to support cloud-native architectures and composable commerce. Unlike OCAPI, SCAPI is focused on two core areas: Shopper APIs designed for everything customer-facing, and Admin APIs which power the tools merchants use every day.

Let’s talk numbers. According to Salesforce product update notes, SCAPI now handles over 70 percent of all new API-powered store projects launched on Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Performance tests published by Salesforce show that SCAPI endpoints routinely deliver sub-150ms API response times at scale, especially when using their web-tier caching and built-in personalization logic. This directly impacts cart and product browsing speed, which is one of the drivers behind higher conversion rates in modern storefronts. That isn’t always what you will see with heavier customization in the mix - which means most of the time - but SCAPI is definitely fit for composable purpose.

Because SCAPI integrates natively with Salesforce’s broader ecosystem, it supports single sign-on through OAuth2, allows for granular analytics via built-in dashboards, and keeps up with the rapid pace of business changes. According to Salesforce, there have been over 200 feature releases and improvements to SCAPI since 2021 alone. To a degree that reflects how new it is, but we would expect SCAPI development to get faster rather than slower as SFCC refocuses energy on B2C on SFCC in the coming months. SCAPI is the future of Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

So Where Should You Focus?

For teams managing legacy storefronts or deep customizations glued together with years of OCAPI work, there is no burning platform. It will all still work for the foreseeable future. OCAPI will keep doing its job for now, though the clock is ticking. If your store processes 10,000 orders a day and has six different ERP systems in the mix, you probably still need OCAPI’s mature endpoints and flexibility for edge case handling.

On the other hand, if you are starting a fresh project, re-platforming, or want to build for where commerce is headed, SCAPI is an urgent next step on the commerce roadmap. It is the only API that will get new features, performance improvements, and long-term support. SCAPI is the better fit for sites expecting to support multiple front-ends (think web, app, or social commerce), and it is built for scalability. Salesforce claims SCAPI can scale to thousands of concurrent shoppers with minimal tuning. But I believe you could call that a forward looking statement.

A few cautionary numbers: Some highly specialized OCAPI features still are not available in SCAPI as of mid-2025, so double check your requirements before committing fully to the newer API. For most standard commerce workloads, though, Salesforce is closing the gap fast. They are clearly signaling that within another year, all critical functionality will be available in SCAPI.

What About Hybrid and Migration Scenarios?

You are not locked in. Salesforce supports running both APIs in parallel so you can modernize piecemeal. This is especially useful for retailers who cannot afford big-bang migrations. In practice, teams often start by building new headless front-ends with SCAPI while leaving legacy business integrations running on OCAPI. Over time, more endpoints are migrated as the new APIs catch up and as custom logic is untangled from previous implementations.

Final Thoughts

If you only remember two things: OCAPI is solid as a rock, but just as motionless - it ain’t getting any better.  SCAPI is modern and evolving fast and has increasing development effort by SFCC behind it. Ignoring SCAPI in a new build means missing out on performance lifts, monitoring tools, and composable commerce support. 

Which of them you use will make less difference than the quality of your composable or API build. Clean, unified data and flexible infrastructure will have a bigger impact on your actual speed and innovation than obsessing over acronyms. Figure out what processes you need to modernize and then choose (or retain) the API architecture that actually fits that need. 

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