Perspectives worth sharing

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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The reality of technology change in ecommerce is that there is never a good time. Anything major needs to avoid disrupting the business and distracting everyone’s attention away from the business of selling products. So a modern technology project just cannot take 18 months of everyone’s time and potentially fail or cost twice what your so-called partner said it would. You need short projects, minimal timeline risk, and a partner who will do what they say they will do, when they said they would do it for the price they told you it would cost. But how is that going to be possible? Everyone is different, everyone has bodies buried in their SFCC build, everyone has other work to do. Well that’s what a partner should be there for - to take on the risk and work out ways to make the project as predictable and painless as possible while leaving you with a great outcome you can support yourselves if you wish.  That’s what 64labs does.

The Reality Check: Timelines and Hidden Delays

You want this over with. And so does everyone else. But on average if you use traditional system integrators a composable storefront project can take 9 months for hybrid, and more like 18 for a full build. 

Here’s how the competition typically breaks down (without naming names):

• “Standard” big consultancies: Projects take 12–18 months. If they can convince you to do hybrid they will. More money for them. Longer engagement for them. Phase 2s and Change Orders for them. No value for you.
  
• Boutique agencies: 9–12 months is often quoted, especially for complex multi-country or multi-brand work. There are some good companies in this bracket. But velocity requires experience and if this is their first rodeo they are going to make friends with the dirt a few times during your project before they get back on the horse. That takes time.
  
• Unassisted Internal team: This is the riskiest and likely longest project pathway of all. It is not that your team isn't great. But they have a day job. They cannot commit full time to a composable project, they cannot give it their full attention. And they have minimal experience of a composable build and what can derail these kinds of projects. They are good people. They want to do the project. But on their own they will make mistakes that will cost you months or lead the project into the weeds.
  

What 64Labs Actually Delivers

This is where it gets different. With 64Labs, the average timeline for a full composable storefront is 16–26 weeks from kickoff to launch. That’s four to six months: not a number picked from thin air, but what 10 real projects have taken.

How does it break down?

• Sprint 0 (Discovery, Accelerator application, Architecture and CMS): 4 weeks, focused on sharp requirements, practical, production-grade engineering by our top team, and actionable project plans. You are going to see the site working end to end, potentially in multiple locales, with new CMS integrated, at least with standard tooling on board. Cost: $185k
  
• Scopotype: 8 weeks of hands-on engineering, core commerce logic, problem solving, custom code rebuilds, 3P re-integrations, CMS rollout, and the plan to finish the site with your team or partner. Cost: $385k
  
• Build to Launch: 4 to 12 weeks, flexing with the messiness of multi-country or multi brand legacy integrations, the volume of migration work, the urgency of launch, the capacity and capability of your team. Cost: $100k to $300k
  
• Launch: 4 weeks prepping for launch for two weeks with final QA, planning and executing the production cutover or AB split, and full post-launch support for two weeks post launch. Cost: $65k
  

No long-winded up-front planning, no boomerang back to the drawing board at every misstep, just real delivery. If we miscalculate, we just get on and do the work required to catch up. No change orders, no problem.

How Much Should You Pay?

Here’s a painful reality: some named agencies will pitch you composable storefronts with sticker prices starting at $1.5 million, with the meter running for every slightly off-the-beaten-path integration and every dashboard tweak. 

• Big consultancies: Commonly north of $1 million before post-launch support and "phase two" fees.
  
• Boutiques: $750,000–$1.1 million is typical, with heavy change-orders and phase 2s as the project gets real.
  
• Low-cost players: Sub-$500,000 builds exist, but usually with rigid templates, reduced flexibility, and less robust engineering.
  

At 64Labs, the cost is clear and tied to real deliverables. Sprint 0, Scopotype, Build to Launch, and Launch are all included and laid out from the start. With just $600,000–$850,000 for a ready-to-scale composable storefront there is no nickel and diming and no “gotcha” line items. 

Plus, if you want us in your corner post-launch, you’re looking at $60,000–$100,000 per month, tailored to what you actually need.

Why the Gap? What Drives Time and Price

The gap is real, and most of it comes down to three things:

• Integration and Migration Complexity: More systems, clunkier legacy platforms, and higher custom logic add time and cost everywhere. You can either find a partner who will shoulder that risk - the 64labs model. Or you can find a partner that sees complexity and uncertainty as a way to squeeze more money from the project.
  
• Team Decisiveness: The fewer drawn-out meetings and “maybe next sprint” calls, the quicker things go. For SIs who rely on billable hours post-launch, and who are licking their lips at a phase 2, there is no hurry, no need to get things done, no need to make difficult decisions early.
  
• Expectation Management: Big players pad timelines for margin and risk; template shops skip real discovery, do less custom work, and shove more to “phase two.” With 64labs you get a fixed price for a well understood piece of work and an experienced team who have seen your problems before.
  

Project Breakdown at a Glance

Bottom Line

If you are serious about going composable, you want your storefront built around a playbook that has actually shipped multiple times, without the runarounds or sticker shock. The true cost is not just the fee; it’s the lost opportunity when launch dates slip and value never lands. At 64Labs, “on time” and “on budget” are not wishful thinking; they are the standard, backed up by actual reference projects. Ask us for names.

See’s Candies: Legendary Brand, Classic Problem

You know the brand, you probably know the box. See’s Candies is chocolate royalty. Founded in 1921, still run out of California, still oozing the same black-and-white nostalgia that somehow triggers everyone’s inner six-year-old the moment they see it. Warren Buffett calls See’s the “prototype of a dream business”. Show me another legacy confectioner with more than 200 shops, a seat at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting table, and a product with cult status.

But “classic” only gets you so far on the web. The digital world keeps moving, and the longer you run your business on an old e-comm foundation, the more you feel it. SiteGenesis was a powerhouse in 2014 but a potential burden in 2024. The See’s team had experts and grit, but reality was setting in: new features were getting harder, speed and innovation were falling behind, and SFRA looked like yesterday’s upgrade by the time they considered it. Nobody wants to pour money into tech that's already gliding into technology history.

What See’s Wanted

See’s didn’t just want a new shipping label slapped on the same box. They came to 64labs with three non-negotiables:

• Modernize the full e-commerce experience.
• Achieve real, measurable site performance gains.
• Build a flexible system to speed up innovation, not slow it down with vendor dependencies.

In plain English: stop playing defense and start building for whatever’s coming next.

The 64labs Playbook: Composable Storefront Done Right

Here’s where we tore up the old script. Forget incremental upgrades and sticking plasters on brittle architecture. 64labs delivered a ground-up composable SFCC storefront, with Amplience front and center as the first-ever headless CMS in the See’s stack. Multi-site, no extra partners tagging along, and all about future-proofing, not just fixing.

• Timeline: Six months from kick-off to site go-live. No “phase two” delays, no endless sign-offs.
• Integration: Amplience as the content engine, fully decoupled, giving content teams more power and site managers the flexibility every digital leader wants.
• Transition: No retraining disaster, no operational hiccups. See’s own team kept the keys. The platform was designed so they’d build on it, not constantly call us to patch holes.

As any seasoned tech leader will tell you, there’s no such thing as instant magic with a major platform shift. The early days after launch were a gradual climb, not a spike, but by month three, performance stats came right in line with what we expect from composable builds: bounce rates settling down by about 20%, conversions ticking up on mobile by about the same amount, and stability returning for peak traffic surges.

Why This Project Actually Mattered

Here’s the part nobody says out loud: digital transformation is as much about team empowerment as it is about shiny new tech. See’s leapfrogged the incremental, skipped the “safe” path that would have kept legacy quirks clinging on, and jumped into an architecture meant to help them adapt quickly. They got full ownership, no added complexity, and the freedom to build at their own pace.

Most importantly, See’s didn’t have to become a new company overnight. There wasn’t a giant consulting army or a risky vendor swap. It was their internal team plus 64labs, in a partnership that extended beyond “launch” to a real, ongoing roadmap for modernizing the rest of the digital ecosystem. That’s composable done the right way.

The Bottom Line

Your legacy doesn’t have to slow you down. See’s Candies looked at the same crossroads every heritage brand faces and decided to skip a generation instead of waiting to play catch-up. They built something future-proof - so now, they can move at a speed that matches the brand’s ambition.

That is what a composable strategy should look like. Not just shiny tech for a press release. A platform you own, a team that’s empowered, and a path cleared for whatever is next.

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