UCP vs ACP vs MCP

Use this page to decide which protocol to focus on first.

Figure: Protocol decision map.

Side-by-Side

| Protocol | Core Purpose | Best Starting Point | | --- | --- | --- | | UCP | Commerce execution | Merchants + checkout flows | | ACP | Agentic commerce interoperability | Agent platforms + payment rails | | MCP | Context/data access | Internal tools + data connectors |

Rule of Thumb

• If your agent must buy or book, start with UCP.
• If your agent must read private context, start with MCP.
• If your agent must work across many platforms, evaluate ACP alongside UCP.

Related

• UCP Overview
• UCP vs ACP
• UCP vs MCP