{
 "url": "https://agenticweb.wiki/compare/x402-vs-agentic-commerce-protocol/",
 "title": "x402 vs Agentic Commerce Protocol",
 "description": "x402 vs Agentic Commerce Protocol: The map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both. Side-by-side step, governance, status…",
 "markdown_url": "https://agenticweb.wiki/compare/x402-vs-agentic-commerce-protocol/index.md",
 "markdown": "# x402 vs Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)\n\nThe map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both.\n\n[7 Pay](/category/pay/) [x402](/protocols/x402/) · [7 Pay](/category/pay/) [Agentic Commerce Protocol](/protocols/agentic-commerce-protocol/)\n\n|  | [x402](/protocols/x402/) | [Agentic Commerce Protocol](/protocols/agentic-commerce-protocol/) ACP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Lifecycle step | 7 Pay: Settle the bill | 7 Pay: Settle the bill |\n| Answers | How can an HTTP client pay per-request or per-resource, in stablecoins, without accounts, API keys, or signup? | How do a buyer's agent and a merchant complete a deterministic, programmatic checkout without the agent becoming the merchant of record? |\n| Governed by | x402 Foundation, a Series of LF Projects, LLC (Linux Foundation); operational launch announced 2026-07-14; Executive Director Michael Hursta from 2026-10-01; 50+ members | Technical Steering Committee (up to 7 org seats); OpenAI, Stripe, and Meta are lead maintainers, with OpenAI and Stripe as Founding Maintainers holding last-resort veto over mission, neutrality, security, and fork-integrity decisions |\n| Status (issuer's words) | Open, neutral standard for internet-native payments | Beta open standard, interaction model for connecting buyers, agents, and businesses |\n| Version | x402 protocol specification v2, transports-v2/http.md | 2026-04-17 (date-versioned spec; unreleased/ tracks current development) (2026-04-17) |\n| Form / transport | HTTP header | endpoint |\n| Found at | none — signalled per-request via the 402 status code, not a fixed well-known path | Bilateral capability negotiation (per RFC: capability_negotiation) between agent platform and merchant; no fixed well-known path published |\n| Implementation | multi-implementation — x402 Foundation (x402.org live dashboard) | multi-implementation — OpenAI and Stripe (project README) |\n| Evidence | 5 verified | 3 verified, 2 reported |\n| Primary use case | Accept payments from agents | Let agents buy on behalf of a person |\n| Last verified | 2026-10-23 (current) | 2026-10-23 (current) |\n| Specification | [https://github.com/x402-foundation/x402/blob/main/specs/transports-v2/http.md](https://github.com/x402-foundation/x402/blob/main/specs/transports-v2/http.md) | [https://github.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol](https://github.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol) |\n\n## When to use which\n\n- Choose x402 when your question is “How can an HTTP client pay per-request or per-resource, in stablecoins, without accounts, API keys, or signup?” and you accept its maturity: status \"Open, neutral standard for internet-native payments\", implementation multi-implementation (x402 Foundation (x402.org live dashboard)).\n- Choose Agentic Commerce Protocol when your question is “How do a buyer's agent and a merchant complete a deterministic, programmatic checkout without the agent becoming the merchant of record?” and you accept its maturity: status \"Beta open standard, interaction model for connecting buyers, agents, and businesses\", implementation multi-implementation (OpenAI and Stripe (project README)).\n\nGuidance is derived from the two records (question, status, implementation, prerequisites, pairings), not from opinion. Each record's page carries its numbered references.\n\n## Read the full articles\n\n- [x402](/protocols/x402/): How can an HTTP client pay per-request or per-resource, in stablecoins, without accounts, API keys, or signup?\n- [Agentic Commerce Protocol](/protocols/agentic-commerce-protocol/): How do a buyer's agent and a merchant complete a deterministic, programmatic checkout without the agent becoming the merchant of record?\n\nAsk the MCP server to compare any two: the compare-protocols prompt, or get on both ids. [Connect](/connect/).\n\n[x402.json](/data/protocols/x402.json) · [agentic-commerce-protocol.json](/data/protocols/agentic-commerce-protocol.json) · [Markdown](/compare/x402-vs-agentic-commerce-protocol/index.md)\n"
}