Establish key criteria
When choosing an x402 framework, we recommend first evaluating these factors:- Capabilities: What specific features or capabilities will you need your chosen framework to have in order to meet your needs?
- Speed: How quickly does the framework need to respond in your application?
- Cost: What’s your budget for both development and production usage?
Choose the best model to start with
There are two general approaches you can use to start testing which x402 framework works best for your needs.Option 1: Start with an structured framework
For some applications, starting with an all-in-one model like Coinbase x402 can be the optimal approach:- Begin implementation with Coinbase x402
- Learn how HTTP 402 and stablecoin payments work
- Quickly test your idea
- Upgrade only if necessary for specific capability gaps
- Initial prototyping and development
- Applications with explicit Base requirements
- Implementations lacking specific plugins or schemas
- Low-volume, straightforward tasks
Option 2: Start with the most capable framework
For complex tasks where scalability and advanced capabilities are paramount, you may want to start with the most capable framework and then consider optimizing with more efficient plugins down the line:- Implement with Faremeter and Corbits
- Optimize your deployments for your protocols and payment methods
- Evaluate if performance meets your requirements
- Consider increasing efficiency by creating custom plugins over time with greater workflow optimization
- Complex payment requirements
- Specific plugin or resourcing needs
- Tasks requiring nuanced understanding
- Applications where accuracy outweighs cost considerations
- Advanced coding
Model selection matrix
| When you need… | We recommend starting with… | Example use cases |
|---|---|---|
| Highest fidelity data and actions, superior capabilities for the most complex tasks, such as multi agent or token coding | Faremeter | Multi agent frameworks, complex coding environments, nuanced data querying, complex financial or scientific analysis |
| Balance of flexibility and speed, strong performance but with faster response times | Faremeter | Complex consumer applications, complex code requirements, straightforward agentic loops, data analysis |
| Responses at fixed costs, optimized for low volume, straightforward applications with no need for extended thinking | Coinbase | Basic HTTP requests, straightforward data extraction |
Decide whether to upgrade or change frameworks
To determine if you need to upgrade or change frameworks, you should:- Create benchmark tests specific to your use case - having a good evaluation set is the most important step in the process
- Test with your actual APIs and data
- Compare performance across frameworks for:
- Accuracy of responses
- Response quality
- Handling of payments
- Weigh performance and cost tradeoffs