Arc0 vs Merge.
Considering Arc0 as an alternative to Merge Agent Handler? A like-for-like read on pricing, whose name your users see, catalog and deployment, including where Merge is still the better choice.
Arc0 and Merge, line by line.
| Item | ARC0 | MERGE |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing unit | Active connected users; calls unlimited within fair use | Credits: 1 credit per tool call |
| Entry pricing | Free to build; then priced per active user | Free 2,000 credits a month, then Pro from $1,000 a month |
| Failed and test calls | Not billed | Use credits |
| Your users’ consent screen | Your logo on every plan; your domain and OAuth apps on paid plans | Merge by default, unless you register your own OAuth apps |
| Catalog | 1,500+ apps, plus official MCP servers behind Arc0 auth | ~190 Merge-built connectors plus ~114 vendor MCP servers |
| Deployment | Hosted; EU region and VPC planned | AWS US-East; EU, VPC and on-prem on Enterprise |
| Audit log export | OpenTelemetry on paid plans | SIEM streaming on Enterprise |
Where Merge is the better choice.
Merge’s Unified API syncs and normalizes HR, recruiting, CRM and accounting data into common models. Arc0 doesn’t do that, on purpose.
SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and HIPAA, plus data-loss-prevention rules that scan tool inputs and outputs. Our audits are planned, not done.
Merge has sold integrations to large companies since 2020, with implementation support to match.
What Arc0 does differently.
Build is free up to 100 active users in production. After that you pay per active user, so cost grows with the users your agent serves.
Failed calls and development mode are free. Your bill tracks the users your agent serves, not how many steps it took.
White-label connect on your own domain on every paid plan, with your OAuth apps set up with you.
Take your users’ tokens with you whenever you want, by API.
No unified API, no LLM router, no employee-AI suite. One product for one job, built around MCP from day one.
The same connection serves your agent over MCP and your backend over REST, under one price.
What moving from Merge looks like.
Agent Handler and Merge’s Unified API are separate products. If you rely on Unified for normalized HR or accounting data, keep it: Arc0 sits alongside it for agent actions.
Connections
If your connections use your own OAuth apps and you can export their tokens from Merge, they can move without a reconnect. Otherwise your users reconnect once, to your own branded connect flow, and we help you stage it in-product.
Your agent
Swap the MCP URL or the SDK calls. Actions are named by app and verb, like salesforce.update_record, each with a read, write or destructive scope. See the concepts.
Questions, answered.
Is Arc0 a good Merge Agent Handler alternative?
If you ship agents inside your product and want your brand on the connect flow, exportable tokens and per-user pricing, yes. If you need SOC 2 or HIPAA today, or normalized data from Merge’s Unified API, Merge is the safer choice right now.
Does Arc0 have a unified API like Merge?
No. Arc0 gives agents and your backend authenticated access to each app’s real actions, rather than a normalized data model kept in sync. That keeps your users’ data out of our storage and avoids lowest-common-denominator schemas.
Can I use Arc0 and Merge together?
Yes. Teams that use Merge’s Unified API for data sync can use Arc0 for agent actions without changing the sync.
Is Arc0 SOC 2 compliant?
Not yet. Our security page lists what is planned. We won’t claim an audit we haven’t passed.
Moving from Merge?
Tell us where your connections live today and what your agent does. An engineer will plan the move with you, including how to keep reconnects to a minimum.