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Best API Gateway Software in 2026

Updated

In short: Kong Gateway is ranked #1 of 27 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Tyk Gateway and Gravitee API Gateway. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Tyk Gateway. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Google Cloud Endpoints at $1.50/mo.

Choosing an API gateway means weighing how it handles traffic and access alongside the way you plan to deploy it. The ranked entries include Kong Gateway, Tyk Gateway, and Tyk API Management. Compare authentication methods, supported protocols, rate limiting, and request transformation to see which capabilities fit your APIs. Deployment model and free-plan availability can help narrow the options, while monthly request limits and paid-from pricing offer points of comparison as you consider cost and scale. The ranking runs across 22 products, with these details giving you a practical basis for comparing gateway software for your development environment.

27 API gateway software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.

27ranked
8free plans on this page
$1.50/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
#1 Kong Gateway Top pick · 7.8 Free plan · Free #2 Tyk Gateway Runner-up · 7.7 Free plan · Free #3 Gravitee API Gateway Also great · 7.3 Free plan · $2,500/mo
  1. 1

    Kong Gateway

    7.8
    Free planFree trial apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    REST, HTTP, Kafka, WebSockets, gRPC, GraphQL, UDP, TCP, TLS
    Authentication methods
    Basic Auth, HMAC, JWT, Key Auth, LDAP, mutual TLS, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML, Vault
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    Free About Kong GatewayVisit site
  2. 2

    Tyk Gateway

    7.7
    Free planFree trial apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    REST, SOAP, GraphQL, gRPC, TCP, HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, Server-Sent Events (SSE)
    Authentication methods
    API keys, bearer tokens, JWT, OIDC, Basic Auth, client certificates, mTLS, custom plugins
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    Free About Tyk GatewayVisit site
  3. 3

    Gravitee API Gateway

    7.3
    Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWebWindows
    Free plan
    Yes
    Paid from
    2,500 /mo
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, WebSocket, Server-sent Events, Webhook
    Authentication methods
    Keyless, API Key, Basic Authentication, OAuth2, JWT, Push, mutual TLS (mTLS), OIDC, SAML
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    $2,500/mofirst paid tier About Gravitee API GatewayVisit site
  4. 4

    KrakenD API Gateway

    7.2
    Free plan LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    REST, HTTP, WebSockets, SOAP, gRPC, GraphQL, AMQP, Kafka, NATS
    Authentication methods
    JWT, client credentials, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, API keys, Basic Authentication, mTLS
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    Free About KrakenD API GatewayVisit site
  5. 5

    Emissary-ingress

    7.0
    Free plan Linuxself-hosted
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, HTTPPROXY, HTTPSPROXY, TCP, TLS, gRPC, HTTP/3
    Authentication methods
    Basic authentication, external HTTP or gRPC authentication service, client certificate validation, mutual TLS
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    Free About Emissary-ingressVisit site
  6. 6

    Spring Integration

    7.0
    Free plan self-hosted
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, gRPC
    Authentication methods
    Spring Security, OAuth 2.0, JWT, opaque tokens
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    Free About Spring IntegrationVisit site
  7. 7

    Tyk API Management

    7.0
    Free trial apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Tyk API ManagementVisit site
  8. 8

    API7 Enterprise

    6.7
    Free trial apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About API7 EnterpriseVisit site
  9. 9

    Envoy Gateway

    6.7
    Free plan apiself-hosted
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, gRPC, TLS, TCP, UDP
    Authentication methods
    mTLS, JWT, API key, Basic Auth, OIDC, external authorization
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    Free About Envoy GatewayVisit site
  10. 10

    Google Cloud Endpoints

    6.7
    Free plan LinuxmacOS
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    $1.50/mofirst paid tier About Google Cloud EndpointsVisit site
  11. 11

    Apache APISIX

    6.5
    apiLinuxself-hosted
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, UDP, WebSocket, gRPC, MQTT, HTTP/3, Dubbo
    Authentication methods
    API key, JWT, Basic Authentication, OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect, HMAC, LDAP, CAS, Keycloak, Casdoor, forward authentication, multi-auth
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Apache APISIXVisit site
  12. 12

    Google Cloud API Gateway

    6.4
    apiWeb
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    cloud
    Supported protocols
    HTTP/REST, HTTP/JSON, gRPC
    Authentication methods
    API keys, service accounts/JWT, Google authentication, Google ID tokens
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    $1.50/mofirst paid tier About Google Cloud API GatewayVisit site
  13. 13

    MuleSoft Composer

    6.0
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, WebSocket, SOAP, gRPC, GraphQL, OAS3 REST, MCP, A2A
    Authentication methods
    Client ID enforcement, HTTP Basic Authentication, JWT validation, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    $2,000/mofirst paid tier About MuleSoft ComposerVisit site
  14. 14

    Alibaba Cloud API Gateway

    5.9
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    cloud
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, WebSocket, gRPC
    Authentication methods
    AppCode, digest authentication, JWT, mutual TLS, custom authentication
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Alibaba Cloud API GatewayVisit site
  15. 15

    Oracle Cloud Infrastructure API Gateway

    5.9
    Web
    Deployment model
    cloud
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS
    Authentication methods
    OCI IAM, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, Remote JWKS, static keys, authorizer functions, mTLS
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Oracle Cloud Infrastructure API GatewayVisit site
  16. 16

    Axway SecureTransport

    5.8
    api
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, REST, SOAP, XML, WebSockets, JMS, AMQP, MQTT, gRPC, FTP
    Authentication methods
    OAuth, JWT tokens, API key, HTTP Basic/Digest, SAML, credentials in headers or payloads
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Axway SecureTransportVisit site
  17. 17

    Higress

    5.8
    Web
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTP2, HTTPS, GRPC, GRPCS, TCP, Dubbo
    Authentication methods
    Key Auth, HMAC Auth, JWT Auth, Basic Auth, OAuth2, OIDC, External Auth, OPA
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About HigressVisit site
  18. 18

    MuleSoft Omni Gateway

    5.8
    LinuxWeb
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, WebSocket, SOAP, gRPC, GraphQL, OAS3 REST, MCP, A2A
    Authentication methods
    Client ID enforcement, HTTP Basic Authentication, JWT validation, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About MuleSoft Omni GatewayVisit site
  19. 19

    Traefik Hub API Gateway

    5.8
    LinuxWindows
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    hybrid
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTP/2, TCP, UDP, WebSockets, gRPC
    Authentication methods
    OIDC, LDAP, JWT, API key, HMAC, OAuth2, Open Policy Agent
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Traefik Hub API GatewayVisit site
  20. 20

    Zuul

    5.8
    Linux
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTP/2, WebSocket, Server-Sent Events (SSE)
    Authentication methods
    Filter-based authentication, mutual TLS, custom authentication handlers
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About ZuulVisit site
  21. 21

    Amazon API Gateway

    5.7
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    cloud
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, REST, WebSocket
    Authentication methods
    IAM/SigV4, Amazon Cognito user pools, JWT/OIDC/OAuth 2.0, Lambda authorizers, API keys, mutual TLS
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Amazon API GatewayVisit site
  22. 22

    Ambassador Edge Stack

    5.7
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, gRPC, gRPC-Web, HTTP/3
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Ambassador Edge StackVisit site
  23. 23

    NGINX Gateway Fabric

    5.7
    Free plan
    Yes
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, UDP
    Authentication methods
    Basic authentication, JWT, OpenID Connect, external authentication
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About NGINX Gateway FabricVisit site
  24. 24

    Ocelot

    5.7
    Deployment model
    self-hosted
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, WebSocket Secure (WSS)
    Authentication methods
    JWT bearer tokens, IdentityServer bearer tokens, ASP.NET Core authentication schemes
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About OcelotVisit site
  25. 25

    Tencent Cloud API Gateway

    5.7
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    Deployment model
    cloud
    Supported protocols
    HTTP, HTTPS
    Authentication methods
    HMAC key-pair authentication
    Rate limiting
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
    About Tencent Cloud API GatewayVisit site

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Questions about this list

Which API gateway software is ranked first on The Geeks Club?

Kong Gateway is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 7.8. Tyk Gateway is second and Gravitee API Gateway third.

How many of these have a free plan?

8 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

Which is the cheapest paid option?

On this page, Google Cloud Endpoints has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1.50/mo.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.

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