API Management · alternatives
Alternatives to 3scale
20 api management tools sit alongside 3scale in this directory. Below is what separates each from 3scale on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 17
- Cheaper to start
- 16
- 3scale starts at
- $300/monthly
Why people look past 3scale
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the 3scale entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for 3scale carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 17 of the 20 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
WebRTC gateway and media server for real-time communication
- Can be used without paying; 3scale cannot.
- Starts $300 a monthly cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to 3scale's 3.
Command-line tool for transferring data using URLs with wide protocol support
- Can be used without paying; 3scale cannot.
- Starts $300 a monthly cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to 3scale's 3.
Specification and tools for defining asynchronous APIs
- Can be used without paying; 3scale cannot.
- Starts $300 a monthly cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to 3scale's 3.
Open-source API development ecosystem with web-based REST client
- Can be used without paying; 3scale cannot.
- Starts $300 a monthly cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to 3scale's 3.
Complete platform for building GraphQL APIs
- Can be used without paying; 3scale cannot.
- Starts $300 a monthly cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
Powerful Node.js headless CMS framework and API platform
- Can be used without paying; 3scale cannot.
- Starts $300 a monthly cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to 3scale's 3.
Every 3scale alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3scale (this page) | $300/monthly | Subscription | 3 | |
| Janus Gateway | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs 3scale |
| curl | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs 3scale |
| Asyncapi | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs 3scale |
| Hoppscotch | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs 3scale |
| GraphQL Apollo | Free | Open-source | 3 | vs 3scale |
| KeystoneJS | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs 3scale |
| Directus | Free | Open-source | 2 | vs 3scale |
| AWS API Gateway | Free | Usage-based | 2 | vs 3scale |
| Hasura | Free | Open-source | - | vs 3scale |
| GraphQL Playground | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs 3scale |
| Backendless | Free, then $15/month | - | 3 | vs 3scale |
| HTTPie | Free | Open-source | 2 | vs 3scale |
| Appwrite | Free, then $15/month | - | 2 | vs 3scale |
| Kong | Free | Open-source | 2 | vs 3scale |
| Bruno | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs 3scale |
| Microsoft Azure API Management | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs 3scale |
| Gravitee | Free | Freemium | 3 | vs 3scale |
| Boomi API Management | $1500/monthly | Subscription | 3 | vs 3scale |
| Akana | $2500/monthly | Subscription | 3 | vs 3scale |
| Apigee | $500/monthly | Subscription | 3 | vs 3scale |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the 3scale badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (17)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Janus Gateway , Free
- curl , Free
- Asyncapi , Free
- Hoppscotch , Free
- GraphQL Apollo , Free
- KeystoneJS , Free
- Directus , Free
- AWS API Gateway , Free
Cheaper than 3scale (16)
Entry price under 3scale's $300/monthly. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Janus Gateway , Free
- curl , Free
- Asyncapi , Free
- Hoppscotch , Free
- GraphQL Apollo , Free
- KeystoneJS , Free
- Directus , Free
- AWS API Gateway , Free
What you would be giving up
3scale is most often brought in for api gateway and lifecycle management, rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers, developer portal and access key management, monetising apis with usage-based plans, hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloud. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If 3scale is broadly right and the question is cost, the 3scale pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the API Management category lists everything the directory holds, and best api management tools ranks them.
3scale runs on cloud, on-premises, hybrid. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about 3scale alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to 3scale?
- 20 other api management tools are listed in this directory, led by Janus Gateway, curl, Asyncapi, Hoppscotch. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to 3scale?
- 17 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Janus Gateway, curl, Asyncapi, Hoppscotch, GraphQL Apollo.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to 3scale?
- Yes. 16 of the alternatives below start under 3scale's $300/monthly: Janus Gateway at Free, curl at Free, Asyncapi at Free, Hoppscotch at Free.
- Why do people look for an alternative to 3scale?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from 3scale?
- 3scale is most often brought in for api gateway and lifecycle management, rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers, developer portal and access key management, monetising apis with usage-based plans, hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloud. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to 3scale?
- Janus Gateway, curl, Asyncapi, GraphQL Apollo, KeystoneJS, Directus, Hasura, GraphQL Playground, HTTPie, Kong, Bruno are recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these 3scale alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, API Management, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored slot runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare 3scale against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against 3scale covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every api management tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the API Management category, 20 tools beside 3scale. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.