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APIs · head to head

3scale vs Formance

3scale logo

3scale

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs

From
$300/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Formance logo

Formance

APIs

Open source double-entry ledger and payment orchestration for money-moving software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Formance has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 3scale red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date; Formance formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • They diverge on capability: 3scale covers API Gateway, Formance covers Double-entry ledger.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 3scale and Formance actually diverge.

Attributes where 3scale and Formance differ
Attribute3scaleFormance
Starting price$300/monthlyFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, On-premises, HybridLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API
Founded1993Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 3scale

  • API Gateway
  • Developer Portal
  • API Monetization
  • Red Hat OpenShift
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud support

Only in Formance

  • Double-entry ledger
  • Numscript transaction DSL
  • Multi-currency
  • Payments connectivity
  • Reconciliation
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Cloud offering
  • API and SDKs

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

3scale

  • API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Formance
  • Rate limiting and traffic control across API consumersnot Formance
  • Developer portal and access key managementnot Formance
  • Monetising APIs with usage-based plansnot Formance
  • Hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloudnot Formance

Formance

  • A marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditablenot 3scale
  • A fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an auditnot 3scale
  • A payments team that wants one normalised model across several PSPs so reconciliation is not written separately for eachnot 3scale
  • A company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappearsnot 3scale

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

3scale

  • Red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date
  • Sold as part of Red Hat middleware rather than standalone, and 3scale.net redirects into redhat.com
  • Pricing is not published and a subscription is required for some services

Formance

  • Formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • Numscript is a domain-specific language your team must learn, and while it makes complex splits expressible it also means transaction logic sits outside the languages your engineers already debug well.
  • Self-hosting a ledger that must never lose or duplicate a transaction is a serious operational commitment covering backups, upgrades and Postgres tuning, which is real cost the zero licence fee hides.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published, so the difference between the free path and the supported path cannot be evaluated without a sales conversation.
  • The company is much smaller than the incumbent alternatives, and while the MIT licence protects the code it does not protect the roadmap, so features on the hosted side may arrive slowly or change direction.

Pricing, plan by plan

3scale

$300/monthly
  • Starter$300/monthly
    • API gateway
    • Developer portal
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$750/monthly
    • Advanced features
    • API monetization
    • Enhanced support
  • Enterprise$undefined/monthly
    • Custom deployment
    • Dedicated support
    • Premium SLA

Formance

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licensed core ledger
    • Numscript transaction DSL
    • Multi-currency tracking
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Managed or private deployment
    • Payments connectivity and reconciliation
    • Support with response commitments

Which should you pick?

Choose 3scale if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid.
  • You also want developer portal.
3scale review

Choose Formance if

  • You need double-entry ledger.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
  • You also want numscript transaction dsl.
Formance review

Questions people ask

Is 3scale or Formance better?
Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Formance at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 3scale or Formance?
Formance has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/monthly for 3scale and Free for Formance.
Does 3scale or Formance run on more platforms?
3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
Can I use Formance for free?
Yes. Formance has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. 3scale starts at $300/monthly.
What is 3scale best used for?
3scale is most often used 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. Of those, api gateway and lifecycle management and rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers are not what Formance is typically brought in for.
What can 3scale do that Formance cannot?
3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift. Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

3scale: Does Red Hat 3scale require a subscription?

Yes. The page states a subscription may be required for some services, though specific subscription details and costs are not published on this page.

Source
Formance: Is Formance really open source?

Yes. The core ledger is MIT licensed with full source access and no deployment restrictions.

3scale: Is a trial available for 3scale?

A 'Start a trial' link is mentioned in navigation, but trial duration, included features, and limitations are not specified on this page.

Source
Formance: Does Formance move money?

No. It records and orchestrates movements; the actual payments happen at a PSP or bank you connect.

3scale: When will Red Hat 3scale end support?

Red Hat 3scale API Management maintenance and managed services will end on June 30, 2027. Customers should plan migrations accordingly.

Source
Formance: What does the enterprise version cost?

Not published. It is an annual subscription quoted per customer.

Formance: Do I have to use Numscript?

Yes for anything beyond the simplest transfers. It is how multi-party transactions are expressed atomically.

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