Is 3scale or Portkey better?

Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Portkey at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, 3scale or Portkey?

3scale starts at $300/monthly and Portkey at On request.

Does 3scale or Portkey run on more platforms?

3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Portkey runs on Web.

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 Portkey is typically brought in for.

What can 3scale do that Portkey cannot?

3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift.

APIs · head to head

3scale vs Portkey

3scale

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs

From: $300/monthly
Rated: -

Full review Website

Portkey

APIs

Observe, govern, and secure every AI interaction across your enterprise

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

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; Portkey the free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where 3scale and Portkey differ
Attribute	3scale	Portkey
Starting price	$300/monthly	On request
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Platforms	Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid	Web
Founded	1993	Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Portkey

Nothing recorded that 3scale does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

3scale

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

Portkey

Accessing 1,600+ language models through unified API gatewaynot 3scale
Monitoring and observing LLM behavior in production environmentsnot 3scale
Managing costs and setting budget limits for AI spendingnot 3scale
Implementing guardrails and PII redaction for secure AI interactionsnot 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

Portkey

The free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.

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

Portkey

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Portkey review.

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 Portkey if

Nothing in the data separates Portkey from 3scale on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Portkey review

Questions people ask

Is 3scale or Portkey better?: Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Portkey at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 3scale or Portkey?: 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Portkey at On request.
Does 3scale or Portkey run on more platforms?: 3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Portkey runs on Web.
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 Portkey is typically brought in for.
What can 3scale do that Portkey cannot?: 3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift.

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

Portkey: What happens if I exceed my Portkey plan's request limit?

Production tier ($49/month) charges $9 per additional 100,000 requests beyond the included 100,000. Enterprise customers have custom limits determined through their service agreement. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source

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

Portkey: Can I self-host Portkey to avoid per-request billing?

Yes. Portkey offers an Open Source self-hosted version with unlimited requests at no cost, including universal API, routing, guardrails, and load balancing features. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source

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

Portkey: How long does Portkey retain my logs and metrics?

Free Developer tier retains logs 3 days and metrics 30 days. Production tier retains logs 30 days and metrics 90 days. Enterprise tier offers custom retention periods. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source

Portkey: What compliance features are included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise tier includes SOC2 Type 2 certification, GDPR compliance, HIPAA compliance, VPC hosting, SSO, advanced guardrails, and dedicated support. Custom pricing required. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source

3scale vs Portkey

3scale

Portkey

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in 3scale

Only in Portkey

What people use each for

3scale

Portkey

Where each one falls short

3scale

Portkey

Pricing, plan by plan

3scale

Portkey

Which should you pick?

Choose 3scale if

Choose Portkey if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on 3scale

More on Portkey

Keep looking

Other head to heads