Software · head to head
3scale vs Prisma
3scale
Software
API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs
- From
- $300/monthly
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Prisma 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; Prisma prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
- They diverge on capability: 3scale covers API Gateway, Prisma covers ORM.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which 3scale and Prisma actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Prisma
- ORM
- Query builder
- Auto-migrations
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- GraphQL
- REST APIs
- Node.js support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
3scale
- API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Prisma
- Rate limiting and traffic control across API consumersnot Prisma
- Developer portal and access key managementnot Prisma
- Monetising APIs with usage-based plansnot Prisma
- Hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloudnot Prisma
Prisma
- Using a type safe ORM and query layer against a Postgres databasenot 3scale
- Adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing databasenot 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
Prisma
- Prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
- Starter at $10 a month includes 1M operations then charges $0.0080 per 1,000
- Storage overage runs from $2.00 per GB on Starter down to $1.00 per GB on Business, so the unit cost depends on the plan
- Accelerate charges separately per operation and per GiB of query egress beyond the first 1 KiB
- Cache tag invalidations are not included below the Pro plan and are billed per thousand above it
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
Prisma
Free- Open SourceFree
- Full Prisma ORM
- Community support
- Professional$50/monthly
- Extended browser
- Priority support
- Monitoring
Which should you pick?
Choose 3scale if
- You need api gateway.
- You work on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid.
- You also want developer portal.
Choose Prisma if
- You need orm.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Node.js, TypeScript.
- You also want query builder.
Questions people ask
- Is 3scale or Prisma better?
- Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Prisma at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, 3scale or Prisma?
- Prisma has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/monthly for 3scale and Free for Prisma.
- Does 3scale or Prisma run on more platforms?
- 3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript.
- Can I use Prisma for free?
- Yes. Prisma 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 Prisma is typically brought in for.
- What can 3scale do that Prisma cannot?
- 3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift. Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js.
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