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APIs · head to head

3scale vs Skyflow

3scale logo

3scale

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs

From
$300/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyflow logo

Skyflow

APIs

Data privacy vault that holds sensitive records outside your own systems

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Skyflow reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • They diverge on capability: 3scale covers API Gateway, Skyflow covers Tokenised storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where 3scale and Skyflow differ
Attribute3scaleSkyflow
Starting price$300/monthlyOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, On-premises, HybridAPI, Web, Self-hosted
Founded1993Unknown

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 Skyflow

  • Tokenised storage
  • Polymorphic encryption
  • Field level access policies
  • Data residency
  • Secure functions
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Detokenisation gateway
  • Audit trail

What people use each for

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

3scale

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

Skyflow

  • A fintech that wants card and bank account data out of its own infrastructure so its application servers leave PCI DSS assessment scopenot 3scale
  • A company entering India or the EU with data localisation obligations that would otherwise require standing up regional databases and operationsnot 3scale
  • A health technology business that needs protected health information isolated from the analytics stack while still supporting aggregate reportingnot 3scale
  • An engineering team that wants support agents to see masked identifiers and payment services to see real ones, enforced centrally rather than in every servicenot 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

Skyflow

  • Reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • Every read of a protected field becomes a network call to a third party, so latency and an external availability dependency enter paths that were previously local database reads, and outage planning has to account for a vendor you do not control.
  • Analytics and joins on vaulted data are constrained; work that was a simple SQL join now happens through secure functions or on tokens, and data teams routinely discover this after the engineering team has committed.
  • Unwinding the vault later is a rewrite rather than a migration because tokens are threaded through every service, so the switching cost climbs steadily and the negotiating position at renewal weakens with each release.
  • Scope reduction is an architectural claim your own assessor must accept, so the audit saving is real only if the implementation genuinely keeps sensitive values off your systems, and partial implementations that leave a cache or a log line in place deliver the cost without the benefit.

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

Skyflow

On request
  • Skyflow Data Privacy Vault$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus usage by data subject count
    • Priced additionally per data residency region
    • PCI Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA coverage

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 Skyflow if

  • You need tokenised storage.
  • You work on API, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want polymorphic encryption.
Skyflow review

Questions people ask

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

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
Skyflow: Does Skyflow really take my systems out of PCI scope?

It can, if card data never touches your infrastructure and the detokenisation happens at the boundary. Your QSA has to agree the design, so validate the architecture with your assessor before signing.

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
Skyflow: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Reported annual contracts sit around 195,000 US dollars, built from a platform fee plus usage by data subject count and additional charges per data residency region.

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
Skyflow: How does it help with data localisation?

Records can be pinned to a specified region, so an Indian or EU residency requirement is met by the vault rather than by you running regional databases and operations teams.

Skyflow: Can I still run analytics on vaulted data?

Partly. Aggregates and comparisons are supported through polymorphic encryption and secure functions, but arbitrary joins against other datasets are harder than they were, and this is the most common late surprise.

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