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APIs · head to head

3scale vs Svix

3scale logo

3scale

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs

From
$300/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Svix logo

Svix

APIs

Outbound webhook sending as a service, with retries, signing and a customer-facing portal

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Svix 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; Svix the Professional tier at 490 US dollars a month includes the same 50,000 messages as the free tier, so the upgrade buys SLA, throughput and retention rather than volume, which is a jarring step for a growing product.
  • They diverge on capability: 3scale covers API Gateway, Svix covers Automatic retries.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where 3scale and Svix differ
Attribute3scaleSvix
Starting price$300/monthlyFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by message count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, On-premises, HybridWeb, Cloud, Docker
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 Svix

  • Automatic retries
  • Payload signing
  • Consumer portal
  • Event types and filtering
  • Delivery logs and replay
  • Rate limiting
  • Static source IPs
  • Language SDKs

What people use each for

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

3scale

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

Svix

  • A SaaS company adding webhooks to its API that does not want to build retry, signing and a customer debugging UI from scratchnot 3scale
  • A payments or fintech product whose customers need signature verification libraries in several languages they did not writenot 3scale
  • An engineering team drowning in support tickets from customers whose endpoints silently failed and who need self-service delivery logsnot 3scale
  • A platform with a small number of very slow customer endpoints that must not delay deliveries to everyone elsenot 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

Svix

  • The Professional tier at 490 US dollars a month includes the same 50,000 messages as the free tier, so the upgrade buys SLA, throughput and retention rather than volume, which is a jarring step for a growing product.
  • Only attempted messages count toward usage, but a customer with many subscribed endpoints multiplies a single event into many billable messages, and forecasting that fan-out before launch is difficult.
  • The open source server is MIT licensed but trails the hosted product in features, so self-hosting is a fallback position rather than a genuinely equivalent option.
  • Routing outbound customer traffic through a third party puts a vendor in the delivery path for events your customers may treat as contractual, which some security reviews will not accept.
  • Payload retention is 30 days on the free tier and 90 on Professional, so anyone needing longer delivery history for audit must pay for Enterprise or log independently.

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

Svix

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 50,000 messages a month included
    • Overage at $0.0001 per message
    • 99.9% uptime SLA
  • Professional$490/month
    • 50,000 messages included, same as free
    • 99.99% uptime SLA
    • 800 messages per second
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom volume and rate limits
    • 99.999% uptime SLA
    • Custom retention

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 Svix if

  • You need automatic retries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want payload signing.
Svix review

Questions people ask

Is 3scale or Svix better?
Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Svix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 3scale or Svix?
Svix has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/monthly for 3scale and Free for Svix.
Does 3scale or Svix run on more platforms?
3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Svix runs on Web, Cloud, Docker.
Can I use Svix for free?
Yes. Svix 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 Svix is typically brought in for.
What can 3scale do that Svix cannot?
3scale covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift. Svix covers Automatic retries, Payload signing, Consumer portal, Event types and filtering.

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
Svix: How much does Svix cost?

Free up to 50,000 messages a month; Professional starts at 490 US dollars a month with the same included volume but better SLA and throughput.

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
Svix: Can I self-host it?

Yes, there is an MIT licensed server, but it lags the hosted service in features and has no SLA.

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
Svix: What counts as a message?

Attempted or transformed deliveries. Retries and messages filtered out because no endpoint subscribed are not charged.

Svix: Does it handle inbound webhooks?

Its focus is outbound sending on behalf of API providers, not receiving webhooks from third parties.

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