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Cloud · head to head

Akamai vs Apigee

Akamai logo

Akamai

Cloud

Leading content delivery and security platform

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Apigee logo

Apigee

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and scaling APIs

From
$500/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Akamai no public pricing available; custom quotes required; Apigee the free evaluation is a sandbox limited to 60 days
  • They diverge on capability: Akamai covers CDN, Apigee covers API Analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Akamai and Apigee actually diverge.

Attributes where Akamai and Apigee differ
AttributeAkamaiApigee
Starting price$1000/month$500/monthly
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, ApiCloud, Hybrid, On-premises
CategoryCloudAPIs
Founded19982006

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Akamai

  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Web Application Firewall
  • Bot Management
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Platform
  • Analytics
  • Microsoft Azure

Only in Apigee

  • API Analytics
  • Developer Portal
  • Google Cloud services
  • Azure
  • Okta
  • Cloud support
  • Hybrid support
  • On-premises support

Both cover

  • API Gateway
  • AWS

What people use each for

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

Akamai

  • Content delivery and web performance through Ion and adaptive media deliverynot Apigee
  • DDoS protection, bot management and API securitynot Apigee
  • Running compute, Kubernetes and managed databases on Akamai's cloudnot Apigee
  • Edge compute with EdgeWorkersnot Apigee
  • Zero trust access for enterprise applicationsnot Apigee

Apigee

  • Publishing, securing and versioning APIs for an enterprise API programnot Akamai
  • Monetizing APIs and running a developer portalnot Akamai
  • Analyzing API traffic and defending APIs against bots and abusenot Akamai

Where each one falls short

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

Akamai

  • No public pricing available; custom quotes required
  • Sales-focused pricing model

Apigee

  • The free evaluation is a sandbox limited to 60 days
  • Pay-as-you-go has no SLA available at all
  • Pay-as-you-go bills environments separately from API calls, with a Base environment costing $365 per month per region
  • The Base environment is capped at 50 QPS with an SLA of up to 99%
  • Standard API Proxy calls are billed at $20 per 1M calls up to 50M, and Extensible API Proxy calls at $100 per 1M calls up to 50M
  • API Analytics is a paid add-on at $20 per 1M API calls and cannot be bought on a Base environment
  • Advanced API Security is a paid add-on at $350 per 1M API calls and cannot be bought on a Base environment
  • Monetization is unavailable on pay-as-you-go and requires a subscription tier
  • Additional API proxy deployments beyond those included cost $0.04 per hour per region on a Comprehensive environment
  • Subscription tiers Standard, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus are quote only with no published price
  • Google Cloud networking charges for IP addresses, data transfer out and forwarding rules are billed on top of Apigee usage

Pricing, plan by plan

Akamai

$1000/month
  • CDN$1000/month
    • Content delivery
    • Global edge network
    • Real-time analytics
  • Security Suite$2000/month
    • DDoS protection
    • WAF
    • Bot management

Apigee

$500/monthly
  • Starter$500/monthly
    • API gateway
    • Analytics
    • Developer portal
  • Professional$2500/monthly
    • Advanced security
    • Traffic management
    • Monetization
  • Enterprise$undefined/monthly
    • Custom deployment
    • SLA
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Akamai if

  • You need cdn.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want ddos protection.
Akamai review

Choose Apigee if

  • You need api analytics.
  • You work on Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises.
  • You also want developer portal.
Apigee review

Questions people ask

Is Akamai or Apigee better?
Neither clearly leads. Akamai starts at $1000/month and Apigee at $500/monthly, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Akamai or Apigee?
Akamai starts at $1000/month and Apigee at $500/monthly.
Does Akamai or Apigee run on more platforms?
Akamai runs on Web, Api. Apigee runs on Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises.
What is Akamai best used for?
Akamai is most often used for content delivery and web performance through ion and adaptive media delivery, ddos protection, bot management and api security, running compute, kubernetes and managed databases on akamai's cloud, edge compute with edgeworkers. Of those, content delivery and web performance through ion and adaptive media delivery and ddos protection, bot management and api security are not what Apigee is typically brought in for.
What can Akamai do that Apigee cannot?
Akamai covers CDN, DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, Bot Management. Apigee covers API Analytics, Developer Portal, Google Cloud services, Azure. Both handle API Gateway, AWS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Akamai: How is Akamai pricing structured?

Akamai emphasizes straightforward pricing with no hidden fees, no egress surprises, and no vendor lock-in, but specific pricing is not published. Regional pricing pages exist for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and other areas, with customers directed to contact sales.

Source
Apigee: Does Apigee offer a free tier?

Yes, Apigee offers an always-free tier with access to 20+ products for common API management use cases, and a separate free trial providing $300 in credit for proof-of-concept projects.

Source
Akamai: Does Akamai offer a free trial?

Akamai offers a promotional trial with $100 in credits for Akamai Cloud, though conditions apply.

Source
Apigee: What is Apigee's pricing model?

Apigee uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model where customers pay based on API calls and usage, with a new pay-as-you-go model designed to optimize costs.

Source
Apigee: Is there a commitment required to start with Apigee?

No. The free trial provides $300 in credit with no automatic charges or commitment required, allowing customers to evaluate the platform risk-free.

Source
Apigee: Are there usage limits I should know about?

Apigee documentation includes a limits page covering usage constraints, though specific limits are not detailed in the pricing section.

Source
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