APIs · head to head
Akana vs Tines
The short version
- Only Tines has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Akana owned by Perforce and sold within their portfolio rather than independently, and akana.com redirects to perforce.com; Tines no-code, UI-driven approach is restrictive for complex logic and version control integration with SDLC
- They diverge on capability: Akana covers API Lifecycle Management, Tines covers Story builder.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Akana and Tines actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 Akana
- API Lifecycle Management
- API Security
- Governance Controls
- OAuth
- SAML
- LDAP
- Active Directory
- Cloud support
Only in Tines
- Story builder
- Drag-and-drop workflows
- Event triggers
- Incident response automation
- Threat intelligence
- Case management
- Alert triage
- Slack
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Akana
- API lifecycle management across REST, SOAP and GraphQLnot Tines
- Applying OAuth, JWT and SAML policies at the gatewaynot Tines
- Running the same platform on-premises, in Kubernetes or across cloudsnot Tines
- Developer portal and API monetisationnot Tines
- Monitoring API traffic and enforcing quotasnot Tines
Tines
- Workflow Automationnot Akana
- Data Integrationnot Akana
- Process Automationnot Akana
- App Integrationnot Akana
- API Connectivitynot Akana
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Akana
- Owned by Perforce and sold within their portfolio rather than independently, and akana.com redirects to perforce.com
- Pricing is not published; only a 30 day trial is offered
Tines
- No-code, UI-driven approach is restrictive for complex logic and version control integration with SDLC
- No native log intelligence layer to validate data completeness
- Limited scope to security workloads, cannot handle general business automation
- Governance features lag behind EU AI Act compliance requirements
Pricing, plan by plan
Akana
$2500/monthly- Professional$2500/monthly
- API Gateway
- Developer Portal
- Basic analytics
- Enterprise$5000/monthly
- Advanced governance
- Multi-cloud support
- Premium support
- Custom$undefined/monthly
- Custom solutions
- Dedicated support
- SLA guarantee
Tines
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Tines review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Akana if
- You need api lifecycle management.
- You work on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
- You also want api security.
Choose Tines if
- You need story builder.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want drag-and-drop workflows.
Questions people ask
- Is Akana or Tines better?
- Neither clearly leads. Akana starts at $2500/monthly and Tines at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Akana or Tines?
- Tines has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2500/monthly for Akana and Free for Tines.
- Does Akana or Tines run on more platforms?
- Akana runs on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid. Tines runs on Web.
- Can I use Tines for free?
- Yes. Tines has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Akana starts at $2500/monthly.
- What is Akana best used for?
- Akana is most often used for api lifecycle management across rest, soap and graphql, applying oauth, jwt and saml policies at the gateway, running the same platform on-premises, in kubernetes or across clouds, developer portal and api monetisation. Of those, api lifecycle management across rest, soap and graphql and applying oauth, jwt and saml policies at the gateway are not what Tines is typically brought in for.
- What can Akana do that Tines cannot?
- Akana covers API Lifecycle Management, API Security, Governance Controls, OAuth. Tines covers Story builder, Drag-and-drop workflows, Event triggers, Incident response automation.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Akana: What does Akana API Platform include?
Akana provides mediation and integration capabilities for creating easy-to-consume API products from API code, with features for API governance, security, and operational management.
SourceTines: What are Tines' pricing tiers?
Tines offers a free Community Edition for evaluation, Starter Edition at $500/month with annual billing, and Business/Enterprise tiers starting around $50,000/year for small security teams and scaling to $200,000+ for large SOCs.
SourceAkana: How does Akana help secure APIs?
Akana addresses the security challenges that come with more APIs and more endpoints, providing tools for enterprise API governance and compliance management.
SourceTines: What is the Community Edition limited to?
As of July 2026, the free Community Edition is scoped to 1 builder and 3 flows as an evaluation tool to test Tines' capabilities.
SourceTines: Is Tines limited to security automation?
Yes, Tines is purpose-built for security automation. Teams needing non-security automation on the same orchestration layer would need to evaluate alternatives.
SourceTines: Does Tines have native log intelligence capabilities?
No, Tines lacks a native log intelligence layer, meaning it cannot determine whether the data feeding your detection tools is complete. Teams must build automation against whatever alerts their existing infrastructure provides.
SourceRelated pages
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