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APIs · head to head

Akana vs Zeplo

Akana logo

Akana

APIs

Enterprise API lifecycle management platform

From
$2500/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zeplo logo

Zeplo

APIs

Message queue as a URL prefix, adding retries and delays to any HTTP request

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zeplo 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; Zeplo zeplo sits directly in the execution path of your background work, so an outage at a very small vendor means your jobs do not run at all, and there is no published SLA below Enterprise.
  • They diverge on capability: Akana covers API Lifecycle Management, Zeplo covers URL prefix interface.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Akana and Zeplo actually diverge.

Attributes where Akana and Zeplo differ
AttributeAkanaZeplo
Starting price$2500/monthlyFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by request count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, HybridWeb, Cloud
Founded2001Unknown

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 Akana

  • API Lifecycle Management
  • API Security
  • Governance Controls
  • OAuth
  • SAML
  • LDAP
  • Active Directory
  • Cloud support

Only in Zeplo

  • URL prefix interface
  • Retries with backoff
  • Delayed delivery
  • Cron scheduling
  • Concurrency limits
  • Deduplication keys
  • Request logs
  • Team workspaces

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 Zeplo
  • Applying OAuth, JWT and SAML policies at the gatewaynot Zeplo
  • Running the same platform on-premises, in Kubernetes or across cloudsnot Zeplo
  • Developer portal and API monetisationnot Zeplo
  • Monitoring API traffic and enforcing quotasnot Zeplo

Zeplo

  • A Vercel or Cloudflare Workers application that needs retried background jobs without deploying a separate always-on workernot Akana
  • A team that wants a webhook receiver protected by a concurrency limit so a burst does not overwhelm a downstream APInot Akana
  • A small product needing cron jobs against HTTP endpoints without adding a scheduler to its infrastructurenot Akana
  • A developer adding idempotent retries to an unreliable third-party API call with a one-line URL changenot 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

Zeplo

  • Zeplo sits directly in the execution path of your background work, so an outage at a very small vendor means your jobs do not run at all, and there is no published SLA below Enterprise.
  • The free Developer tier includes only 500 requests a month and one team member, so it is a demonstration allowance rather than a usable free plan for anything real.
  • Overage on the Developer tier is 20 US dollars per 100,000 requests, two hundred times the marginal rate on the Company tier, so exceeding the free allowance without upgrading is expensive.
  • Team members cost 15 US dollars each beyond the plan allowance, which is an odd charge on an infrastructure product billed by request volume.
  • Log retention is 30 days on both published tiers, so anything requiring longer audit trails on job execution has to be logged separately.

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

Zeplo

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • 500 requests a month included
    • $20 per additional 100,000 requests
    • 1 team member
  • Company$39/month
    • 1,000,000 requests a month included
    • $10 per additional million requests
    • Up to 3 team members
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Volume discounts
    • Custom team size
    • Support with SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Akana if

  • You need api lifecycle management.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
  • You also want api security.
Akana review

Choose Zeplo if

  • You need url prefix interface.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want retries with backoff.
Zeplo review

Questions people ask

Is Akana or Zeplo better?
Neither clearly leads. Akana starts at $2500/monthly and Zeplo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Akana or Zeplo?
Zeplo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2500/monthly for Akana and Free for Zeplo.
Does Akana or Zeplo run on more platforms?
Akana runs on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid. Zeplo runs on Web, Cloud.
Can I use Zeplo for free?
Yes. Zeplo 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 Zeplo is typically brought in for.
What can Akana do that Zeplo cannot?
Akana covers API Lifecycle Management, API Security, Governance Controls, OAuth. Zeplo covers URL prefix interface, Retries with backoff, Delayed delivery, Cron scheduling.

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.

Source
Zeplo: How does Zeplo work?

You prefix your endpoint URL with zeplo.to and add query parameters for retries, delay, cron or concurrency. No SDK or broker is needed.

Akana: 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.

Source
Zeplo: What does it cost?

Free for 500 requests a month; 39 US dollars a month for a million requests, then 10 dollars per additional million.

Zeplo: Is it suitable for critical jobs?

It is a small vendor in your execution path with no published SLA below Enterprise, so weigh that against the convenience.

Zeplo: Does it work with serverless platforms?

Yes, that is its main use, covering Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, Netlify and similar environments that lack long-running workers.

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