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APIs · head to head

Apigee vs Authelia

Apigee logo

Apigee

APIs

API management platform for designing, securing, and scaling APIs

From
$500/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

Open-source authentication and two-factor portal for reverse proxies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Authelia has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Apigee the free evaluation is a sandbox limited to 60 days; Authelia depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider
  • They diverge on capability: Apigee covers API Gateway, Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apigee and Authelia actually diverge.

Attributes where Apigee and Authelia differ
AttributeApigeeAuthelia
Starting price$500/monthlyFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, Hybrid, On-premisesDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded2006Unknown

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 Apigee

  • API Gateway
  • API Analytics
  • Developer Portal
  • Google Cloud services
  • Azure
  • AWS
  • Okta
  • Cloud support

Only in Authelia

  • Reverse proxy integration
  • Two-factor authentication
  • Access control rules
  • Lightweight backends

What people use each for

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

Apigee

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

Authelia

  • Putting a login and 2FA in front of self-hosted services that have nonenot Apigee
  • Adding SSO across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platformnot Apigee
  • Home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxynot Apigee

Where each one falls short

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

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

Authelia

  • Depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider
  • Configuration is YAML-first with no administrative interface, so changes mean editing files
  • Not a full IAM: user management, provisioning and federation are limited compared with Keycloak
  • Scales poorly as an organisation-wide identity solution, which is not its target

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Authelia

Free
  • AutheliaFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Apigee if

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

Choose Authelia if

  • You need reverse proxy integration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want two-factor authentication.
Authelia review

Questions people ask

Is Apigee or Authelia better?
Neither clearly leads. Apigee starts at $500/monthly and Authelia at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apigee or Authelia?
Authelia has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/monthly for Apigee and Free for Authelia.
Does Apigee or Authelia run on more platforms?
Apigee runs on Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises. Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use Authelia for free?
Yes. Authelia has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Apigee starts at $500/monthly.
What is Apigee best used for?
Apigee is most often used for publishing, securing and versioning apis for an enterprise api program, monetizing apis and running a developer portal, analyzing api traffic and defending apis against bots and abuse. Of those, publishing, securing and versioning apis for an enterprise api program and monetizing apis and running a developer portal are not what Authelia is typically brought in for.
What can Apigee do that Authelia cannot?
Apigee covers API Gateway, API Analytics, Developer Portal, Google Cloud services. Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

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
Authelia: Does Authelia need a reverse proxy?

Yes. It integrates through forward authentication with Nginx, Traefik, Caddy or HAProxy rather than sitting in front of traffic itself.

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
Authelia: Authelia or Keycloak?

Authelia is far lighter and aimed at protecting self-hosted services behind a proxy. Keycloak is a full identity and access management platform, and much more to run.

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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