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Software · head to head

Apigee vs Portkey

Apigee logo

Apigee

Software

API management platform for designing, securing, and scaling APIs

From
$500/monthly
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Portkey

Software

Observe, govern, and secure every AI interaction across your enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Portkey 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; Portkey the free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apigee and Portkey actually diverge.

Attributes where Apigee and Portkey differ
AttributeApigeePortkey
Starting price$500/monthlyFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, Hybrid, On-premisesWeb
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Portkey

Nothing recorded that Apigee does not also cover.

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 Portkey
  • Monetizing APIs and running a developer portalnot Portkey
  • Analyzing API traffic and defending APIs against bots and abusenot Portkey

Portkey

No use cases recorded yet. See the Portkey review.

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

Portkey

  • The free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.

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

Portkey

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Portkey review.

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 Portkey if

  • You want to start without paying.
Portkey review

Questions people ask

Is Apigee or Portkey better?
Neither clearly leads. Apigee starts at $500/monthly and Portkey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apigee or Portkey?
Portkey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/monthly for Apigee and Free for Portkey.
Does Apigee or Portkey run on more platforms?
Apigee runs on Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises. Portkey runs on Web.
Can I use Portkey for free?
Yes. Portkey 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 Portkey is typically brought in for.
What can Apigee do that Portkey cannot?
Apigee covers API Gateway, API Analytics, Developer Portal, Google Cloud services.
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