API Management · head to head
AWS API Gateway vs Apigee
AWS API Gateway
API Management
Fully managed API gateway service for creating and managing APIs at scale
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Apigee
API Management
API management platform for designing, securing, and scaling APIs
- From
- $500/monthly
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only AWS API Gateway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: AWS API Gateway rEST APIs cost $3.50 per million calls against $1.00 for HTTP APIs, so the older and more featureful type is three and a half times dearer; Apigee the free evaluation is a sandbox limited to 60 days
- They diverge on capability: AWS API Gateway covers REST APIs, Apigee covers API Gateway.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which AWS API Gateway and Apigee actually diverge.
| Attribute | AWS API Gateway | Apigee |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $500/monthly |
| Pricing model | usage-based | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | AWS Cloud | Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management), founded (2006).
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 AWS API Gateway
- REST APIs
- WebSocket APIs
- HTTP APIs
- Lambda
- EC2
- DynamoDB
- CloudWatch
- IAM
Only in Apigee
- API Gateway
- API Analytics
- Developer Portal
- Google Cloud services
- Azure
- AWS
- Okta
- Cloud support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
AWS API Gateway
- Fronting Lambda functions with an HTTP endpointnot Apigee
- REST and HTTP API management with throttling and keysnot Apigee
- WebSocket APIs for real-time clientsnot Apigee
- Private APIs reachable only inside a VPCnot Apigee
- Publishing a developer portal for API consumersnot Apigee
Apigee
- Publishing, securing and versioning APIs for an enterprise API programnot AWS API Gateway
- Monetizing APIs and running a developer portalnot AWS API Gateway
- Analyzing API traffic and defending APIs against bots and abusenot AWS API Gateway
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
AWS API Gateway
- REST APIs cost $3.50 per million calls against $1.00 for HTTP APIs, so the older and more featureful type is three and a half times dearer
- Data transfer out is charged at $0.09 per GB on top of request pricing
- WebSocket APIs bill connection minutes as well as messages, at $0.25 per million minutes
- Private APIs avoid data transfer charges but incur AWS PrivateLink costs instead
- The developer portal is $125 a month, with additional portal products at $12.50 each
- The free tier lasts 12 months rather than being ongoing
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
AWS API Gateway
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M requests per month
- Basic API management
- Pay-as-you-go$3.5/per 1M requests
- Unlimited requests
- HTTP APIs
- REST APIs
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 AWS API Gateway if
- You need rest apis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on AWS Cloud.
- You also want websocket apis.
Choose Apigee if
- You need api gateway.
- You work on Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises.
- You also want api analytics.
Questions people ask
- Is AWS API Gateway or Apigee better?
- Neither clearly leads. AWS API Gateway starts at Free and Apigee at $500/monthly, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, AWS API Gateway or Apigee?
- AWS API Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for AWS API Gateway and $500/monthly for Apigee.
- Does AWS API Gateway or Apigee run on more platforms?
- AWS API Gateway runs on AWS Cloud. Apigee runs on Cloud, Hybrid, On-premises.
- Can I use AWS API Gateway for free?
- Yes. AWS API Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Apigee starts at $500/monthly.
- What is AWS API Gateway best used for?
- AWS API Gateway is most often used for fronting lambda functions with an http endpoint, rest and http api management with throttling and keys, websocket apis for real-time clients, private apis reachable only inside a vpc. Of those, fronting lambda functions with an http endpoint and rest and http api management with throttling and keys are not what Apigee is typically brought in for.
- What can AWS API Gateway do that Apigee cannot?
- AWS API Gateway covers REST APIs, WebSocket APIs, HTTP APIs, Lambda. Apigee covers API Gateway, API Analytics, Developer Portal, Google Cloud services.