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APIs · head to head

Gravitee vs Sigstore

Gravitee logo

Gravitee

APIs

Open source API management platform for event-native APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Sigstore logo

Sigstore

Cybersecurity

Free public signing and transparency infrastructure for open source artifacts

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Gravitee the entry paid API management tier is $2,500 a month and includes a single production gateway; Sigstore the security model depends on somebody watching the log. The documentation states that compromise of an identity provider or of Fulcio itself is detectable only if third parties monitor the transparency log, the monitoring tool is a community-tier rather than core project, and almost no consumer runs one.
  • They diverge on capability: Gravitee covers API Gateway, Sigstore covers Fulcio.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gravitee and Sigstore actually diverge.

Attributes where Gravitee and Sigstore differ
AttributeGraviteeSigstore
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, public instance free to use
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, KubernetesWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Gravitee

  • API Gateway
  • Developer Portal
  • Analytics Dashboard
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Kafka
  • LDAP
  • Cloud support

Only in Sigstore

  • Fulcio
  • Rekor
  • Keyless signing
  • Multi-language clients
  • Timestamp authority
  • Neutral governance

What people use each for

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

Gravitee

  • API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Sigstore
  • Exposing Kafka event streams as managed APIsnot Sigstore
  • Protocol mediation between event brokers and clientsnot Sigstore
  • Self-hosting an open source API gatewaynot Sigstore
  • Access control and authentication in front of internal APIsnot Sigstore

Sigstore

  • Open source projects signing releases without running a certificate authoritynot Gravitee
  • Organisations meeting a signed-artifact requirement without buying a signing productnot Gravitee
  • Publishing provenance that a consumer can verify independently of younot Gravitee
  • Self-hosting the same components where a public log is unacceptablenot Gravitee

Where each one falls short

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

Gravitee

  • The entry paid API management tier is $2,500 a month and includes a single production gateway
  • Event management is priced separately, starting at $1,250 a month for the Comet tier
  • Tiers are gated on gateway and broker counts, so scaling horizontally means moving tier rather than paying incrementally
  • Data logging masking and other enterprise features are withheld from the lowest paid tier
  • 24/7 support requires the top Universe tier

Sigstore

  • The security model depends on somebody watching the log. The documentation states that compromise of an identity provider or of Fulcio itself is detectable only if third parties monitor the transparency log, the monitoring tool is a community-tier rather than core project, and almost no consumer runs one.
  • It is a 99.5 percent objective with no service level agreement, which permits several hours of downtime a month and offers no remedy. A pipeline that signs on every build has taken a hard dependency on a free service with no contract behind it.
  • Log scale is a live engineering problem rather than a theoretical one. The active shard holds billions of entries, the log has already been sharded twice, and sharding version 1 requires stopping traffic, which is why a replacement was built.
  • Ten-minute certificates make trust depend on log availability. Verifying an older signature relies on the log entry proving it was made inside that window, so a lost or unreachable entry can render a valid artifact unverifiable.
  • Migration debt is substantial and ongoing. Version 2 of the log is generally available but not the public default, the signing client has an announced breaking release ahead, some official clients lag the new log format, and a post-quantum migration is named as the next break after that.

Pricing, plan by plan

Gravitee

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • API Gateway
    • Basic analytics
    • Community support
  • Enterprise$1500/monthly
    • Advanced features
    • SLA support
    • SSO integration
  • Custom$undefined/monthly
    • Custom deployment
    • Dedicated support
    • Premium SLA

Sigstore

Free
  • Public good instanceFree
    • Free to everyone with no contract
    • 99.5 percent availability objective, not an agreement
    • 100KB cap per attestation upload
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • Run your own Fulcio and Rekor
    • Rekor v2 available for self-hosters

Which should you pick?

Choose Gravitee if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Kubernetes.
  • You also want developer portal.

Choose Sigstore if

  • You need fulcio.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
  • You also want rekor.

Questions people ask

Is Gravitee or Sigstore better?
Neither clearly leads. Gravitee starts at Free and Sigstore at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gravitee or Sigstore?
Gravitee starts at Free and Sigstore at Free.
Does Gravitee or Sigstore run on more platforms?
Gravitee runs on Cloud, On-premise, Kubernetes. Sigstore runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
Can I use Gravitee for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Gravitee best used for?
Gravitee is most often used for api gateway and lifecycle management, exposing kafka event streams as managed apis, protocol mediation between event brokers and clients, self-hosting an open source api gateway. Of those, api gateway and lifecycle management and exposing kafka event streams as managed apis are not what Sigstore is typically brought in for.
What can Gravitee do that Sigstore cannot?
Gravitee covers API Gateway, Developer Portal, Analytics Dashboard, Kubernetes. Sigstore covers Fulcio, Rekor, Keyless signing, Multi-language clients.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gravitee: What is Gravitee's pricing model?

Gravitee uses a tiered subscription model with monthly flat pricing. The Planet tier for API Management starts at $2,500/month with one production gateway, while the Comet tier for Event Management starts at $1,250/month.

Source
Sigstore: Is the public instance really free?

Yes, with no contract and no paid tier. That is also the weakness: a 99.5 percent objective with no agreement, no remedy and support through Slack.

Gravitee: Are there hidden fees with Gravitee?

No. Gravitee explicitly states there are no hidden fees, and all tiers include unlimited users and unlimited APIs under management.

Source
Sigstore: Has the public log moved to Rekor v2?

No. Version 2 reached general availability in October 2025 and self-hosters can use it, but the public instance still defaults to version 1 and the project has said it will for the foreseeable future.

Gravitee: What does higher tier pricing include in Gravitee?

Higher tiers add more production gateways, enterprise plugins, and enhanced support levels ranging from Gold to Platinum/Diamond support.

Source
Sigstore: Does Sigstore make my dependencies safe?

No, and this is a category error worth avoiding. It tells you who published something. It has no knowledge of what the artifact contains or whether it is vulnerable.

Sigstore: What are the rate limits?

Not published. Only the 100KB cap per attestation upload is documented, so do not design a high-volume pipeline around assumed throughput.

Sigstore: Should we self-host it?

If a public record of every signature is unacceptable, or if a free service with no agreement cannot sit in your build path, then yes. Otherwise the public instance is what most projects use.

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