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APIs · head to head

Janus Gateway vs Salt Edge

Janus Gateway logo

Janus Gateway

APIs

WebRTC gateway and media server for real-time communication

From
Free
Rated
-
Salt Edge logo

Salt Edge

APIs

Independent open banking aggregator covering Europe by PSD2 API and other markets by direct connection

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Janus Gateway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Janus Gateway no commercial pricing published; open-source project without official commercial offerings; Salt Edge coverage outside regulated open banking markets is not all direct bank API, and connections that are not regulated interfaces break when a bank changes its systems, so a headline country count overstates the reliability you will actually experience.
  • They diverge on capability: Janus Gateway covers WebRTC Gateway, Salt Edge covers Account information.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Janus Gateway and Salt Edge actually diverge.

Attributes where Janus Gateway and Salt Edge differ
AttributeJanus GatewaySalt Edge
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, MacOS, BSDWeb, API
Founded2010Unknown

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 Janus Gateway

  • WebRTC Gateway
  • Media Routing
  • Video Conferencing
  • RTP
  • SRTP
  • REST API
  • Linux support
  • MacOS support

Only in Salt Edge

  • Account information
  • Payment initiation
  • Wide country coverage
  • Open Banking Gateway
  • Categorisation and enrichment
  • Consent management
  • Partner and white label
  • Sandbox

What people use each for

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

Janus Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Salt Edge
  • API Gatewaynot Salt Edge
  • API Testingnot Salt Edge
  • API Documentationnot Salt Edge
  • Microservicesnot Salt Edge

Salt Edge

  • A lender operating across several European and non-EU markets that needs one aggregation contract rather than a different provider per countrynot Janus Gateway
  • A fintech that wants an aggregator not owned by a card network because its use case competes with card productsnot Janus Gateway
  • An accounting or treasury product that needs bank feeds in markets the large aggregators do not servenot Janus Gateway
  • A bank that must publish PSD2-compliant APIs and would rather buy the compliance layer than build itnot Janus Gateway

Where each one falls short

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

Janus Gateway

  • No commercial pricing published; open-source project without official commercial offerings
  • Community-supported only; no vendor commercial support or SLA available

Salt Edge

  • Coverage outside regulated open banking markets is not all direct bank API, and connections that are not regulated interfaces break when a bank changes its systems, so a headline country count overstates the reliability you will actually experience.
  • Pricing is not published and is usage-based, so two providers cannot be compared without running both sales processes, and cost grows with the connected user base rather than with revenue.
  • Support and engineering are distributed across Eastern Europe and Canada, and buyers in other time zones report slower turnaround on connection-specific breakages than they get from a domestic provider.
  • PSD2 consent rules require customers to reauthenticate periodically, and Salt Edge cannot change that, so any product depending on continuous data must design for consent expiry and the drop-off it causes.
  • United States coverage is weaker than Plaid or Mastercard Open Banking, so a company with meaningful US volume ends up running two aggregators and normalising between them.

Pricing, plan by plan

Janus Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core WebRTC gateway
    • Community support

Salt Edge

On request
  • Salt Edge Open Banking API$undefined/year
    • Account information and payment initiation
    • Coverage across 50 plus countries
    • Consent management and enrichment

Which should you pick?

Choose Janus Gateway if

  • You need webrtc gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, MacOS, BSD.
  • You also want media routing.

Choose Salt Edge if

  • You need account information.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want payment initiation.

Questions people ask

Is Janus Gateway or Salt Edge better?
Neither clearly leads. Janus Gateway starts at Free and Salt Edge at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Janus Gateway or Salt Edge?
Janus Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Janus Gateway and On request for Salt Edge.
Does Janus Gateway or Salt Edge run on more platforms?
Janus Gateway runs on Linux, MacOS, BSD. Salt Edge runs on Web, API.
Can I use Janus Gateway for free?
Yes. Janus Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salt Edge starts at On request.
What is Janus Gateway best used for?
Janus Gateway is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Salt Edge is typically brought in for.
What can Janus Gateway do that Salt Edge cannot?
Janus Gateway covers WebRTC Gateway, Media Routing, Video Conferencing, RTP. Salt Edge covers Account information, Payment initiation, Wide country coverage, Open Banking Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Janus Gateway: How much does Janus Gateway cost?

Janus Gateway has no pricing model; it is a free open-source WebRTC server developed by Meetecho. The general-purpose server is available for download at no cost. There are no subscription tiers or commercial licensing fees.

Source
Salt Edge: Who owns Salt Edge?

It is independently owned, unlike Tink (Visa), Finicity (Mastercard) or Yodlee (Envestnet), which matters if your use case competes with the owner.

Janus Gateway: Is Janus Gateway supported commercially?

Janus Gateway is community-supported open-source software with no official commercial support or SLA from the vendors. While Meetecho developed the project, users must rely on community documentation and forums for assistance.

Source
Salt Edge: Is all coverage direct bank API?

No. Inside PSD2 markets connections use regulated APIs; elsewhere coverage relies on direct connections whose reliability depends on the bank not changing its systems. Ask for a per-institution answer.

Salt Edge: Does it do payments as well as data?

Yes, payment initiation is supported in European markets where PSD2 applies.

Salt Edge: What does it cost?

Not published. Pricing is usage-based and quoted, though the sandbox is free.

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