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APIs · head to head

Janus Gateway vs Tink

Janus Gateway logo

Janus Gateway

APIs

WebRTC gateway and media server for real-time communication

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tink logo

Tink

APIs

European open banking platform for account data and payment initiation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Tink visa owns Tink, and pay-by-bank exists to move payments off card rails, so the roadmap and pricing of the product you are using to reduce interchange are set by the company that earns the interchange.
  • They diverge on capability: Janus Gateway covers WebRTC Gateway, Tink covers Account data access.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Janus Gateway and Tink actually diverge.

Attributes where Janus Gateway and Tink differ
AttributeJanus GatewayTink
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, MacOS, BSDAPI, Web
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 Tink

  • Account data access
  • Payment initiation
  • EEA passporting
  • Categorisation
  • Account verification
  • Risk and affordability signals
  • Variable recurring payments support
  • Consent management

What people use each for

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

Janus Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Tink
  • API Gatewaynot Tink
  • API Testingnot Tink
  • API Documentationnot Tink
  • Microservicesnot Tink

Tink

  • A European lender that needs verified income and expense data from a borrower bank account across several EEA markets under one licencenot Janus Gateway
  • A merchant offering pay-by-bank at checkout to avoid card acceptance costs on high value basketsnot Janus Gateway
  • A fintech that does not hold its own PSD2 licence and needs to operate under an authorised provider passported across the EEAnot Janus Gateway
  • A bank building an account aggregation view of a customer external accounts without negotiating with each institution individuallynot 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

Tink

  • Visa owns Tink, and pay-by-bank exists to move payments off card rails, so the roadmap and pricing of the product you are using to reduce interchange are set by the company that earns the interchange.
  • Coverage is Europe only, so a product serving both European and United States users runs a second aggregator with a different data model and a separate contract.
  • PSD2 connection quality varies sharply by bank, and headline connection counts hide wide differences in success rate, consent lifetime and re-authentication frequency that determine what users actually experience.
  • Consent under PSD2 expires and requires periodic re-authentication, so any product depending on continuous data access has a recurring user friction it cannot design away, and drop-off at re-consent is a real product problem.
  • Pricing is quoted with data access and payment initiation priced separately, and there is no published rate card, so small merchants cannot compare pay-by-bank economics against card acceptance without a sales process.

Pricing, plan by plan

Janus Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core WebRTC gateway
    • Community support

Tink

On request
  • Tink Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by product, market and volume
    • Data access and payment initiation priced separately
    • Annual commitments typical for enterprise agreements

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.
Janus Gateway review

Choose Tink if

  • You need account data access.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want payment initiation.
Tink review

Questions people ask

Is Janus Gateway or Tink better?
Neither clearly leads. Janus Gateway starts at Free and Tink at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Janus Gateway or Tink?
Janus Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Janus Gateway and On request for Tink.
Does Janus Gateway or Tink run on more platforms?
Janus Gateway runs on Linux, MacOS, BSD. Tink runs on API, Web.
Can I use Janus Gateway for free?
Yes. Janus Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tink 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 Tink is typically brought in for.
What can Janus Gateway do that Tink cannot?
Janus Gateway covers WebRTC Gateway, Media Routing, Video Conferencing, RTP. Tink covers Account data access, Payment initiation, EEA passporting, Categorisation.

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
Tink: Who owns Tink?

Visa, since 2022. That is directly relevant if you are adopting pay-by-bank specifically to reduce card costs.

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
Tink: Do I need my own PSD2 licence?

No. Tink holds AIS and PIS licences from the Swedish FSA passported across the EEA, and customers can operate as its agent rather than obtaining their own authorisation.

Tink: Does Tink cover the United States?

No. It is a European platform. US coverage requires a separate provider.

Tink: How reliable are the bank connections?

It varies by institution far more than the headline count of roughly 6,000 connections suggests. Ask for per market and per bank success rates and consent lifetimes for the banks your users actually hold accounts with.

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