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Tech riderRev. 30 Sept 2026

KrakenD API Gateway

Ch 047.3of 27 API Gateway Software
  1. 1Runs onLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Deployment modelhybrid
  4. 4Supported protocolsREST, HTTP, WebSockets, SOAP, gRPC, GraphQL, AMQP, Kafka, NATS
  5. 5Authentication methodsJWT, client credentials, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, API keys, Basic Authentication, mTLS
  6. 6Rate limitingYes
  7. 7Request transformationYes
7 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: krakend.io
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The KrakenD API Gateway homepage

Overview

KrakenD API Gateway is ranked #4 of 27 in API gateway software on Specifiction. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

KrakenD API Gateway plans and pricing

All plans
Community Edition Free Free to use; no license cost Unlimited requests · unlimited APIs and AI workloads · self-hosted krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Enterprise Edition Not published Contact sales Unlimited requests · unlimited APIs and AI workloads · commercial support and SLAs krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026

Compared on API gateway software

Free plan
Yeskrakend.io
Deployment model
hybridkrakend.io
Supported protocols
REST, HTTP, WebSockets, SOAP, gRPC, GraphQL, AMQP, Kafka, NATSkrakend.io
Authentication methods
JWT, client credentials, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, API keys, Basic Authentication, mTLSkrakend.io
Rate limiting
Yeskrakend.io
Request transformation
Yeskrakend.io

Facts

Purpose
KrakenD is a stateless, distributed API gateway for connecting, securing, aggregating, and transforming APIs and AI workloads.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
API composition
It can combine data from multiple APIs or services into a single response tailored to client needs.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Traffic management
Traffic controls include rate limiting, circuit breaking, IP filtering, bot detection, and load balancing.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Connectivity
The gateway connects to REST, RabbitMQ, SNS, SQS, Kafka, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and Lambda services.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Authentication
Listed authentication options include JWT, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, client credentials, and mTLS.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Security
KrakenD describes a zero-trust design with token validation, API key authentication, IP filtering, rate limiting, and protections against common web attack vectors.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Compliance
KrakenD states that the company is SOC 2 Type II certified; Enterprise also advertises FIPS compliance.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Enterprise AI features
The feature comparison lists AI Gateway and AI security capabilities as Enterprise features not included in Community.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Deployment
KrakenD is self-hosted and available through Docker and Kubernetes, cloud marketplace virtual machines, Linux packages, and Linux generic binaries.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Platform support
The maker says the development Docker image can be used on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and that KrakenD runs natively on Linux and Mac OS.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Support
Community support resources include Google Groups, GitHub issue reporting, and Gophers Slack; Enterprise offers direct vendor support and SLAs.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026
Limits
The maker says plans have unlimited requests, APIs, and AI workloads, while Community feature availability differs from Enterprise in areas including SSO/SAML, audit logging, and direct SLA support.krakend.io · 30 Sept 2026

Company

Founded
2016krakend.io · 28 Sept 2026
Headquarters
Barcelona, Spainkrakend.io · 28 Sept 2026

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Where it ranks on Specifiction

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