KrakenD API Gateway vs Tyk Gateway
KrakenD API Gateway
krakend.ioTyk Gateway
tyk.ioSide by side
| Figure | KrakenD API Gateway | Tyk Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 5 |
| Spec score · API Gateway Software | 7.8 (#13) | 8.2 (#7) |
| Authentication | Listed authentication options include JWT, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, client credentials, and mTLS. | Authentication options include OIDC, JWT, bearer tokens, basic authentication and client certificates. |
| Compliance | KrakenD states that the company is SOC 2 Type II certified; Enterprise also advertises FIPS compliance. | Tyk states that it has SOC 2 compliance and describes its audit criteria as security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. |
| Deployment | KrakenD is self-hosted and available through Docker and Kubernetes, cloud marketplace virtual machines, Linux packages, and Linux generic binaries. | Tyk can be deployed in cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments. |
| Founded | 2016 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Barcelona, Spain | London, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | KrakenD is a stateless, distributed API gateway for connecting, securing, aggregating, and transforming APIs and AI workloads. | Tyk API Gateway manages API traffic and provides security, governance, auditing, and analytics. |
| Security | KrakenD describes a zero-trust design with token validation, API key authentication, IP filtering, rate limiting, and protections against common web attack vectors. | Tyk lists authentication, authorization, rate limits, quotas, security policies, RBAC, and single sign-on as security and governance capabilities. |
| Support | Community support resources include Google Groups, GitHub issue reporting, and Gophers Slack; Enterprise offers direct vendor support and SLAs. | The Core and Professional plans include an enhanced success plan, while Enterprise includes premium support and custom SLAs. |
| Traffic management | Traffic controls include rate limiting, circuit breaking, IP filtering, bot detection, and load balancing. | It provides rate limits, quotas, throttling, load balancing, caching and request or response transformation. |
Plans
KrakenD API Gateway
- Community EditionFree
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
Tyk Gateway
- Open Source API GatewayFree
- Tyk Cloud free trialFree
- CorePriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
- ProfessionalPriced on request
In their own words
KrakenD API Gateway
KrakenD API Gateway is a stateless, distributed gateway for connecting, securing, aggregating, and transforming APIs and AI workloads. It can combine data from multiple services into one response shaped for client needs. Traffic controls include rate limiting, circuit breaking, IP filtering, bot detection, and load balancing. Connectivity includes REST, RabbitMQ, SNS, SQS, Kafka, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and Lambda; listed protocols also include HTTP, WebSockets, AMQP, and NATS. Authentication options include JWT, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, client credentials, API keys, Basic Authentication, and mTLS. KrakenD is self-hosted, with deployment choices including Docker, Kubernetes, cloud marketplace virtual machines, and Linux packages or binaries. The maker says the development Docker image can be used on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and KrakenD runs natively on Linux and Mac OS. Community Edition costs nothing and includes unlimited requests, APIs, and AI workloads. AI Gateway and AI security are Enterprise features.
Tyk Gateway
Tyk Gateway manages API traffic and provides controls for security, governance, auditing, and analytics. It supports REST, SOAP, GraphQL, gRPC, TCP, HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events, as well as event-driven and AI APIs. Traffic controls include authentication and authorization, rate limits, quotas, caching, load balancing, logging, tracing, and versioning. Authentication options include API keys, bearer tokens, JWT, OIDC, Basic Auth, client certificates, mTLS, and custom plugins. Deploy it in cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments, and extend it with plugins, extensions, or pluggable middleware. Tyk Dashboard monitors API performance; Tyk Pump exports analytics for business intelligence tools. Listed integrations include Kubernetes, OpenAPI, OAuth, Open Policy Agent, OpenTelemetry, and CI/CD pipelines. Tyk says it has SOC 2 compliance covering security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. The open-source gateway costs nothing. Core pricing is usage-based; Professional and Enterprise pricing is available by contacting Tyk. Professional includes unlimited gateways, APIs, and monthly requests. Enterprise adds advanced governance and security, premium support, custom SLAs, and multi-region and multi-cloud deployments.