Overview

Gravitee API Gateway is a runtime for enforcing security, traffic, and transformation policies across API traffic. It suits teams that need consistent controls across multiple protocols or deployment environments. Its main trade-off is straightforward: the free Community Edition has no numerical limits listed, while paid plans tie production gateway capacity and support to the tier.

Key features

Policy Studio uses drag-and-drop configuration for OAuth 2.0, JWT, mTLS, API keys, OIDC, OpenAPI validation, rate limiting, caching, threat protection, and message transformation. Shared policy groups allow teams to reuse enforcement across thousands of APIs and plans, useful when consistency matters across a large estate. That scale may be more than a small deployment needs.

Protocol support spans REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, WebSocket, Server-sent Events, and Webhooks. The gateway can mediate between protocols and formats, including gRPC to Kafka, JSON to Protobuf, and REST to Kafka. Integrations include Kafka, Confluent, Solace, HiveMQ, and MQTT brokers, giving teams a way to connect API traffic with event systems.

Identity options include OAuth 2.0, JWT, mTLS, API Key, OIDC, and SAML, with federation through Gravitee Access Management or an external identity provider. Traffic controls include OpenAPI validation, threat protection, IP filtering, CORS, caching, retries, circuit breakers, and per-consumer rate limiting. Runtime telemetry can flow through OpenTelemetry to Datadog, Grafana, Splunk, and other tools; Alert Engine can send email, Slack, or webhook alerts.

Deployment flexibility is a strength: teams can run the gateway self-managed, on AWS, Azure, or GCP, on-premises, or on Kubernetes via the Gateway API. The product also includes an API catalog, developer portal, lifecycle management, API product management, access policies, and analytics, making it relevant beyond runtime enforcement alone.

Pricing

Gravitee describes its API Management pricing as flat, with unlimited API calls and users, and its product page says fees are per gateway rather than per call. That makes the production gateway allowance the key practical limit for paid tiers.

Community Edition: 0.00 USD per free. This Apache 2.0 community edition is the no-cost starting point for teams willing to use the community edition; no numerical limits are stated.
Planet: 2500.00 USD per month, billed $2,500/m. It includes unlimited users and APIs, one production gateway, and Gold Support. It fits a team needing a defined production gateway and support without moving to a higher tier.
Galaxy: custom pricing. It includes unlimited users and APIs, two production gateways, enterprise plugins, limited event broker support, hybrid or managed deployment, and Gold Support. It is a step up for teams needing a second gateway or enterprise plugins, but event broker support is limited.
Universe: custom pricing. It includes unlimited users and APIs, four or more production gateways, unlimited enterprise functionality, all supported event brokers, IAM, 24/7 support, and a Technical Account Manager. It is aimed at enterprise deployments that need broader broker coverage and a higher-touch support arrangement.

A 14-day trial is offered. Planet is the only paid plan with a stated price; Galaxy and Universe require custom pricing.

Platforms

Gravitee supports API, Linux, self-hosted, web, and Windows environments. Its hybrid deployment model and options across cloud, on-premises, and Kubernetes suit teams that need to place gateways alongside existing infrastructure rather than adopt a single hosting pattern.

Who it's for

Gravitee is a strong fit for organizations managing varied API protocols, event-broker connections, or distributed deployments under shared runtime policies. Teams that need unlimited APIs and users but can operate within one production gateway can start with Planet; larger enterprises can pay for more gateways, broker coverage, and support. It is less compelling for a small team that needs only basic gateway controls and does not benefit from the broader policy, mediation, and deployment options.

Pros and cons

Pro: Broad protocol support and cross-protocol mediation help teams connect conventional APIs with event brokers and alternate message formats.
Pro: Shared policy groups and a wide set of identity and traffic controls support consistent enforcement across large API estates.
Pro: Self-managed, cloud, on-premises, and Kubernetes deployment options give teams flexibility to fit the gateway into existing infrastructure.
Con: Planet includes only one production gateway, so teams requiring multiple production instances must move to custom-priced tiers.
Con: Galaxy limits event broker support, while full supported-broker coverage is reserved for Universe.
Con: Galaxy and Universe have custom pricing, which makes the cost of additional gateway capacity and enterprise functionality less predictable.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see API Gateway Software, API Management Software, API Developer Portal Software, API Monetization Software, and API Marketplace Software.

Kong Gateway is worth comparing if a 30-day free trial with no Gateway limits and 30 days of analytics retention better fits your evaluation.
Amazon API Gateway is another option to consider for a different API gateway fit.
Envoy Gateway is the open-source, Apache-2.0 option for teams seeking a free self-hosted gateway.
Tyk Gateway offers an open-source API gateway and a usage-based Core plan with pricing on request.
Apache APISIX is a free option for teams seeking a self-hosted API gateway.
Google Cloud API Gateway uses monthly API-call pricing, which may suit teams evaluating a call-priced alternative.
Tyk API Management is a paid alternative with unlimited API gateways, APIs, and monthly requests on its Professional plan.
API7 Enterprise is another paid alternative to compare.

Verdict

Choose Gravitee API Gateway if your team needs broad protocol support, reusable runtime policies, and deployment flexibility across a growing API estate. Its strongest case is the combination of traffic control and protocol mediation, with a free community starting point and a clearly priced Planet tier. Look elsewhere if one production gateway is too restrictive, you need a firm price for enterprise capacity, or your gateway requirements do not justify its breadth.

	Gravitee API Gateway	Younium
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$2,500/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows	api, Web
Free plan	Yes	—
Paid from	2,500 /mo	—
Developer portal	Yes	—

Gravitee API Gateway vs Younium

Gravitee API Gateway

Younium