RapidAPI

API marketplace where developers find, test and pay for thousands of third-party APIs

Free plan + paidAPI gateways and API management

Updated Nov 4, 2026 · AppBreakup editorial · Web

Visit RapidAPI See 5 alternatives

Is RapidAPI free?

Free plan, plus paid plans

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All 5

Kong
Starting price: From $25/month plus usage (Konnect Plus)
Tyk
Open source
Postman
Starting price: $9 a month, billed annually (Solo)

Verified facts: 5 of 5
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About RapidAPI

RapidAPI runs rapidapi.com, a large public API hub where developers browse thousands of third-party APIs, try them in the browser and call them with a single RapidAPI key. Subscriptions, usage tracking and billing for every API sit in one dashboard, so a developer does not need separate accounts with each provider. For API providers the hub works as a storefront: listing is free, and providers can keep an API private or publish it with free, freemium or paid plans, with RapidAPI handling billing and keeping a marketplace fee on each payment. Payouts go through PayPal. The same company sells Enterprise Hub, a private branded API catalogue and developer portal for large organisations, which sits on top of gateways such as Amazon API Gateway, Apigee or Azure API Management and adds testing and monitoring tools. It suits developers hunting for ready-made APIs and companies that want to sell or catalogue APIs without building their own portal.

Best for: Developers looking for ready-made APIs, and providers who want to sell an API without building billing.

What works

Thousands of APIs reachable with one key
Free to list an API and set your own plans
Built-in usage analytics and billing for providers
Enterprise Hub works with existing API gateways

Why people leave

25% marketplace fee on provider revenue
Payouts only through PayPal
Quality and upkeep of third-party listings varies widely

RapidAPI vs Kong, Tyk and Postman

From each app's listing and the prices verified on its own site. A dash means we haven't verified it yet.

Attribute	RapidAPI	Kong	Tyk	Postman
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Open source	Open source	Free plan + paid
Verified price	—	From $25/month plus usage (Konnect Plus)	—	$9 a month, billed annually (Solo)
Free plan	Yes	Free app	Free app	Yes
Open source	No	Yes	Yes	No
Self-hostable	No	Yes	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux, Self-hosted	Web, Linux, Self-hosted	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux

Top RapidAPI alternatives

See all 5

1
Kong
Run your own gateway and developer portal instead of listing APIs on a shared marketplace with a revenue cut.
68.8
2
Tyk
Open-source gateway with a built-in developer portal for publishing and monetising your own APIs.
64.8
3
Postman
Its public API Network lets you discover and test APIs, with no marketplace fee or shared key.
63.4
4
Apigee
Google's API management platform with developer portals, analytics and monetisation for publishing your own APIs.
59.4
5
Apidog
For RapidAPI's testing side: design, mock and test APIs in one app with a generous free plan.
50.0

Why people left RapidAPI

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RapidAPI: common questions

What is RapidAPI?

RapidAPI: API marketplace where developers find, test and pay for thousands of third-party APIs. Best for developers looking for ready-made APIs, and providers who want to sell an API without building billing. Available for Web.

Is RapidAPI free?

RapidAPI has a free plan and paid plans.

Is RapidAPI open source?

No, RapidAPI is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Kong and Tyk.

What platforms does RapidAPI run on?

RapidAPI is available for Web.

What are the best alternatives to RapidAPI?

The highest-ranked RapidAPI alternatives right now are Kong, Tyk and Postman. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

RapidAPI vs Kong: what's the difference?

RapidAPI is free with paid plans; Kong is free and open source. Kong is open source and RapidAPI is not. Only Kong runs on Linux.

See all 5 RapidAPI alternatives

RapidAPI facts

5 of 5 verified

Developers: Over five million; Checked Nov 8, 2026docs.rapidapi.com(opens source in a new tab); “rapidapi.com, the world's largest API hub, is used by over five million developers to find, test, and connect to thousands of APIs — all with a single API key.”
One key: Yes; Checked Nov 8, 2026docs.rapidapi.com(opens source in a new tab); “thousands of APIs — all with a single API key.”
Listing an API: Free; Checked Nov 8, 2026docs.rapidapi.com(opens source in a new tab); “It is also free and easy to add your API to the hub.”
Marketplace fee: 25%; Checked Nov 8, 2026docs.rapidapi.com(opens source in a new tab); “📘 Rapid's marketplace fee Rapid takes a flat 25% marketplace fee on all payments made through the API Hub.”
Payouts: PayPal only; Checked Nov 8, 2026docs.rapidapi.com(opens source in a new tab); “Adding your PayPal account information Rapid currently only pays out API providers via PayPal.”