Tyk

Open-source API gateway with a commercial dashboard, developer portal and cloud or self-managed plans.

Open sourceSelf-hostableAPI gateways and API management

Updated Nov 1, 2026 · AppBreakup editorial · Web, Linux, Self-hosted

Visit Tyk See 5 alternatives

Is Tyk free?

Yes, free and open source

License:: MPL 2.0 (Gateway and Pump)

Checked on Tyk's site Nov 8, 2026

Switch from Tyk to

All 5

Kong
Starting price: From $25/month plus usage (Konnect Plus)
Apigee
Starting price: $365 per month per region (Base environment)
Amazon API Gateway
Free tier credits: Up to $200 for new AWS customers

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Tyk

Tyk is an API gateway written in Go that handles REST, GraphQL, gRPC and TCP traffic, and has added support for AI and MCP traffic. The gateway and its analytics pump are open source under the MPL 2.0 licence and free to run; the dashboard, developer portal and other management pieces come with a paid plan. Teams can use Tyk Cloud, a hybrid setup with gateways in their own infrastructure, or a fully self-managed install on-premises, which makes it popular in regulated industries. Features include authentication, quotas and rate limits, policies, versioning, analytics and API monetisation through the portal. Commercial pricing is by number of APIs managed or by deployment size rather than per request, with unlimited API calls, and there is a short free trial of the cloud product. It is a common shortlist pick next to Kong for teams that want an open-source core.

Best for: Teams in regulated industries wanting an open-source gateway they can fully self-manage.

Tyk pricing (checked Nov 8, 2026)

Each line is quoted from Tyk's own site, with the page it came from.

Plan or term	What it says	Checked	Source
Free trial	48 hours (Tyk Cloud)	Nov 8, 2026	tyk.io
Pricing basis	Per API managed, unlimited calls	Nov 8, 2026	tyk.io

What works

Gateway is open source under MPL 2.0
Paid plans don't charge per API call
Cloud, hybrid or fully on-premises deployment

Why people leave

Dashboard and developer portal require a paid licence
Cloud trial is only 48 hours
Smaller plugin ecosystem than Kong

Tyk vs Kong, Apigee and Amazon API Gateway

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

Attribute	Tyk	Kong	Apigee	Amazon API Gateway
Pricing	Open source	Open source	Paid	Paid
Verified price	—	From $25/month plus usage (Konnect Plus)	$365 per month per region (Base environment)	Up to $200 for new AWS customers
Free plan	Free app	Free app	No	1M REST + 1M HTTP calls/month for 12 months
Open source	Yes	Yes	No	No
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes	No	No
Platforms	Web, Linux, Self-hosted	Web, Linux, Self-hosted	Web	Web

Top Tyk alternatives

See all 5

1
Kong
Bigger plugin ecosystem and community, with an Apache-licensed core gateway.
68.8
2
Apigee
Google Cloud's enterprise API management, with analytics, portals and monetization fully managed for you.
64.8
3
Amazon API Gateway
Serverless and billed per call, the simplest gateway when your APIs run on AWS Lambda.
61.8
4
Envoy
The open-source proxy many gateways build on, for teams wanting a lower-level, Kubernetes-native setup.
51.2
5
Azure API Management
Managed Azure gateway with a serverless per-call tier, tied into Entra ID and Azure Monitor.
42.3

Why people left Tyk

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Tyk: common questions

What is Tyk?

Tyk: Open-source API gateway with a commercial dashboard, developer portal and cloud or self-managed plans. Best for teams in regulated industries wanting an open-source gateway they can fully self-manage. Available for Web and Linux, and you can host it yourself.

Is Tyk free?

Yes. Tyk is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

How much does Tyk cost?

Tyk is free and open source. Free trial: 48 hours (Tyk Cloud); Pricing basis: Per API managed, unlimited calls. Checked on Tyk's own site, November 2026.

Does Tyk have a free trial or refund?

Free trial: 48 hours (Tyk Cloud). Source: Tyk's own site.

Is Tyk open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at TykTechnologies/tyk. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does Tyk run on?

Tyk is available for Web, Linux and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to Tyk?

The highest-ranked Tyk alternatives right now are Kong, Apigee and Amazon API Gateway. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

Tyk vs Kong: what's the difference?

Both Tyk and Kong are free and open source. Both run on Web and Linux.

See all 5 Tyk alternatives

Tyk facts

4 of 4 verified

License: MPL 2.0 (Gateway and Pump); Checked Nov 8, 2026tyk.io(opens source in a new tab); “Open source vs paid: Tyk Gateway and Tyk Pump are free; everything else comes with a paid plan Component Open source (MPL 2.0)”
Free trial: 48 hours (Tyk Cloud); Checked Nov 8, 2026tyk.io(opens source in a new tab); “Start a 48-hour free trial of Tyk Cloud, our fully featured SaaS product.”
Pricing basis: Per API managed, unlimited calls; Checked Nov 8, 2026tyk.io(opens source in a new tab); “Priced by the number of APIs managed, with unlimited API calls.”
Protocols: REST, GraphQL, TCP, gRPC, MCP; Checked Nov 1, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “Description: Open Source API and AI Gateway supporting REST, GraphQL, TCP, gRPC and MCP (Model Context Protocol).”