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APIs are at the heart of modern IT architectures. They enable the seamless integration of applications and drive digital business models. However, as the number of APIs increases, so does the need for effective API management.
Two of the best-known solutions on the market are Tyk and Gravitee. Both offer powerful API gateways and management platforms, but which is the better choice for your business?
1. comparison of API management
🛠️ Overview of functions: Tyk vs. Gravitee
| Function | Tyk ✅ | Gravitee ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| UI for API management | ❌ (Enterprise only) | ✅ (also open source) |
| Own technology stack | ✅ | ✅ |
| Service mesh support | ❌ | ❌ |
| Extended Kubernetes support | ✅ | ✅ |
| CI/CD integration | ✅ | ✅ |
| REST API support | ✅ | ✅ |
| SOAP support | ✅ | ✅ |
| GraphQL support | ✅ (Universal Data Graph) | 🔜 (on the roadmap) |
| Kafka support | ❌ | ✅ |
| gRPC support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Websocket and webhook support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Event-native API management | ❌ | ✅ |
| No-code API policy configuration | ❌ | ✅ (in open source) |
➡️ Conclusion:
Gravitee offers a more complete open source solution, while Tyk offers strong support for GraphQL and SOAP in the enterprise version. Companies that require event-driven architectures or Kafka are better off with Gravitee.
2. API security & access management
Modern API management requires robust security mechanisms. Here is a comparison of the most important features:
| Safety function | Tyk ✅ | Gravitee ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Rate limiting & throttling | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data masking | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom authentication | ✅ | ✅ |
| Own IAM (Identity & Access Management) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Integration of external identity providers | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multi-factor authentication (MFA) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Bot detection | ❌ | ✅ |
| OAuth2 introspection in open source | ❌ | ✅ |
➡️ Conclusion:
While Tyk requires external solutions for IAM (e.g. Auth0, Okta), Gravitee offers a fully integrated IAM module. Those with the highest security requirements are better off with Gravitee.
3. API Design & Developer Experience
| Design feature | Tyk ✅ | Gravitee ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| No-code API design | ✅ (Enterprise) | ✅ (also open source) |
| Import of existing APIs | ✅ | ✅ |
| Automatic API documentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mock server for API tests | ✅ | ✅ |
➡️ Conclusion:
Both platforms offer modern API design tools, with Gravitee offering more no-code options for less technical teams.
4. API monetization & productization
| Feature | Tyk ✅ | Gravitee ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Developer portal for APIs | ✅ (Enterprise) | ✅ (also open source) |
| Publish GraphQL APIs in the portal | ✅ | ❌ |
| Publish streaming APIs in the portal | ❌ | ✅ |
| API monetization | ✅ | ✅ |
| User-defined API tariffs | ✅ | ✅ |
➡️ Conclusion:
Tyk scores with stronger GraphQL integration, while Gravitee offers a better open source developer portal and streaming API support.
5. API monitoring & observability
| Monitoring function | Tyk ✅ | Gravitee ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring & observability dashboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Audit logs | ✅ | ✅ |
| Health checks (health checks) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Native integration with IAM | ❌ | ✅ |
| Adaptive alerting (intelligent alarms) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Integration with Splunk & external tools | ✅ | ✅ |
➡️ Conclusion:
Gravitee offers intelligent API monitoring through adaptive alerting and native integration with IAM – a major advantage for companies with high security requirements.
Conclusion: Which platform is better for your company?
Both platforms are powerful, but they address different requirements:
✅ Tyk is ideal for companies that require strong GraphQL integration and already use an IAM solution such as Okta or Auth0.
✅ Gravitee is the better choice for companies that require event-driven APIs, native IAM integration and a fully-fledged open source offering.
When should you choose Tyk?
- If GraphQL is the main protocol.
- If an external IAM solution is already in use.
- If a lightweight API management solution in Go is preferred.
When should you choose Gravitee?
- When event-driven APIs, Kafka or websockets are important.
- When an integrated Identity & Access Management (IAM) solution is required.
- If a completely open source alternative with no-code API design is desired.
🚀 Do you need help choosing the right API management platform? Contact us at ONLU and we’ll help you find the best solution for your business!
