Question 1

Is Zuplo easier to set up than KrakenD?

Accepted Answer

Yes. KrakenD requires you to deploy and manage your own infrastructure — typically Docker containers or Kubernetes clusters — and configure the gateway through a JSON file. Zuplo is fully managed: you sign up, import an OpenAPI spec or create routes in the UI, and deploy to 300+ edge locations in seconds. There are no servers, containers, or config files to manage.

Question 2

Does KrakenD have a developer portal?

Accepted Answer

No. KrakenD does not include a developer portal. If you need API documentation, an API explorer, or self-serve API key management for your consumers, you'll need to build or integrate separate tooling. Zuplo includes a developer portal in every plan, auto-generated from your OpenAPI spec with interactive documentation and self-serve API key management.

Question 3

How does rate limiting compare between Zuplo and KrakenD?

Accepted Answer

KrakenD offers multi-layer rate limiting at the endpoint, backend, and service levels using token bucket algorithms. However, tiered rate limiting and Redis-backed global rate limits are Enterprise-only features. Zuplo provides programmable rate limiting with TypeScript, supporting dynamic per-user or per-tier limits using API key metadata — no external data stores required for distributed enforcement.

Question 4

Is KrakenD really free?

Accepted Answer

KrakenD's Community Edition is free and open source, but it lacks features many teams need in production — including API key authentication, OpenAPI integration, tiered rate limiting, and basic auth. These are only available in the Enterprise Edition, which requires custom pricing. You also need to factor in the cost of hosting, scaling, and maintaining your own infrastructure.

Question 5

Can Zuplo match KrakenD's performance?

Accepted Answer

KrakenD's Go-based architecture is optimized for high throughput on a single node. Zuplo takes a different approach: rather than maximizing single-node performance, it deploys your gateway to 300+ edge locations globally, so requests are handled close to your users with ultra-low latency. For most API use cases, Zuplo's edge architecture delivers better real-world performance than a centrally-hosted KrakenD instance.

Question 6

Does Zuplo support API aggregation like KrakenD?

Accepted Answer

KrakenD excels at API aggregation — merging responses from multiple backends into a single endpoint is a core feature. Zuplo supports routing to multiple backends and composing responses with custom TypeScript logic, but KrakenD's declarative aggregation is more purpose-built for backend-for-frontend patterns. If API aggregation is your primary use case, KrakenD may be the better fit.

Feature	Zuplo	KrakenD
Fully Managed Deployment	Fully managed and serverless — deploys to 300+ edge data centers globally in under 20 seconds with no servers or containers to manage	Self-hosted only. You deploy, scale, and maintain KrakenD on your own infrastructure using Docker or Kubernetes
Developer Portal	Built-in developer portal auto-generated from OpenAPI specs with interactive API explorer, self-serve API key management, and custom branding	No developer portal. You need separate tooling like Swagger UI or a custom-built portal for API documentation
Programmable Policies	Write custom gateway logic in TypeScript with full access to the request and response lifecycle. Policies run natively on the edge	Declarative JSON configuration only. Custom logic requires Go plugins, Lua scripts, or Google CEL expressions
API Key Management	Built-in API key service with self-serve key creation, rotation, and revocation. Keys can store custom metadata for per-user policies	API key authentication is an Enterprise-only feature. No built-in key management portal — keys are defined in the gateway configuration file
API Monetization	API monetization with metering, usage-based billing, and plan management built into the gateway with Stripe and other billing integrations	No built-in monetization. Requires external billing integrations and custom development
Rate Limiting	Per-user, per-key, or per-IP rate limiting with TypeScript-based dynamic policies. Supports custom logic like tier-based limits using API key metadata	Multi-layer rate limiting at endpoint, backend, and service levels. Tiered rate limiting and Redis-backed global limits are Enterprise-only features
Authentication	Built-in API key management, JWT authentication, OpenID Connect, and support for multiple auth methods on a single route	Supports JWT validation (including tokens from OpenID Connect providers), OAuth2 client credentials, and mTLS. API key and basic auth are Enterprise-only features
Performance	Serverless edge deployment across 300+ global data centers for ultra-low latency worldwide. Auto-scales with no capacity planning	High-throughput Go architecture with stateless design for linear horizontal scalability. Benchmarks show strong single-node performance
API Aggregation	Route to multiple backends per endpoint with custom TypeScript logic for composing responses	Purpose-built for API aggregation. Parallel backend calls with response merging, filtering, and transformation are core features
GitOps Support	Gateway configuration stored in version-control-friendly files. GitHub integration creates preview environments per branch and syncs with CI/CD pipelines	Single JSON configuration file is version-control friendly. GitOps deployment requires custom CI/CD setup for rolling out config changes
OpenAPI Support	OpenAPI-native routing and configuration. Import specs to auto-generate routes, developer portal documentation, and request validation policies	OpenAPI import and export is an Enterprise-only feature. Community Edition does not integrate with OpenAPI specs
Protocol Support	HTTP/REST and WebSocket support with TypeScript handlers for custom protocol logic	Broad protocol support including REST, gRPC, GraphQL, WebSockets, SOAP, and message broker integrations like RabbitMQ and SQS

Zuplo vs KrakenD

Self-Hosted Only

No Built-In Developer Portal

Declarative Config Only

Fully Managed Deployment

Developer Portal

Programmable Policies

API Key Management

API Monetization

Feature-by-feature comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

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