---
title: "Pricing"
description:
  "Free, Builder, and Enterprise plans, with MCP Gateway, AI Gateway, and the
  developer portal included on every one. Compare tiers and estimate your
  monthly cost."
canonicalUrl: "https://zuplo.com/pricing"
sourceUrl: "https://zuplo.com/pricing"
pageType: "pricing"
generatedAt: "2026-10-03"
---

# Plans & Pricing

> Don't pay for a long list of features you'll never use. MCP Gateway, AI
> Gateway, and the developer portal are included in every plan.

## Plans

### Free — $0/mo

Individuals evaluating Zuplo or shipping a side project.

- 100K requests per month
- MCP Gateway, AI Gateway & Developer Portal included
- API Key Management & Rate Limiting
- Community support
- Up to 2 developer seats

No credit card required. [Sign up](https://portal.zuplo.com/signup)

### Builder — $25/mo

Solo entrepreneurs & hobbyists going live — not for teams.

- Everything in Free, plus:
- Up to 2 custom domains
- 100K requests included, +$100 per additional 100K
- 5 MCP users, 10K tool invocations / mo
- API Key Management & Rate Limiting
- Community support

Builder is designed for solo entrepreneurs and hobbyists as a way to go live —
it is not a team plan. It caps at 2 custom domains, 2 developer seats and 1M
requests/mo. Teams, or anyone who needs SSO, an SLA or more headroom, need an
Enterprise agreement.

[Start building](https://portal.zuplo.com/signup)

### Enterprise — From $1,000/mo

Teams, scaling APIs & mission-critical workloads. Annual contract.

- From $1,000/mo, billed on an annual contract
- Basic 99.5% SLA included, custom up to 99.999% available
- 1M requests/month included, up to unlimited available
- GitHub, BitBucket, GitLab, Azure DevOps integration
- Observability and analytics integrations (add-on)
- Premium Support up to 24x7x365 (add-on)
- Single Sign-On (SSO) & Role-Based Access (add-on)
- Analytics with custom retention (add-on)
- Monetization (add-on)
- Secure tunnels, mTLS, and VPC Peering (add-on)
- Managed dedicated and self-hosted options

Enterprise pricing starts at $1,000 per month on an annual contract. The base
level Enterprise package includes an entry-level SLA of 99.5%, 1 million
requests, and 1 Observability integration. Volume discounts available on more
than 1M requests per month.

[Get in touch](/schedule-call)

## Get your pricing (interactive calculator)

The pricing page includes a live cost calculator: slide to a monthly request
volume (10K–50M) and it recommends a plan and estimated monthly cost in real
time.

**Included on every plan** (does not change price):

- MCP Gateway — Authenticate, route & govern MCP servers.
- AI Gateway — Routing, caching & cost tracking.
- Developer Portal — Hosted on your domain.
- Monetization — Usage-based metered billing for your API.

**Add-ons that can change your recommended plan** (all require Enterprise):

- SSO + RBAC — Single sign-on with role-based access.
- Audit logs — Full management audit trail.
- SLA guarantee — 99.5% baseline, up to 99.999% on Enterprise.

**Counted allowances:**

- Developer seats — your team, not your API's consumers. 2 included; more needs
  Enterprise.
- Custom domains — Free has none. 2 on Builder; more needs Enterprise.

At the default 100K requests/month with no add-ons, the calculator recommends
**Free** at **$0/mo** ("Free forever for ≤ 100K req/mo").

## Migrating in?

Switching from Kong, Apigee, or AWS API Gateway? Most teams cut gateway spend by
40–70% in the first quarter.

### Zuplo vs Kong

**Typical pain:** Self-managed control plane · Plugins in Lua, hard to share
across teams · Manual scaling and cluster ops

**What Zuplo does:** Fully managed — 60s to deploy · TypeScript-native policies
in your repo · Auto-scaled across 300+ edge locations

[See the full Kong comparison →](/api-gateways/kong-alternative-zuplo)

### Zuplo vs Apigee

**Typical pain:** XML & JSON-string policy config · Long onboarding & GCP
lock-in · Per-seat developer pricing

**What Zuplo does:** Code-first config in your IDE · Free tier, deploy from
GitHub in minutes · Pay per request, not per seat

[See the full Apigee comparison →](/api-gateways/apigee-alternative-zuplo)

### Zuplo vs AWS API Gateway

**Typical pain:** Region-bound and AWS-only · Plumbing required for auth, rate
limit, portal · Cost grows fast with custom integrations

**What Zuplo does:** Edge-native, multi-cloud and on-prem · Batteries included —
auth, keys, portal, monetization · Transparent usage pricing — no surprise
egress

[See the full AWS API Gateway comparison →](/api-gateways/aws-api-gateway-alternative-zuplo)

## Customer outcomes

Rated **4.8** on [G2](https://www.g2.com/products/zuplo/reviews).

![Blockdaemon](https://zuplo.com/logos/blockdaemon.svg)

> The move to Zuplo from our existing API Management vendor was easy — just over
> 2 months to switch mission critical systems, and we're saving over 70% on
> costs. (70% lower gateway costs)
>
> — Ryan Waites, Senior Director @ Blockdaemon —
> [Read case study](/customers/blockdaemon)

![Finsolutia](https://zuplo.com/logos/finsolutia.svg)

> We didn't touch a line of code, it's just plug and play. In just a couple of
> hours we had a great result and a fully working MCP server. (<24h to first MCP
> server)
>
> — Miguel Madeira, CTO & Co-Founder @ Finsolutia —
> [Read case study](/customers/finsolutia)

![Rewiring America](https://zuplo.com/logos/rewiring-america.svg)

> With rate limiting, API key management, and documentation hosting, it saved us
> weeks of engineering time and let us focus on solving problems unique to our
> mission. (Weeks of engineering saved)
>
> — Tom Carden, Head of Engineering @ Rewiring America —
> [Read case study](/customers/rewiring-america)

![Yext](https://zuplo.com/logos/yext.svg)

> Zuplo gives us the flexibility to scale efficiently, ensure security and
> compliance, and reduce operational complexity so we can focus on building new
> capabilities. (Scale with confidence)
>
> — Daryl Benzel, Staff Software Engineer @ Yext —
> [Read case study](/customers/yext)

![iTicket](https://zuplo.com/logos/iticket.svg)

> Built-in policies, route editing, custom code, and Github version control make
> surfacing our backend APIs to the world a breeze. (Plug & play for backend
> APIs)
>
> — Reece Preston, Managing Director @ iTicket —
> [Read case study](/customers/iticket)

![Copilot Travel](https://zuplo.com/logos/customers/copilot.svg)

> Setting up an API in Kong was a lot of work. In Zuplo, it is very fast — you
> can do it in 10 seconds. (10s to set up an API)
>
> — Gary Sommerhalder, CEO @ Copilot Travel —
> [Read case study](/customers/copilot-travel)

## Compare every feature

One platform, one bill. Table below covers the API Management plans shown on
this page (Free, Builder, Enterprise) — "—" means not included, "Add-on" means
available for an additional charge.

**Who it's for:** Free — Individuals evaluating Zuplo or shipping a side
project. Builder — Solo entrepreneurs & hobbyists going live — not for teams.
Enterprise — Teams, scaling APIs & mission-critical workloads.

### Usage & Limits

| Feature                 | Free | Builder                       | Enterprise                         |
| ----------------------- | ---- | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Monthly requests        | 100K | 100K Included ($100 per 100K) | Custom, volume discounts available |
| Custom domains          | —    | $25/mo for 2 domains (max)    | Custom                             |
| Environments            | 5    | 10                            | Custom                             |
| Consumers & API Keys    | 100  | 1000                          | Custom                             |
| Projects & Services     | 2    | 2                             | Custom                             |
| Data centers            | 300  | 300                           | Custom                             |
| Self-hosted / Dedicated | —    | —                             | Available                          |
| Developer seats         | 2    | 2                             | Custom                             |

### MCP Gateway

| Feature                  | Free        | Builder | Enterprise      |
| ------------------------ | ----------- | ------- | --------------- |
| MCP Users                | Development | 5       | Up to Unlimited |
| Upstream MCP servers     | Development | 3       | Up to Unlimited |
| Virtual MCP servers      | Development | 3       | Up to Unlimited |
| Tool invocations / month | 1K          | 10K     | Up to Unlimited |

### AI Gateway

| Feature                                     | Free        | Builder | Enterprise |
| ------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------- | ---------- |
| AI Gateway Users                            | Development | 5       | Custom     |
| AI Gateway Teams                            | 1           | 1       | Custom     |
| Route to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google & more   | ✓           | ✓       | ✓          |
| Real-time token usage & cost tracking       | ✓           | ✓       | ✓          |
| Universal AI API                            | ✓           | ✓       | ✓          |
| Fallbacks, load balancing, retries, routing | ✓           | ✓       | ✓          |
| Semantic Caching                            | ✓           | ✓       | ✓          |

### Platform

| Feature                                                  | Free              | Builder     | Enterprise                              |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Developer Portal                                         | ✓                 | ✓           | ✓                                       |
| [MCP Servers](/mcp-servers)                              | 1                 | 1           | Custom                                  |
| GitOps integration                                       | GitHub            | GitHub      | GitHub, BitBucket, GitLab, Azure DevOps |
| Analytics                                                | 1 day             | 7 days      | 30 days (custom available)              |
| Log & trace history retention                            | Live (15 minutes) | 1 day       | 3 days (up to unlimited)                |
| Audit logs                                               | —                 | —           | Add-on                                  |
| API Usage Audit logs                                     | —                 | —           | Add-on                                  |
| [Monetization](/features/api-monetization)               | 100K events       | 100K events | Add-on                                  |
| Observability                                            | —                 | —           | 1 plugin included, optionally add more  |
| [Federated Gateways](/docs/dedicated/federated-gateways) | —                 | —           | Add-on                                  |
| Secure tunnels, mTLS, VPC Peering                        | —                 | —           | Add-on                                  |
| [DDoS Protection](/docs/articles/waf-ddos)               | Basic             | Basic       | Add-on                                  |

### Service & Support

| Feature                                  | Free | Builder | Enterprise            |
| ---------------------------------------- | ---- | ------- | --------------------- |
| Service Level Agreement (SLA)            | —    | —       | 99.5% (up to 99.999%) |
| Single Sign-On (SSO) & Role-Based Access | —    | —       | Add-on                |
| Community Support & Chat                 | ✓    | ✓       | ✓                     |
| Email & Ticketed Support                 | —    | —       | ✓                     |
| Premium Support (24x7x365)               | —    | —       | Add-on                |
| Support SLA                              | —    | —       | Add-on                |
| SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance                  | —    | —       | Add-on                |
| Business Associate Agreement (BAA)       | —    | —       | Add-on                |
| Custom Contracts & Redlines              | —    | —       | Add-on                |
| Consulting & Onboarding Services         | —    | —       | Add-on                |

## Pricing FAQ

**Who is the Builder plan for?** Builder is designed for solo entrepreneurs and
hobbyists — it's the $25/mo way for one person to take an API live, not a team
plan. It caps at 2 custom domains, 2 developer seats and 1 million requests per
month, and it doesn't include SSO, RBAC, audit logs or an SLA. If you're a team,
or you need more headroom than those ceilings, you need an Enterprise agreement.

**How much does Enterprise cost?** Enterprise pricing starts at $1,000 per month
on an annual contract. The base package includes an entry-level 99.5% SLA, 1
million requests per month, and 1 observability integration. Volume discounts
apply above 1 million requests per month, and add-ons such as SSO + RBAC, audit
logs, premium support, monetization and secure tunnels are priced individually —
so the final number depends on your usage and which add-ons you need.

**What happens if I exceed my request limit?** On the Free tier, requests beyond
your limit will be rate-limited until the next billing cycle. On the Builder
tier, you can purchase additional request capacity as needed - there's no hard
cutoff - if you go over we'll reach out to help you right size your plan. On
Enterprise plans, usage limits are customized to your needs with flexible
overage options. Your API will never suddenly stop working due to limits.

**How quickly can I get started?** You can deploy your first API in minutes.
Sign up, connect your GitHub repo, and Zuplo automatically deploys to 300+ edge
locations. No credit card is required for the free tier, and you get 100K
requests per month to build and test your API.

**Can I try enterprise features before committing?** Yes! Most enterprise
features are available to try out without commitment - if we see a lot of usage
we'll reach out to help right size your plan. Some features like SSO, analytics,
and secure tunnels can be enabled in trial mode for development and testing.
This lets you validate that Zuplo meets your requirements before signing an
enterprise agreement. Contact us to enable a trial.

**What deployment options are available?** Zuplo offers three deployment
options: Managed Edge (default) runs across 300+ data centers worldwide and
scales to handle any traffic volume. Managed Dedicated runs on isolated
infrastructure on your choice of cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Azure, Akamai, and
more) with custom networking like VPC peering and PrivateLink. Self-Hosted lets
you run Zuplo on your own Kubernetes cluster for complete control. All options
provide the same features and developer experience.

**How is AI Gateway different from API Management?** AI Gateway is optimized for
LLM API traffic with features like semantic caching, token-based rate limiting,
and model fallback. API Management is our general-purpose solution for REST APIs
with features like key management, analytics, and developer portals. Many
customers use both together.

**What support options are available?** All plans include community support via
Discord. Enterprise plans offer email and ticketed support, customizable support
SLAs with response times as fast as 30 minutes, and 24/7/365 availability for
critical issues.

## Next steps

- [Start for free](https://portal.zuplo.com/signup) — Free tier includes 100K
  requests/month, no credit card, no sales call.
- [Talk to an Architect](/schedule-call) — get a custom Enterprise quote.
- Compare against your current gateway:
  [Kong](/api-gateways/kong-alternative-zuplo),
  [Apigee](/api-gateways/apigee-alternative-zuplo),
  [AWS API Gateway](/api-gateways/aws-api-gateway-alternative-zuplo).
- Read customer case studies: [Blockdaemon](/customers/blockdaemon),
  [Finsolutia](/customers/finsolutia),
  [Rewiring America](/customers/rewiring-america), [Yext](/customers/yext),
  [iTicket](/customers/iticket), [Copilot Travel](/customers/copilot-travel).
