--- title: "API7 Enterprise vs Tyk in 2026: Architecture, AI Gateway, GraphQL, and Pricing - API7.ai" description: "Compare API7 Enterprise and Tyk across architecture, plugins, GraphQL and streaming, AI gateway, identity, compliance, licensing, pricing, and migration fit." url: "https://api7.ai/api7-enterprise-vs-tyk" --- # API7 Enterprise vs Tyk: API Gateways Compared (2026) By API7.ai Team Last updated: August 2026 API7 Enterprise and Tyk are both enterprise-ready API gateways with strong compliance and, as of 2026, an AI gateway — but they differ in architecture, open-source model, plugin approach, and GraphQL/streaming depth. This guide compares them even-handedly so you can choose. TL;DR API7 Enterprise is the stronger default for most enterprise API platforms: it runs on the Apache-2.0, ASF-governed Apache APISIX core with stateless data planes, a relational-database-backed control plane, a curated 100+ plugin hub, broad protocol support, SCIM provisioning and console RBAC, compliance attestations, and an SLA from the APISIX maintainers. Tyk — an open-source (MPL-2.0) Go gateway on Redis with a licensed Dashboard, portal, and RBAC — is the pick when native GraphQL Federation or Tyk Streams event streaming is central to your architecture. - A governed gateway on the Apache-2.0 APISIX core with SCIM: API7 Enterprise - GraphQL Federation or event streaming at the core: Tyk - Curated plugin hub + stateless data planes + maintainer SLA: API7 Enterprise - [At a glance](#at-a-glance) - [What is API7 Enterprise?](#what-is-api7-enterprise) - [What is Tyk?](#what-is-tyk) - [Architecture](#architecture) - [Feature comparison](#feature-comparison) - [When to choose](#choose) - [FAQ](#faq) ## API7 Enterprise vs Tyk at a glance API7 Enterprise combines the ASF-governed APISIX core with stateless data planes, a relational-database-backed control plane, a curated plugin hub, SCIM, and a maintainer-backed SLA; Tyk stands out when native GraphQL Federation or event streaming is the priority. Both hold SOC 2 / ISO 27001 and offer FIPS builds and an AI gateway. | Dimension | API7 Enterprise | Tyk | | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Best for | A governed APISIX gateway with a curated plugin hub + SLA | Teams centered on GraphQL Federation or event streaming | | Core & config store | Stateless NGINX/OpenResty data plane; relational-DB-backed control plane (PostgreSQL default); DP Manager exposes gateway configuration to data planes through an etcd v3-compatible API | Go gateway + Redis; Dashboard uses MongoDB or PostgreSQL | | Open-source model | Data plane built on Apache-2.0 APISIX (ASF-governed) | Tyk Gateway is MPL-2.0 (Tyk-governed); Dashboard/Portal/RBAC licensed | | Config propagation | ✓ Dynamic via etcd watch (ms) | ✓ Redis pub/sub hot reload | | Plugins | 100+ curated hub; Lua, Go, Java, Python, Wasm | Polyglot: Go, gRPC (any language), JS, Python, Lua | | AI gateway | ✓ AI gateway (multi-LLM, token limits, guardrails) | ✓ Tyk AI Studio (multi-provider) + MCP gateway | ## What is API7 Enterprise? API7 Enterprise is API7.ai’s commercial gateway built on Apache APISIX. It combines stateless data planes with a governed, relational-database-backed control plane. DP Manager exposes gateway configuration to those data planes through an etcd v3-compatible API. API7 Enterprise also adds 100+ plugins, SSO with SCIM, compliance attestations, an AI gateway, and SLA support. API7 Enterprise is API7.ai’s commercial API gateway built on Apache APISIX. It runs stateless NGINX/OpenResty data planes and a governed control plane backed by PostgreSQL by default. DP Manager exposes gateway configuration to those data planes through an etcd v3-compatible API. It adds a curated 100+ plugin hub, console RBAC, gateway groups, audit, SSO with SCIM, compliance attestations, an AI gateway, and SLA support. Core Apache APISIX data plane + gateway configuration from DP Manager via an etcd v3-compatible API License Commercial (built on Apache-2.0 APISIX) Best for Governed APISIX with SCIM + SLA ### Pros - Data plane built on Apache-2.0 Apache APISIX — vendor-neutral ASF governance - Stateless data planes do not connect directly to the control-plane database - 100+ curated plugins; custom plugins in Lua, Go, Java, Python, Wasm - SSO (OIDC/SAML/LDAP) with SCIM auto-provisioning and console RBAC - Compliance (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR; FIPS 140-2 L1) + maintainer SLA ### Cons - Commercial edition — the Dashboard/portal add-ons are not open source (APISIX OSS is) - GraphQL federation and native event-streaming are less deep than Tyk’s - Broad protocol/plugin surface can be more than a lightweight gateway needs ## What is Tyk? Tyk is an API gateway and management platform. Tyk Gateway is open source (MPL-2.0, Go) and runs on Redis; the Dashboard, Developer Portal, MDCB, and RBAC are licensed. Tyk is known for polyglot plugins, native GraphQL Federation, and Tyk Streams. Tyk is an API gateway and management platform. Tyk Gateway is open source (MPL-2.0), written in Go, and runs on Redis; the Dashboard, Developer Portal, multi-data-center bridge (MDCB), and RBAC are licensed. Tyk is known for a polyglot plugin model, native GraphQL (including Federation), and event streaming via Tyk Streams. Core Go gateway + Redis License MPL-2.0 gateway + commercial Dashboard/Portal Best for Open-source Go gateway with GraphQL & streaming ### Pros - Open-source gateway (MPL-2.0, Go) with a lightweight Redis-only runtime - Native GraphQL — Federation and Universal Data Graph — plus Tyk Streams (Kafka/WS/SSE) - Polyglot plugins (Go, gRPC, JavaScript, Python, Lua); Tyk AI Studio for LLM traffic ### Cons - Dashboard, Developer Portal, RBAC, and MDCB multi-DC are licensed (not OSS) - Config datastore differs (Redis + optional MongoDB/PostgreSQL for the Dashboard) - SCIM auto-provisioning isn’t documented (SSO via Identity Broker) ## Architecture: relational control plane vs Redis-backed gateway API7 Enterprise persists control-plane state in PostgreSQL by default. DP Manager exposes gateway configuration to stateless data planes through an etcd v3-compatible API. Tyk Gateway runs on Redis and hot-reloads via pub/sub; the Tyk Dashboard adds a MongoDB or PostgreSQL datastore. API7 Enterprise runs stateless Apache APISIX data plane nodes built on NGINX/OpenResty. Its separate control plane persists configuration and management state in PostgreSQL by default; MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server are also supported. DP Manager exposes gateway configuration from the selected relational database through an etcd v3-compatible API, which data planes watch and cache in memory. This keeps the relational database outside the traffic-serving data plane and removes the need for a standalone etcd cluster. See the [API7 Enterprise architecture](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/key-concepts/architecture) and [database support matrix](https://docs.api7.ai/api7-gateway/install/supported-versions-and-interoperability#database-support). Tyk Gateway is written in Go and requires Redis for keys, rate-limit counters, analytics buffering, and pub/sub configuration reloads; it can run from file-based API definitions. Configuration hot-reloads across nodes via Redis pub/sub — it does not poll a relational database for API config. The optional Tyk Dashboard, which adds the GUI and analytics, stores its data in MongoDB or PostgreSQL. Both gateways therefore propagate config changes quickly; the difference is the datastore model and which management components are open source. ## API7 Enterprise vs Tyk: feature comparison Both cover the enterprise checklist — RBAC, SSO, secrets, observability, compliance, AI. They diverge on config store, open-source scope, plugin languages, and GraphQL/streaming depth. | Feature | API7 Enterprise | Tyk | | ----------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Architecture | Stateless Apache APISIX data plane; relational-DB-backed control plane (PostgreSQL default); DP Manager exposes gateway configuration to data planes through an etcd v3-compatible API | Go gateway with Redis for keys/rate-limit/analytics/reload; Dashboard datastore is MongoDB or PostgreSQL | | Config propagation | etcd watch — milliseconds, no restart | Redis pub/sub hot reload — near-instant across nodes | | Open source & governance | Data plane built on Apache-2.0 Apache APISIX, an ASF top-level project (vendor-neutral) | Tyk Gateway is open source (MPL-2.0), governed by Tyk; Dashboard, Developer Portal, MDCB, and RBAC are licensed | | Plugins & languages | 100+ curated plugins; custom plugins in Lua, Go, Java, Python, WebAssembly | Polyglot plugins: Go (native), gRPC (any language), JavaScript (JSVM), Python, Lua | | Protocols | HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3 (QUIC), gRPC (+ transcoding), WebSocket, TCP/UDP, MQTT, Dubbo | REST/HTTP, gRPC, TCP, WebSocket | | GraphQL & event streaming | GraphQL rate-limit & proxy-cache plugins; Kafka and MQTT via plugins | Native GraphQL incl. Federation + Universal Data Graph; Tyk Streams (Kafka, WebSocket, SSE) | | Control plane, RBAC & multi-tenancy | ✓ Console RBAC/IAM, gateway groups, audit logging — included | Dashboard, RBAC/API teams, and MDCB multi-DC are licensed features | | Identity & provisioning | SSO (OIDC/SAML/LDAP) + SCIM auto-provisioning | SSO via Identity Broker (LDAP/OAuth/SAML) + RBAC; SCIM not documented | | Secrets management | Env vars + HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, GCP Secret Manager | HashiCorp Vault + Consul KV (vault:// references) | | AI / LLM gateway | AI gateway — multi-LLM routing, token rate limits, prompt guardrails, budgets | Tyk AI Studio — multi-provider LLM routing, cost budgets, PII redaction; MCP gateway | | Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, GDPR; FIPS 140-2 Level 1 | SOC 2, ISO 27001 & 9001; PCI/HIPAA/GDPR; FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3 builds | | Performance (self-reported) | APISIX core \~18,000 QPS per core at 0.2 ms | Tyk publishes \~70,000 RPS reverse-proxy benchmarks | | Licensing | Commercial; CPU-core pricing (cloud pay-as-you-go or on-prem subscription); free trial | Gateway free/open source; Core/Professional/Enterprise are quote-based | ## When to choose API7 Enterprise vs Tyk API7 Enterprise is the stronger default — governed, ASF-rooted, SCIM-ready, with a maintainer SLA; choose Tyk when GraphQL Federation or event streaming is the core requirement. ### Choose API7 Enterprise if you… - Want a governed gateway on the Apache-2.0 APISIX core with vendor-neutral ASF governance - Need SCIM auto-provisioning, console RBAC, gateway groups, and audit - Prefer stateless data planes that do not connect directly to the control-plane database - Want a curated 100+ plugin hub, MQTT/HTTP-3, and maintainer-backed SLA ### Choose Tyk if you… - Want a fully open-source (MPL-2.0) Go gateway with a Redis-only runtime - Need native GraphQL Federation / Universal Data Graph or event streaming - Prefer polyglot plugins across Go, gRPC, JavaScript, Python, and Lua - Are standardized on Tyk’s Dashboard and tooling **Bottom line:** for most teams, API7 Enterprise is the stronger default — the vendor-neutral, ASF-governed APISIX core, stateless data planes, SCIM and console RBAC, compliance attestations, and a maintainer-backed SLA. Choose Tyk when native GraphQL Federation or Tyk Streams event streaming is the center of your architecture. Explore [API7 Enterprise](https://api7.ai/enterprise) or [start a free trial](https://api7.ai/try). ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Tyk open source? Tyk Gateway is open source under the MPL-2.0 license and written in Go, running on Redis. The Tyk Dashboard, Developer Portal, multi-data-center bridge (MDCB), and RBAC are licensed commercial components. API7 Enterprise is commercial and built on Apache-2.0 Apache APISIX, whose full data plane and 100+ plugins are open source. ### What database does Tyk use? Tyk Gateway’s only required datastore is Redis (for keys, rate-limit counters, analytics buffering, and pub/sub config reloads); it can run from file-based API definitions. The optional Tyk Dashboard stores data in MongoDB or PostgreSQL. API7 Enterprise uses PostgreSQL as its primary and recommended control-plane backend, with MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server also supported; DP Manager exposes gateway configuration to stateless data planes through an etcd v3-compatible API. ### How fast do config changes apply in each? Both propagate quickly. Tyk hot-reloads configuration via Redis pub/sub across nodes; API7 Enterprise data planes apply changes through an etcd-compatible watch exposed by DP Manager. API7 data planes do not connect directly to the control-plane relational database. ### Do API7 Enterprise and Tyk both have an AI gateway? Yes. API7 provides an AI gateway with multi-LLM routing, token-based rate limiting, prompt guardrails, and budgets. Tyk ships Tyk AI Studio, a multi-provider LLM gateway with cost budgets and PII redaction, plus an MCP gateway. ### Which has better GraphQL support? Tyk has a deeper native GraphQL story, including GraphQL Federation and its Universal Data Graph, plus event streaming via Tyk Streams. API7 Enterprise (on APISIX) offers GraphQL rate-limiting and proxy-cache plugins with broad protocol support including gRPC, MQTT, and HTTP/3. Choose based on whether native GraphQL federation is central to your use case. ### Are both compliant for regulated industries? Yes. API7 Enterprise holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, and GDPR, with FIPS 140-2 Level 1 builds. Tyk holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001/9001 and offers FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3 builds. Compliance posture is comparable; evaluate the specific attestations you need. ## Related comparisons [API7 Enterprise vs Kong](https://api7.ai/api7-enterprise-vs-kong) · [Kong vs Tyk](https://api7.ai/kong-vs-tyk) · [All gateway comparisons](https://api7.ai/api-gateway-comparison) ## Ready to get started? 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