Unkey: Pricing, Features & Alternatives
Unkey handles the part of an API product most teams build badly: issuing keys, verifying them on every request, per-key rate limits and usage tracking, and revoking them. It is open source on GitHub and offered as a hosted service. Free covers 150K valid verifications a month and 1,000 keys. Pro starts at $25/month for 250K verifications and scales to $1,000/month for 100M, with 1M keys. It is not a full gateway: it sits inside your API rather than in front of it.
Category
API Gateways & Key Management
Pricing
Free tier available
Free tier
Yes
Best for
API Gateways & Key Management — api-keys, rate-limiting
Unkey Pricing Plans (2026)
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free | $0 |
| ProPopular | From $25 / month |
| Enterprise | Custom |
Pricing summary: Free · paid from $25/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.
Key Unkey Features
- 250K verifications / month
- 1M API keys
- 7-day logs
Pros
- +Open source, so it can be self-hosted
- +One API call to verify a key and apply its rate limit
- +Per-key usage limits and analytics built in
Cons
- −Key management only, not a routing gateway
- −You still write the middleware that calls it
- −Short log retention on lower plans
Best Unkey Alternatives
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Unkey FAQ
What is Unkey used for?⌄
Unkey is a api gateways & key management tool. Open-source API key management and rate limiting: issue, verify and revoke keys with one API call. Free up to 150K verifications.
Is Unkey free?⌄
Yes — Unkey has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.
How much does Unkey cost?⌄
Unkey offers a free tier, with paid plans starting at $25/month. Some plans are usage-based (pay-as-you-go).
What are the best Unkey alternatives?⌄
Popular Unkey alternatives include Zuplo, Kong Konnect, Tyk. Compare pricing and features on our Unkey alternatives page.
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