Ask HN: How are you monetizing your APIs?

4 points

5 years ago

1. Pay for a hosted API management suite such as Apigee[1], 3scale[2] or wso2[3] with API monetization capabilities so users can register, try out and purchase APIs all in one website automatically.

2. Self-host an open source API management portal such as the ones from AWS[4] or Azure[5]. Both will allow users to register and try out APIs in one website but you will need to customize the code and database to purchase APIs automatically.

3. Use an API marketplace like RapidAPI.

Option 1 appears to be cost-prohibitive for smaller companies and Option 2 requires development work. Option 3 allows users to browse other API offerings. Are there any options that have a lower cost more suitable for smaller teams / companies that doesn't require development work and is dedicated to a single company API?

[1] https://cloud.google.com/apigee/

[2] https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/jboss-middleware/3scale

[3] https://wso2.com/api-monetization

[4] https://github.com/awslabs/aws-api-gateway-developer-portal

[5] https://github.com/Azure/api-management-developer-portal

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