Direct answer: at published prices, for 10M/100M/1B API calls per month, API gateways in 2026 cost about: 10M — AWS HTTP API 10, GCP API Gateway 24, Azure API Management Consumption 31.50, AWS REST API 35; 100M — AWS HTTP 100, GCP 294, Azure Consumption 346.50, AWS REST 350, Azure Basic v2 420, Azure Standard v2 825; 1B — AWS HTTP 930, GCP 2,994, AWS REST 3,033.10, Azure Standard v2 3,075, Azure Basic v2 3,120, Azure Consumption 3,496.50 USD per month. AWS HTTP API is cheapest on pure call price at every volume, but it is not the same feature tier as REST API/APIM; GCP and Azure Consumption are per-call with no base fee, good for low/mid volume; Azure Basic/Standard v2 fixed fees only pay off after about 247M/579M calls per month.
This guide is for architecture, backend and procurement teams building public APIs, internal microservice ingress, B2B interfaces, serverless backends and API governance. Data cut-off: 6 November 2026; prices come from the US pricing pages/official retail price API of AWS API Gateway, Google Cloud API Gateway and Azure API Management, in USD, excluding tax; all TCOs are editorial calculations, not vendor quotes. “HTTP API/REST API/API Gateway/APIM” are different feature tiers, so official facts, editorial assumptions and non-comparable items are kept separate.
AWS HTTP API 1/million (first 300M), REST API 3.50/million (first 333M); GCP API Gateway 3/million (first 2M free); Azure Consumption 3.50/million (first 1M free), Basic v2 150/month including 10M, Standard v2 700/month including 50M. The lowest 10M bill is 10 and the lowest 1B bill is 930, but check features, quotas, WAF, private networking and developer portal before choosing the cheap tier.
Five meters: per call, or fixed fee + call
AWS HTTP API: 1.00/million requests (first 300M), then 0.90/million; no monthly fee; leaner than REST. AWS REST API: 3.50/million (first 333M), 2.80/million (333M–1B), 2.38/million (1B–20B); no monthly fee; API keys/usage plans/caching/request validation/WAF/private APIs are fuller. GCP API Gateway: 3.00/million, first 2M/month free, 1.50/million above 1B; no monthly fee; data transfer out is billed at Premium Tier. Azure API Management Consumption: 3.50/million, first 1M/month free, no base fee; Basic v2: 150/month including 10M calls, then 3.00/million; Standard v2: 700/month including 50M, then 2.50/million; Premium v2 is billed per unit-hour.
| Service | Fixed fee | Call price/allowance | Main boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS HTTP API | 0 | 1.00/million (first 300M); then 0.90/million | Lean; JWT/Lambda/HTTP proxy |
| AWS REST API | 0 | 3.50/million (first 333M); 2.80/million 333M–1B | API keys, usage plans, caching, WAF, private APIs |
| GCP API Gateway | 0 | 3.00/million; first 2M free; 1.50/million above 1B | OpenAPI/ESPv2; data transfer extra |
| Azure APIM Consumption | 0 | 3.50/million; first 1M free | Per call; limited portal/governance |
| Azure APIM Basic v2 | 150/month | Includes 10M; then 3.00/million | Entry production; portal/policies |
| Azure APIM Standard v2 | 700/month | Includes 50M; then 2.50/million | Higher quotas, VNet, enterprise features |
Sources: AWS API Gateway Pricing, Google Cloud API Gateway Pricing and Azure API Management Pricing (US/US East, accessed 6 November 2026). USD, excluding tax; AWS 12-month free tier is not counted; Azure Basic/Standard v2 fixed fees use 730 hours/month; WAF, caching, data transfer, support and developer portal are separate.
Per-call: 10M calls cost 10 on AWS HTTP, 930 at 1B
Calls only, no fixed fee: 10M — AWS HTTP 10, GCP 24, Azure Consumption 31.50, AWS REST 35; 100M — AWS HTTP 100, GCP 294, Azure Consumption 346.50, AWS REST 350; 1B — AWS HTTP 930, GCP 2,994, AWS REST 3,033.10, Azure Consumption 3,496.50. AWS HTTP’s tier drops to 0.90 above 300M, so 1B is only 930; REST at 1B is 3,033.10, just above GCP at 2,994; Azure Consumption stays at 3.50/million, or 3,496.50 at 1B. Annual, in AWS HTTP / AWS REST / GCP / Azure Consumption order: 120 / 420 / 288 / 378 (10M); 1,200 / 4,200 / 3,528 / 4,158 (100M); 11,160 / 36,397.20 / 35,928 / 41,958 (1B).
| Monthly calls | AWS HTTP API | AWS REST API | GCP API Gateway | Azure Consumption |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10M | 10.00 | 35.00 | 24.00 | 31.50 |
| 100M | 100.00 | 350.00 | 294.00 | 346.50 |
| 1B | 930.00 | 3,033.10 | 2,994.00 | 3,496.50 |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. AWS HTTP = first 300M × 1.00 + rest × 0.90; AWS REST = first 333M × 3.50 + rest (to 1B) × 2.80; GCP = max(0, calls − 2M) × 3.00 (below 1B); Azure Consumption = max(0, calls − 1M) × 3.50. Excludes tax, WAF, caching, data transfer, support and developer portal; AWS 12-month free tier is not counted.
Fixed-fee tiers: Basic breaks even at 247M, Standard at 579M
Azure Basic v2 is 150/month including 10M calls: 10M costs 150, 100M 420, 1B 3,120. Standard v2 is 700/month including 50M: 10M 700, 100M 825, 1B 3,075. Against Consumption, Basic becomes cheaper at about 247M calls/month, Standard at about 579M; Basic and Standard cross at about 910M/month. In other words, per-call is more flexible at low/mid volume, and fixed-fee tiers only amortize at very high volume; “includes 10M/50M” alone does not make them cheap.
| Monthly calls | Azure Basic v2 | Azure Standard v2 | AWS HTTP (reference) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10M | 150.00 | 700.00 | 10.00 |
| 100M | 420.00 | 825.00 | 100.00 |
| 1B | 3,120.00 | 3,075.00 | 930.00 |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Basic v2 = 150 + max(0, calls − 10M) × 3.00/million; Standard v2 = 700 + max(0, calls − 50M) × 2.50/million; AWS HTTP is a low-price reference. Excludes tax, WAF, caching, data transfer, VNet, support and portal; Azure uses East US retail pricing at 730 hours/month.
Feature boundaries: HTTP API, REST API and APIM are not the same tier
AWS HTTP API is cheap but leaner than REST: JWT auth, Lambda/HTTP proxy and CORS may be enough; API keys/usage plans, request validation, caching, WAF, private APIs and more integrations need REST API. GCP API Gateway is a managed gateway configured with OpenAPI/ESPv2, good for exposing Cloud Run/Cloud Functions; it lacks an Azure APIM-style developer portal/policy productization, and data transfer is extra. Azure APIM Consumption is per-call with no base fee but limited portal/governance; Basic/Standard v2 add a fuller developer portal, policies and VNet (by tier). If you only need “expose Lambda/Cloud Run over HTTPS”, HTTP API/GCP is enough; if you need API productization, quotas, developer portal and enterprise governance, REST/APIM fits better.
| Capability | AWS HTTP API | AWS REST API | GCP API Gateway | Azure APIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-call/no monthly fee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Consumption yes; Basic/Standard no |
| API key/usage plan | No | Yes | Quotas/Service Control | Yes (tier-dependent) |
| Caching | No | Yes | Backend/CDN | Yes (tier-dependent) |
| WAF/private network | Limited | WAF/private APIs | Needs LB/backend | VNet/higher tiers |
| Developer portal | No | Build your own | No | Yes (Basic+) |
| Typical use | Lambda/HTTP proxy | API productization | Expose GCP backends | Enterprise API governance |
Sources: the three official product/pricing pages (accessed 6 November 2026). This is a public capability overview; quotas, regions, SLA, WAF, private networking and portal features depend on tier/contract. No feature-equivalence assumption is made.
Which option fits which scenario?
Expose Lambda/HTTP backends over HTTPS with the lowest call price: AWS HTTP API, 10 at 10M and 930 at 1B. Need API keys, usage plans, request validation, caching, WAF, private APIs: AWS REST API, 35 at 10M and 3,033 at 1B. Already on GCP with Cloud Run/Functions and OpenAPI: GCP API Gateway, 24 at 10M and 2,994 at 1B; data transfer is extra. Need developer portal, policies, VNet, enterprise governance: Azure APIM, Consumption at low volume (31.50 at 10M), Basic v2 at mid (420 at 100M), Standard v2 at very high volume (3,075 at 1B). If you only need self-hosted Nginx/Kong, the cost is instances + operations and is outside this TCO.
| Scenario | First choice | Why | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lambda/HTTP proxy/lowest price | AWS HTTP API | 1/million, first 300M; no monthly fee | API keys/caching/WAF/private API |
| API productization/quotas/caching | AWS REST API | 3.50/million; full features | WAF, usage plans, private APIs |
| GCP/Cloud Run/OpenAPI | GCP API Gateway | 3/million, first 2M free | Data transfer, LB, quotas |
| Developer portal/policies/governance | Azure APIM Basic/Standard v2 | From 150/700, including 10M/50M | Fixed fee, VNet, portal |
| Low volume/per-call | Azure Consumption | 3.50/million, first 1M free | Portal/governance limits |
| Self-hosted/multi-cloud | Kong/APISIX/Nginx | Instances + operations, outside this TCO | Staff, HA, plugins |
Sources: the three official pricing pages (accessed 6 November 2026). This is an editorial decision matrix, not vendor advice; actual latency, cold start, quotas, WAF rules, private networking and support response were not tested.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least ten things: monthly calls/peaks, API count/routes, auth (JWT/API key/OAuth), quotas/rate limits, caching, WAF/private network, developer portal, SLA/support, data transfer, observability. Run a 2–4 week POC on real traffic and record calls, 4xx/5xx, P95 latency, cold start, quota triggers, WAF false positives and the bill; do not compare only “price per million calls”.
- Calls: monthly total, peak RPS, bursts; whether preflight/health checks/retries count.
- APIs: routes/versions/environments; custom domains and certificates.
- Auth: JWT, API key, OAuth2, mTLS; key rotation.
- Rate limits: per key/tenant/route quotas, burst, 429 behavior.
- Caching: response cache, TTL, invalidation; whether caching is billed separately.
- Security: WAF, IP allowlist, private APIs/VNet, DDoS.
- Portal: developer signup, docs, trials, subscription/billing.
- SLA: availability, support response, status page, regions.
- Egress: data transfer/Premium Tier, NAT/LB fees.
- POC: 2–4 weeks of real traffic; calls, errors, P95, cold start, quotas and bill.
FAQ
What is cheapest at 10M calls/month?
AWS HTTP API 10, GCP 24, Azure Consumption 31.50, AWS REST 35 per month. For Lambda/HTTP proxy, choose HTTP API; for API keys/caching/WAF, choose REST; for GCP backends, GCP; for Azure portal/policies, APIM, but the fixed fee is not worth it at low volume.
What is cheapest at 1B calls/month?
AWS HTTP 930, GCP 2,994, AWS REST 3,033.10, Azure Standard 3,075, Azure Basic 3,120, Azure Consumption 3,496.50. HTTP API is lowest but leaner; the REST/GCP/APIM premium buys quotas, portal, WAF, private networking and governance.
What is the difference between HTTP API and REST API?
HTTP API is cheaper and simpler, fitting JWT/Lambda/HTTP proxy; REST API supports API keys/usage plans, request validation, caching, WAF, private APIs and more integrations. For API productization/tenant quotas, REST at 3.50/million is usually less work than building it yourself.
When do Azure fixed-fee tiers pay off?
Basic v2 at 150/month including 10M becomes cheaper than Consumption at about 247M calls/month; Standard v2 at 700/month including 50M at about 579M; the two cross at about 910M/month. Per-call is more flexible at low/mid volume; fixed fees only amortize at very high volume.
Does GCP have hidden costs?
API Gateway itself is 3/million with the first 2M free, but data transfer out is Premium Tier and extra; a load balancer/CDN in front adds cost. It also lacks an APIM-style developer portal, so quotas/auth need Cloud Endpoints/Service Control design.
Is the AWS free tier included?
No. AWS API Gateway has a 12-month free tier for new accounts; this article uses long-term public prices and does not treat a temporary trial as a permanent discount. GCP’s first 2M/month and Azure Consumption’s first 1M/month are ongoing allowances and are included.
Is self-hosted Kong/APISIX cheaper?
The license may be free, but instances, HA, upgrades, plugins, WAF, monitoring and staff must be counted. The 10–35 at 10M here is managed call fees; self-hosting may be more expensive at small volume and cheaper at large volume depending on operations cost.
What hidden costs should we expect?
WAF, caching, private network/VNet, developer portal, custom domains/certificates, data transfer, load balancer, logs/tracing, support/SLA, migration and training. Azure fixed tiers also have unit/gateway/workspace add-ons; AWS REST caching is hourly; GCP data transfer is Premium Tier.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: AWS HTTP/REST call tiers, GCP’s 3/million and 2M free allowance, and Azure Consumption/Basic v2/Standard v2 call prices and fixed fees come from the three US pricing pages/official retail price API (accessed 6 November 2026); the 10M/100M/1B totals are arithmetic on published unit prices, not vendor quotes. It does not compare actual latency, cold start, quotas, WAF rules, private networking, portal features or support response.
Eight limitations: (1) only US/US East public list prices are used, excluding tax, discounts, commitments and regional differences; (2) the AWS 12-month free tier is excluded, while GCP/Azure ongoing allowances are included; (3) only call/fixed fees are counted, excluding WAF, caching, data transfer, load balancer, logs, portal, VNet and support; (4) HTTP API, REST API, GCP API Gateway and Azure APIM are different feature tiers and are not compared like-for-like; (5) Azure fixed fees use 730 hours/month and East US retail pricing, excluding unit/gateway/workspace add-ons; (6) self-hosted Kong/APISIX/Nginx and edge API gateways such as Cloudflare/Akamai are excluded; (7) actual P95, cold start, quota triggers, WAF false positives and failover were not tested; (8) prices and terms can change by contract, region and exchange rate. Treat this as a unit-conversion template and replace assumptions with a 2–4 week real-traffic POC.
Sources and basis
- Amazon Web Services, API Gateway Pricing: aws.amazon.com/api-gateway/pricing. HTTP API 1.00/million (first 300M), then 0.90/million; REST API 3.50/million (first 333M), 2.80/million (333M–1B), 2.38/million (1B–20B); no monthly fee. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Google Cloud, API Gateway Pricing: cloud.google.com/api-gateway/pricing. 3.00/million; first 2M/month free; 1.50/million above 1B; data transfer out at Premium Tier. Accessed 6 November 2026.
- Microsoft Azure, API Management Pricing: azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/api-management. Consumption 3.50/million with first 1M free; Basic v2 150/month including 10M, then 3.00/million; Standard v2 700/month including 50M, then 2.50/million; East US retail pricing, 730 hours/month. Accessed 6 November 2026.
Data cut-off 6 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement advice.