Google Cloud API Gateway
Google Cloud API Gateway provides a managed entry point for backend services, presenting them through a consistent REST API.
What Google Cloud API Gateway is
Google Cloud API Gateway provides a managed entry point for backend services, presenting them through a consistent REST API. It is a cloud service with hosting, logging, monitoring, traffic management, authorization, and API security features, integrated with Google Cloud. Supported authentication includes API keys, service accounts or JWT, Google authentication, and Google ID tokens. It accepts OpenAPI 2.0 and 3.0 specifications and documents integrations with Cloud Run, Cloud Run functions, and App Engine. It does not proxy to other Google Cloud APIs such as BigQuery APIs. Supported protocols include HTTP/REST, HTTP/JSON, and gRPC; request transformation and rate limiting are available. The service records request and response information and tracks latency, traffic, and errors. Limits include 50 APIs total, 100 configurations per API, and 50 gateways per region. Payloads can reach 32 megabytes, except gRPC transcoding, which is capped at 1 megabyte. Pricing lists $3.00 per month for 2M–1B calls and $1.50 per month for 1B+ calls, per million API calls; the 0–2M tier has no listed price.
Good
- Supports OpenAPI 2.0 and 3.0 specifications
- Offers API key and Google authentication options
- Logs requests and tracks latency, traffic, and errors
- Includes request transformation and rate limiting
Watch out
- Does not proxy to Google Cloud APIs such as BigQuery
- gRPC transcoding payloads are limited to 1 megabyte
- The 0–2M call tier has no listed price
Who it suits
It suits teams managing Google Cloud backends that need a consistent API entry point, traffic controls, and request monitoring. The documented backend integrations are Cloud Run, Cloud Run functions, and App Engine.
Verdict
Google Cloud API Gateway combines API access management with monitoring and Google Cloud integration. Check its backend and payload limits against your service needs before choosing it.
Plans and prices
From Google Cloud API Gateway's own pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| 1B+ API calls | $1.50 a month | 1B+ API calls/month · cost per million API calls · per month per billing account |
| 2M-1B API calls | $3 a month | 2M-1B API calls/month · cost per million API calls · per month per billing account |
| 0-2M API calls | — | 0-2M API calls/month · cost per million API calls · per month per billing account |
The facts
Each one read from Google Cloud API Gateway's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- AI agent integration
- Public Preview MCP support lets API Gateway expose existing REST APIs to AI agents as tools without backend changes.checked 1 Oct 2026
- API specifications
- API Gateway supports OpenAPI 2.0 and OpenAPI 3.0 specifications, including all OpenAPI 3.0 patch versions.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Supported authentication mechanisms include API keys, Google authentication methods, and Google ID tokens.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Backend integrations
- Documentation describes integrations with Cloud Run, Cloud Run functions, and App Engine backends.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Encryption and residency
- Customer data in API Gateway is CMEK-compliant at rest, and the service meets regulatory and compliance requirements for data residency at rest.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Google Cloud integration
- API Gateway is natively integrated with Google Cloud and handles traffic management, authorization, and monitoring for concurrent API calls.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Management
- It is a distributed API management system providing hosting, logging, monitoring, and API security features.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Model routing
- Public Preview model routing accepts OpenAI-compatible prompts and routes them to Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and OpenAI GPT models in Model Garden.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Payload limits
- Maximum request and response payload sizes are 32 megabytes, while gRPC transcoding requests and responses are limited to 1 megabyte.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- API Gateway provides secure access to backend services through a consistent REST API regardless of service implementation.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Resource limits
- The documented limits are 50 APIs total, 100 API configs per API, and 50 gateways per region.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Security transport
- API Gateway enforces TLS 1.2 or later for new security settings.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Support resources
- Google Cloud documentation lists community forums, support, release notes, and system status resources for API Gateway users.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Unsupported backend
- API Gateway does not support proxying to other Google Cloud APIs such as BigQuery APIs.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Usage observability
- API Gateway logs request and response information and tracks latency, traffic, and errors.checked 1 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Google Cloud API Gateway
- 1
Amazon API Gateway
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Gravitee API Gateway
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Kong Gateway
Free planWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted6.7Free plan