Zuplo vs Napkin
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Zuplo and Napkin.
Quick Verdict
3.8/5
Zuplo
0 reviews
3.5/5
Napkin
0 reviews
Zuplo is rated higher (3.8 vs 3.5). Zuplo is a programmable API gateway with TypeScript policy handlers. Rate limiting, authentication, request validation, and documentation generated automatically. Deploy globally. Napkin lets you write and run Node.js and Python serverless functions directly in the browser with zero setup, deploying them as authenticated HTTP endpoints.
Zuplo Programmable API gateway with serverless policies | Napkin Write and deploy Node.js and Python functions as HTTP endpoints from a browser editor | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.8 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.5 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | API-first product teams wanting TypeScript-programmable gateway policy, OpenAPI-driven docs and hosted developer portals in one managed platform | Developers who need an HTTP endpoint today — webhooks, bots, scheduled automations, and prototypes — without opening a cloud console or running infrastructure. |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | 300+ edge locations worldwide | — |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierapi access | free tier |
| Visit Zuplo → | Visit Napkin → | |
Zuplo
Pros
- + TypeScript policy code lives in your own repository with GitOps deployment and per-branch previews
- + Free tier is genuinely usable: 100K requests/month, 300 edge locations, unlimited environments
- + AI Gateway, MCP Gateway and hosted developer portal included on every plan, not sold as add-ons
- + Publishes its pricing, including the Enterprise floor - rare in the API gateway category
- + Auto-scaled edge deployment across 300+ locations with no cluster to manage
Cons
- - Builder overage of $100 per additional 100K requests makes steady growth expensive
- - No SLA of any kind below Enterprise, and only 99.5% at the Enterprise entry level
- - Both Free and Builder cap the team at 2 developer seats; SSO/RBAC is Enterprise-gated
- - Analytics beyond live logs is a 14-day trial on the lower tiers
- - Small, 2021-founded company: thinner community and plugin ecosystem than Kong or AWS API Gateway
Napkin
Pros
- + Genuinely free plan: $0/month with 25,000 API calls, unlimited functions, custom domains, and team invites
- + One-click deploy from a browser editor — Node.js and Python, no cloud console or CLI required
- + Clear published limits: 500 MB/0.5 vCPU free (2 GB/2 vCPU Pro), 15s/30s timeouts, explicit rate caps
- + Endpoint SSL, auth, production logs, and scheduled triggers included on both tiers
- + Pro tier is capacity-only at $10 per user per month — no feature gating, no sales call
Cons
- - No published SLA, regions, or data residency; small-vendor reliability story
- - Free tier caps at 5 requests/second and a 15-second timeout — real design constraints
- - Browser-only workflow with no local development story and no obvious export path
- - Node.js and Python only — no Go, Rust, PHP, or Ruby runtimes
- - Stale limit figures circulate on marketing and third-party pages, so verify before budgeting
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