> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tyk.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tyk Editions and Feature Availability

> Which Tyk features are in the free Community Edition and which need the Enterprise Edition, compared across Self-Managed, Tyk Cloud and Hybrid deployments.

This page shows which features each edition and deployment option includes. For prices and plans, see [Tyk pricing](https://tyk.io/pricing/).

## Editions

Tyk has two editions:

* **Community Edition** is free and open source. You run it on your own infrastructure.
* **Enterprise Edition** requires a license from Tyk. It adds management components such as Tyk Dashboard and the Tyk Developer Portal, along with enterprise features for Tyk Gateway and Tyk AI Studio. It has three [deployment options](#deployment-options): Self-Managed, Tyk Cloud and Hybrid.

For the license of each component and how to get the Enterprise features, see [Tyk Stack](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-stack).

## Deployment Options

Tyk has three deployment options for the Enterprise Edition:

* **Self-Managed**: the Enterprise Edition on your own infrastructure. You install Tyk Dashboard with a license and the `tykio/tyk-gateway-ee` image. See [Install Tyk Self-Managed](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-self-managed/install.md).
* **Tyk Cloud**: Tyk runs the control plane and the Cloud Data Planes for you. See [Tyk Cloud](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-cloud.md).
* **Hybrid**: Tyk runs the control plane in Tyk Cloud. You run the gateways on your own infrastructure. See [Hybrid Gateways](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-cloud/environments-deployments/hybrid-gateways.md).

## Feature Availability

The feature tables compare the Community Edition with the three Enterprise Edition deployment options.

* **Community Edition**: the open source Tyk Gateway (`tykio/tyk-gateway`) and Tyk Pump on your own infrastructure. There is no Tyk Dashboard and no license. See [Tyk Open Source](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-open-source.md).
* **Self-Managed**, **Tyk Cloud** and **Hybrid**: the Enterprise Edition, with Tyk Dashboard and the Enterprise features of Tyk Gateway.

### Protocols

| Protocol | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| HTTP/REST | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [GraphQL](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/graphql.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
|   ↳ [Federation](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/graphql.md#graphql-federation) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
|   ↳ [Universal Data Graph](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/data-graph.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [gRPC](https://tyk.io/docs/key-concepts/grpc-proxy.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| [TCP](https://tyk.io/docs/key-concepts/tcp-proxy.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| [WebSocket](https://tyk.io/docs/advanced-configuration/websockets.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| [Server-Sent Events (SSE)](https://tyk.io/docs/advanced-configuration/sse-proxy.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/mcp-gateway/overview.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Kafka](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/event-driven-apis.md) | ❌ | ✅ | On request | ✅ |

### MCP Gateway

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [MCP proxy for a remote MCP server](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/mcp-gateway/overview.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| MCP client authorization with OAuth 2.0 and Protected Resource Metadata | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [REST API to MCP proxy](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/mcps/api-to-mcp.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Upstream OAuth 2.0 for MCP servers | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Token exchange for MCP servers | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Client Authentication

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Authentication token](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/bearer-token.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Basic Authentication](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/basic-authentication.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [JSON Web Token (JWT)](https://tyk.io/docs/basic-config-and-security/security/authentication-authorization/json-web-tokens.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [OAuth 2.0 with an external IdP](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/oauth2-authentication.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Tyk OAuth 2.0 authorization server](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/oauth-2.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [HMAC request signatures](https://tyk.io/docs/basic-config-and-security/security/authentication-authorization/hmac-signatures.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Certificate authentication](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/certificate-auth.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| [Custom authentication with plugins](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/custom-auth.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Multiple authentication methods](https://tyk.io/docs/basic-config-and-security/security/authentication-authorization/multiple-auth.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Identity Provider Registry](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/client-idp-registry.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Upstream Authentication

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Authentication token](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/upstream-authentication/auth-token.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Request signing](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/upstream-authentication/request-signing.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Basic Authentication](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/upstream-authentication/basic-auth.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [OAuth 2.0](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/upstream-authentication/oauth.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Token exchange (RFC 8693)](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/token-exchange.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Microsoft Entra ID On-Behalf-Of token exchange](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/authentication/token-exchange-microsoft-entra-obo.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Access and Traffic Control

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Granular access control](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/access-control/sessions-and-keys/access-rights.md#granular-endpoint-access) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Rate limiting](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/rate-limit.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Request quotas](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/request-quotas.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Request throttling](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/request-throttling.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Batch requests](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/batch-processing.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Routing and Transformation

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Load balancing](https://tyk.io/docs/planning-for-production/ensure-high-availability/load-balancing.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Service discovery](https://tyk.io/docs/planning-for-production/ensure-high-availability/service-discovery.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Path rewriting](https://tyk.io/docs/transform-traffic/url-rewriting.md) and [internal routing](https://tyk.io/docs/advanced-configuration/transform-traffic/looping.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Request and response transformation](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/traffic-transformation.md) (headers, body, method) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Request validation](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/traffic-transformation/request-validation.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Mock responses](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/traffic-transformation/mock-response.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Response caching](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/response-caching.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Fully customizable error responses](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/custom-error-responses.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Event stream mediation with Tyk Streams](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/event-driven-apis.md) (Kafka, WebSocket, SSE, HTTP) | ❌ | ✅ | On request | ✅ |

### Custom Processing via Plugins

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Go plugins](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/plugins/golang.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [JavaScript plugins](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/plugins/javascript.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Python plugins](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/plugins/rich-plugins.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [gRPC plugins](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/plugins/rich-plugins.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |

### Observability

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Distributed tracing with OpenTelemetry](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/traces.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [OpenTelemetry metrics](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/logs-metrics.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Access logs](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/logs/access-logs.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Traffic log export and analytics generation with [Tyk Pump](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/tyk-pump.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Integration with Secrets Managers

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Secrets from Vault, Consul and environment variables](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-configuration-reference/kv-store-providers.md) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Cloud secret stores](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-configuration-reference/kv-store-providers.md) (AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, GCP Secret Manager) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Tyk Dashboard

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [API Designer](https://tyk.io/docs/getting-started/using-tyk-dashboard.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [API Design Governance](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-governance/overview.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [API traffic analytics](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/dashboard-analytics.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [User management with RBAC](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/user-management.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Local user login](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/user-management.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Single sign-on (SSO) from your own IdP](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-identity-broker/dashboard-sso.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [User audit logs](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/logs/audit-logs.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Open Policy Agent (OPA) permission rules | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multi-tenant with separated data | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Access Policy designer](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/access-control/overview.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Tyk Certificate Store](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/certificates.md#tyk-certificate-store) management in Tyk Dashboard | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Developer Portal

This table lists the main capabilities of the Tyk Developer Portal. The Developer Portal license enables all of them. Individual capabilities do not need separate claims.

| Capability | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [API Products](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/api-products.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [API Catalogs](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-stack/tyk-developer-portal/enterprise-developer-portal/managing-access/manage-catalogues.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [API Plans](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/api-plans.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [OpenAPI docs](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/api-products.md) and [GraphQL playground](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-developer-portal/graphql-playground.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [MCP server docs](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/mcp-documentation.md) and [MCP Inspector playground](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/mcp-inspector-playground.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Developer Apps](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/developer-app.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Dynamic Client Registration](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-stack/tyk-developer-portal/enterprise-developer-portal/api-access/dynamic-client-registration.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Users and Teams](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-stack/tyk-developer-portal/enterprise-developer-portal/managing-access/manage-api-consumer-organisations.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Self-registration and custom sign-up forms](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/customization/sign-up.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Single sign-on (SSO)](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-stack/tyk-developer-portal/enterprise-developer-portal/managing-access/enable-sso.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Themes, pages and branding](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/customization.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Blog](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/customization/blog/overview.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Webhooks](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/customization/webhooks.md) and [email notifications](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/customization/email-notifications.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Audit logs](https://tyk.io/docs/tyk-developer-portal/enable-audit-logs-portal.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

For more information, see [Tyk Developer Portal](https://tyk.io/docs/portal/overview/intro.md).

### Multi-Region and Automation

| Feature | Community Edition | Self-Managed | Tyk Cloud | Hybrid |
| :- | :- | :- | :- | :- |
| [Gateways in many regions with Tyk MDCB](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/mdcb.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [Kubernetes-native API management with Tyk Operator](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/automations/operator.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| [GitOps and API configuration as code with Tyk Sync](https://tyk.io/docs/api-management/automations/sync.md) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### Tyk AI Studio

Tyk AI Studio has its own Community Edition and Enterprise Edition.

The following table compares the features available in Tyk AI Studio's Community and Enterprise editions.

| Feature | Community Edition | Enterprise Edition |
| - | - | - |
| **LLM Proxy Gateway** | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Chat Interface** | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Tool Integration** | ✅ | ✅ |
| **User Management (Admin and Standard Users)** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/user-management.md)) | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Hub-and-Spoke Deployment** | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Cost Tracking & Analytics** | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Plugin System** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/plugins/overview.md)) | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Main Ingress and Anthropic Messages Endpoint** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/proxy.md#endpoints)) | ✅ | ✅ |
| **LLM Failover** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/llm-management.md#failover)) | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Embedders** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/embedders.md)) | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Budget Management** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Budget Enforcement** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Budget Alerts** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Team Budgets** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/budgeting.md#team-budgets)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Model Routers** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/model-router.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Semantic Routers** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/semantic-router.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Filter Scripts, Including Tool Calls** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/filters.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Guardrail Filters** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Advanced SSO (SAML, OIDC)** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Fine-Grained RBAC (Roles and Permissions)** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Audit Trail** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/audit-trail.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Governed Metadata** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Outbound Webhooks** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/webhooks.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Tyk Dashboard MCP Integration** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/tyk-mcp-integration.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Semantic Caching (Advanced LLM Cache Plugin)** ([Learn more](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/semantic-caching.md)) | ❌ | ✅ |
| **[Asset Catalog Plugin](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/asset-catalog.md)** | ❌ | ✅ |
| **Priority Support** | ❌ | ✅ |

For how to get each edition, see [Tyk AI Studio Licensing and Editions](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/ai-studio/overview.md#licensing-and-editions).

## Frequently Asked Questions

> [accordion] Is Tyk Gateway Free?
>
> Yes. Tyk Gateway is open source under MPL 2.0. You can use the `tykio/tyk-gateway` image in production with no license. Some features, such as upstream OAuth, token exchange and Tyk Streams, are only in the Enterprise build (`tykio/tyk-gateway-ee`).

> [accordion] Is Tyk Dashboard Open Source?
>
> No. Tyk Dashboard is closed source and needs a license. You can get a trial license from the [Tyk website](https://tyk.io/self-managed-trial).

> [accordion] Can I Use the Tyk Developer Portal With the Open Source Gateway Only?
>
> No. Tyk Developer Portal needs its own license and a connection to Tyk Dashboard.

> [accordion] Is the Tyk MCP Gateway Open Source?
>
> Yes, for MCP proxies to a remote MCP server. A REST API to MCP proxy, upstream OAuth and token exchange need the Enterprise Edition. See [MCP Gateway](https://tyk.io/docs/ai-management/mcp-gateway/overview.md).

> [accordion] Is Tyk AI Studio Open Source?
>
> Yes. Tyk AI Studio Community Edition is open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL 3.0). You can use it in production with no license.
>
> Enterprise features, such as budget enforcement, SSO and the audit trail, need an AI Studio Enterprise license.

## Get a License

* **Self-Managed**: get a [trial license](https://tyk.io/self-managed-trial), or [contact Tyk](https://tyk.io/contact/) about licensing options.
* **Tyk Cloud**: [create a free account](https://tyk.io/sign-up/).
* **Prices and plans**: see [Tyk pricing](https://tyk.io/pricing/).