Compare Hurl and Gloo Gateway on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both API Tools tools, Open Source vs Freemium pricing to decide which fits your…
At a Glance
Hurl
Gloo Gateway
Primary category
API Tools
API Tools
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Open Source
Freemium
Starting price
Free
Free
Free plan
Not documented
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Mac, Windows
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Hurl
Open Source — Free N/A
Gloo Gateway
Open Source — Free free
Pros & Cons
Hurl
Pros
Completely free and open source with no paid tiers or limits
Lightweight single binary with no scripting language or GUI required
Powerful built-in assertions make it a genuine API testing tool, not just a request runner
Plain-text format is easy to version control, review, and diff
Backed and actively maintained by Orange with a stable release history since 2020
Cons
Smaller plugin and template ecosystem compared to Postman or Insomnia
No polished graphical interface, which can be a barrier for non-technical testers
Steeper learning curve for complex chained scenarios compared to point-and-click tools
Limited built-in mocking or virtualization capabilities
Less mainstream brand recognition than established API tools like Postman
Gloo Gateway
Pros
Free, open-source core with no vendor lock-in
Built on the battle-tested Envoy proxy
Supports multiple protocols in a single gateway
Backed by a well-funded company with enterprise support options
Used in production for 7+ years by Fortune 500 customers
Cons
Enterprise pricing is not publicly listed and requires a sales conversation
Effective use generally requires Kubernetes and Envoy expertise
Compliance features like FIPS and multicluster routing are enterprise-only
Steep learning curve for teams new to API gateway or service mesh concepts
Use Cases
Hurl
API Testing in CI/CD Pipelines — Run automated HTTP assertion tests on every commit or deployment as part of a build pipeline.
Quick HTTP Request Scripting — Script and chain HTTP requests in plain text for debugging or exploring an API without writing code.
Contract and Regression Testing — Maintain version-controlled test suites that validate REST and GraphQL API responses over time.
Gloo Gateway
Microservices API management — Platform teams routing and securing traffic across many internal microservices.
Multi-protocol API gateway — Organizations needing a single gateway in front of REST, gRPC, and GraphQL APIs.
Regulated enterprise deployments — Large organizations needing FIPS compliance and dedicated support for gateway infrastructure.
AI/agent traffic routing — Teams building AI agent infrastructure that needs a gateway layer in front of models and tools.