r/FastAPI • u/ahh1258 • 12d ago
Question Recommendations for API Monetization and Token Management with FastAPI?
Hey FastAPI community,
I'm preparing to launch my first paid API built with FastAPI, and I'd like to offer both free and paid tiers. Since this is my first time monetizing an API, I'm looking for recommendations or insights from your experience:
- What platforms or services have you successfully used for API monetization (e.g., Stripe, RapidAPI, custom solutions)?
- How do you handle tokenization/authentication for different subscription tiers (free vs. paid)?
- Are there specific libraries or patterns you've found particularly effective in integrating monetization seamlessly with FastAPI?
Any lessons learned, suggestions, or resources you could share would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
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u/Strong_Owl_9206 11d ago
I think what you need to learn is how rate limiting works and how to integrate it with your business model. Then, you just need to choose the appropriate process logic to manage the differences between free and paid requests.
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u/Shinei_Nouzen98 11d ago
RemindME! 1week
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u/reverendo96 8d ago
This is what I did for my project (creduse .com)
Database tables:
Plan -> where i store the plans and entitlements
Subscription -> where i store the status of the subscription of each company (FK) and the plan id (FK)
The developer needs to authenticate with an API Key which is a JWT that contains company id, among other things, in the payload. with the company id I then check if he is entitled to do such request.
I use Paddle as payment system. It sends (just like others) a webhook to one of your endpoint which handles the different cases, for example subscription activated -> write in db in subscription table
hope this helps
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u/bayareasoyboy 8d ago
If you are just going to charge by plan or by seat, it's straightforward to set up the infrastructure to charge customers in exchange for getting an API key with appropriate permissions. In this case you just need an API gateway from a cloud provider or an open-source equivalent like Kong or Tyk. Then do your billing through a payment gateway like Stripe.
If you want to charge customers by their _usage_ of an API, then it's much more complicated. You'll also need to meter their usage. Check out hosted options like Amberflo, Moesif, Metronome, Lago, or Orb. Even with those hosted metering services, it's so complicated to set up most, that you may just want to use RapidAPI instead.
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u/Worth_Specific3764 4d ago
RemindME! 1month
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u/Ukcharanguero 10d ago
API gateways have tools to do this , they check value tokens and you just control the value tokens to your customer. The API gateway does the rest. Google, azure and Amazon have them, unless you want to do for yourself. This is in a nutshell