specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: Consul Connect
providerId: consul-connect
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Consul
  - Envoy
  - HashiCorp
  - Service Mesh
  - Zero Trust
description: Consul Connect is the service mesh subsystem of HashiCorp Consul. The Connect HTTP API,
  configuration entries, and gateway APIs are exposed by self-hosted Consul agents and the HashiCorp
  Cloud Platform (HCP Consul) runtime. The API surface itself is open source (BUSL / MPL) and free;
  pricing applies to the underlying runtime — Consul Community (free), Consul Enterprise (self-managed,
  custom-quoted), and HCP Consul (managed, usage-based on the IBM HashiCorp Cloud Platform pay-as-you-go
  / Flex Plans).
notes: There is no separate API price for Consul Connect. The runtime cost lives with HashiCorp Consul
  Enterprise / HCP Consul; HashiCorp publishes general HCP pricing categories (PAYG, Flex, Enterprise
  self-managed) but no canonical per-resource price for Consul Connect publicly. Reconcile against the
  active HCP / Enterprise contract for operational cost.
sources:
  - https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/api-docs/connect
  - https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/connect
  - https://www.hashicorp.com/pricing
plans:
  - id: consul-connect-community
    name: Consul Community (OSS)
    type: free
    description: Open-source Consul including Connect — service mesh, intentions, sidecar proxies, mesh
      / ingress / terminating / API gateways. Self-hosted with no license fee.
    entries:
      - label: Self-Hosted Consul Connect
        description: Open-source service mesh; no per-API-call or per-resource fee from HashiCorp
        name: oss_runtime
        type: subscription
        metric: month
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Consul Connect HTTP API
      - name: Consul Connect Configuration Entries
      - name: Consul Connect Gateways
      - name: Community Support
  - id: consul-connect-enterprise
    name: Consul Enterprise (Self-Managed)
    type: enterprise
    description: HashiCorp Consul Enterprise with Connect features (admin partitions, namespaces, audit
      logging, advanced federation, network areas). Custom-quoted.
    entries:
      - label: Enterprise License
        description: Self-managed Consul Enterprise license; pricing is custom-negotiated.
        name: enterprise_license
        type: subscription
        metric: varies
        limit: 'see HashiCorp / IBM contract'
        timeFrame: year
        geo: configurable
        unit: 1
        price: 'see HashiCorp / IBM contract'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Consul Connect HTTP API
      - name: Consul Connect Configuration Entries
      - name: Consul Connect Gateways
      - name: Admin Partitions / Namespaces
      - name: Audit Logging
      - name: Enterprise Support
  - id: consul-connect-hcp
    name: HCP Consul (Managed)
    type: usage-based
    description: HashiCorp Cloud Platform (now IBM HashiCorp Cloud Platform) managed Consul. Pricing
      is delivered through HCP's pay-as-you-go and Flex plans on the broader platform; per-cluster /
      per-resource line items are surfaced in HCP's pricing calculator and are not consolidated to a
      single public number.
    entries:
      - label: HCP Consul Runtime
        description: Managed Consul cluster; pricing per HCP pay-as-you-go and Flex plans
        name: hcp_runtime
        type: metered
        metric: hour
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: 'see HCP / IBM HashiCorp Cloud Platform pricing calculator'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Consul Connect HTTP API
      - name: Consul Connect Configuration Entries
      - name: Consul Connect Gateways
      - name: Managed Operations / SLAs
      - name: HCP Free Trial Credit ($500)
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com
x-canonical:
  generated: '2026-10-08'
  vocabulary: all/0-working/economics/plans-canonical.yml
  models:
  - metered
  - subscription
  units:
  - compute
  - negotiated
  - period
  plans:
  - name: Consul Community (OSS)
    access: free
    model: subscription
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - period
    periods:
    - month
  - name: Consul Enterprise (Self-Managed)
    access: enterprise
    model: subscription
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - negotiated
    periods:
    - year
  - name: HCP Consul (Managed)
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - compute
    periods:
    - per-use