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Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
AP Apache APISIX Dynamic, real-time, high-performance API gateway VS KO Kong Gateway Cloud-native, fast, scalable API gateway
FeatureApache APISIXKong Gateway
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score95 · Excellent99 · Excellent
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageLuaLua
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 17,161★ 44,186
First released20192015
ReplacesKong, AWS API GatewayAWS API Gateway, Apigee

What are Apache APISIX and Kong Gateway?

Apache APISIX

Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real-time, high-performance API gateway that provides traffic management features such as load balancing, authentication, and observability. It supports hot reloading of plugins.

  • Dynamic plugin loading
  • High throughput
  • Built-in dashboard
  • gRPC and WebSocket proxying

Read the full Apache APISIX guide →

Kong Gateway

Kong Gateway is an open-source API gateway built on Nginx that manages, secures, and observes API traffic with a rich plugin ecosystem. It scales from single nodes to large clusters.

  • Plugin-driven API management
  • Rate limiting and auth
  • Kubernetes ingress controller
  • Declarative config

Read the full Kong Gateway guide →

Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway: key differences

Both projects are written in Lua. Kong Gateway is the more established project (first released 2015), while Apache APISIX arrived in 2019. Kong Gateway has the considerably larger community, at 44,186 GitHub stars versus 17,161.

Why pick each one

Choose Apache APISIX if…

  • Hot-reloadable plugins
  • High performance core
  • Rich plugin library

Watch out for

  • Requires etcd
  • Learning curve for config
Apache APISIX details

Choose Kong Gateway if…

  • Rich plugin ecosystem
  • Scales to clusters
  • Built on proven Nginx

Watch out for

  • Postgres typically required
  • Steep configuration curve
  • Some plugins enterprise-only
Kong Gateway details

Frequently asked questions

Is Apache APISIX or Kong Gateway better?

Neither is universally better. Kong Gateway has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Apache APISIX and Kong Gateway free and open-source?

Yes. Apache APISIX is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kong Gateway under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Apache APISIX and Kong Gateway with Docker?

Apache APISIX: yes. Kong Gateway: yes.

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