Apache APISIX vs KrakenD
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
KrakenD
Ultra-high-performance API gateway
| Feature | Apache APISIX | KrakenD |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Lua | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 17,156 | ★ 2,686 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Kong, AWS API Gateway | AWS API Gateway, Kong |
What are Apache APISIX and KrakenD?
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
KrakenD
KrakenD is a stateless, declarative API gateway that aggregates and transforms responses from many backend services. It is designed for extreme performance with no shared state.
- Response aggregation
- Stateless design
- Declarative configuration
- Very high throughput
Apache APISIX vs KrakenD: key differences
Apache APISIX is written in Lua, while KrakenD is built with Go. KrakenD is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Apache APISIX. KrakenD is the more established project (first released 2017), while Apache APISIX arrived in 2019. Apache APISIX has the considerably larger community, at 17,156 GitHub stars versus 2,686.
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
Choose KrakenD if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache APISIX or KrakenD better?
Neither is universally better. Apache APISIX has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Apache APISIX and KrakenD free and open-source?
Yes. Apache APISIX is licensed under Apache-2.0 and KrakenD under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache APISIX and KrakenD with Docker?
Apache APISIX: yes. KrakenD: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Apache APISIX or KrakenD?
KrakenD has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Apache APISIX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.