SHSelfHostIndex

Apache APISIX vs Pangolin

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 PA Pangolin Self-hosted tunneled reverse proxy with identity access
FeatureApache APISIXPangolin
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageLuaTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker
GitHub stars★ 16,968★ 22,062
First released20192024
ReplacesKong, AWS API GatewayCloudflare Tunnel

Why pick each one

Choose Apache APISIX if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 17k GitHub stars
Apache APISIX details

Choose Pangolin if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 22.1k GitHub stars
  • Written in TypeScript
Pangolin details

Frequently asked questions

Is Apache APISIX or Pangolin better?

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

Are Apache APISIX and Pangolin free and open-source?

Yes. Apache APISIX is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pangolin under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Apache APISIX and Pangolin with Docker?

Apache APISIX: yes. Pangolin: yes.

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