SHSelfHostIndex

HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress 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?
HA HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress Kubernetes ingress controller based on HAProxy VS KO Kong Gateway Cloud-native, fast, scalable API gateway
FeatureHAProxy Kubernetes IngressKong Gateway
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoLua
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentkubernetes, helmdocker, kubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 862★ 43,947
First released20192015
ReplacesAWS ALB IngressAWS API Gateway, Apigee

Why pick each one

Choose HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Written in Go
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress details

Choose Kong Gateway if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 43.9k GitHub stars
Kong Gateway details

Frequently asked questions

Is HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress 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 HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress and Kong Gateway free and open-source?

Yes. HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress 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 HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress and Kong Gateway with Docker?

HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress: check the project docs for container support. Kong Gateway: yes.

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