# Apache APISIX vs Azure API Management

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Apache APISIX

| Attribute | Apache APISIX | Azure API Management |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 54.2 (53% (medium)) | 42.9 (32% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 67 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 17,220 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A dynamic, high-performance gateway that routes and secures API traffic with built-in plugins for authentication, rate limiting, and observability. Runs anywhere from bare metal to Kubernetes with no vendor lock-in. It is indexed under API Gateways.","source":"https://apisix.apache.org","question":"What is Apache APISIX?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Apache APISIX is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://apisix.apache.org","question":"Is Apache APISIX free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Apache APISIX supports Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://apisix.apache.org","question":"What platforms does Apache APISIX support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Apache APISIX can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://apisix.apache.org","question":"Can Apache APISIX be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 20 integrations for Apache APISIX, including OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, DeepSeek, Ollama, gRPC, Open Policy Agent and Spring Boot, plus 12 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://apisix.apache.org","question":"What does Apache APISIX integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Apache APISIX is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/apache/apisix","question":"Is Apache APISIX open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"An Azure-hosted platform that handles API lifecycle management, governance, and security. It provides centralized oversight and control for APIs across cloud and hybrid environments, supporting traditional services, modern applications, and AI systems. It is indexed under API Gateways.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/","question":"What is Azure API Management?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Azure API Management. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/","question":"What platforms does Azure API Management support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Azure API Management, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/","question":"Can Azure API Management be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Azure API Management is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/","question":"Where is Azure API Management available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true}` |
| description.long | Open-source software that manages and routes traffic to APIs and AI services. Designed for flexible deployment on your own infrastructure with extensive customization through plugins. | An Azure-hosted platform that handles API lifecycle management, governance, and security. It provides centralized oversight and control for APIs across cloud and hybrid environments, supporting traditional services, modern applications, and AI systems. |
| features.capabilities | `{"mtls":true,"hosting":"both","k8s_native":true,"oauth_oidc":true,"open_source":true,"grpc_support":true,"monetization":true,"observability":true,"pricing_model":"open-source-self-host","rate_limiting":true,"graphql_gateway":false,"deployment_model":"self-hosted","developer_portal":true,"plugin_ecosystem":"extensive","routing_strategy":"custom","streaming_support":true,"automatic_failover":true,"budget_spend_controls":true,"guardrails_moderation":"built-in","openai_compatible_api":true,"request_transformation":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","observability":true,"pricing_model":"usage-based-saas","rate_limiting":true,"deployment_model":"managed-SaaS","plugin_ecosystem":"extensive"}` |
| integrations.count | 11 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Anthropic"},{"name":"AWS Bedrock"},{"name":"DeepSeek"},{"name":"Ollama"},{"name":"gRPC"},{"name":"gRPC-Web"},{"name":"Open Policy Agent"},{"name":"Spring Boot"},{"name":"OAuth2"},{"name":"OpenID Connect"},{"name":"Keycloak"},{"name":"Istio"},{"name":"Kuma"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"Azure Serverless Function"},{"name":"Apache OpenWhisk"},{"name":"Vault"},{"name":"Dubbo"},{"name":"MQTT"},{"name":"etcd"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry","category":"observability"},{"name":"ClickHouse","category":"analytics"},{"name":"Google Cloud","category":"cloud"},{"name":"Kubernetes","category":"infrastructure"},{"name":"Azure Functions","native":true,"category":"cloud","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Prometheus","native":true,"category":"monitoring","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"HashiCorp Vault","native":true,"category":"security","direction":"outbound"}]` | - |
| language.primary | Lua | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true,"linux":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://apisix.apache.org","retrievedAt":"2026-10-14T22:32:08.030Z"}` | `{"type":"usage","summary":"Pay-as-you-go pricing. $200 credit and 30-day trial.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-06T16:22:55.380Z","freeTrialDays":30}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | no |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 61 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.19.0","date":"2026-09-28T05:13:59Z","type":"stable","version":"3.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.18.0","date":"2026-08-20T07:57:26Z","type":"stable","version":"3.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.17.0","date":"2026-06-16T07:22:13Z","type":"stable","version":"3.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.16.0","date":"2026-04-08T01:36:55Z","type":"stable","version":"3.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.15.0","date":"2026-02-05T13:55:04Z","type":"stable","version":"3.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.14.1","date":"2025-10-16T07:54:57Z","type":"stable","version":"3.14.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.14.0","date":"2025-10-10T05:53:01Z","type":"stable","version":"3.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.13.0","date":"2025-06-27T07:28:29Z","type":"stable","version":"3.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.12.0","date":"2025-04-01T07:27:27Z","type":"stable","version":"3.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.11.0","date":"2024-10-17T03:20:22Z","type":"stable","version":"3.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.10.0","date":"2024-08-14T06:16:05Z","type":"stable","version":"3.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.9.1","date":"2024-04-24T07:56:23Z","type":"stable","version":"3.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.8.1","date":"2024-04-29T03:06:26Z","type":"stable","version":"3.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.9.0","date":"2024-03-25T10:09:53Z","type":"stable","version":"3.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.8.0","date":"2024-01-15T03:35:34Z","type":"stable","version":"3.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.7.0","date":"2023-11-21T00:57:26Z","type":"stable","version":"3.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.6.0","date":"2023-10-04T06:40:49Z","type":"stable","version":"3.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.5.0","date":"2023-09-01T15:55:01Z","type":"stable","version":"3.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.2.2","date":"2023-07-22T16:32:15Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/apache/apisix/releases/tag/3.4.1","date":"2023-07-20T09:42:19Z","type":"stable","version":"3.4.1"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 7.2 | - |
| security.trust_center | https://apisix.apache.org/blog/2023/03/02/security-policy-auditable/ | https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/security/ |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fapache%2Fapisix&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (API Gateways)

| Capability | Apache APISIX | Azure API Management |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud + self-hosted |
| Kubernetes-native | ✓ | - |
| **Traffic** |  |  |
| Rate limiting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Request/response transformation | ✓ | - |
| **Security** |  |  |
| OAuth2 / OIDC / JWT | ✓ | - |
| Mutual TLS | ✓ | - |
| **Protocols** |  |  |
| GraphQL gateway | ✗ | - |
| gRPC support | ✓ | - |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Developer portal | ✓ | - |
| Monetization | ✓ | - |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Plugin ecosystem | Extensive | Extensive |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Observability | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:02:56.353Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*