Comparison

Apache APISIX vs Gloo Gateway

On the evidence we track, Apache APISIX leads this comparison with a composite score of 54/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Apache APISIX54
Gloo Gateway48
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache APISIX54 / 100medium · 53%
Gloo Gateway48 / 100low · 32%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Model
Apache APISIXopen_source
Gloo Gatewayquote
Price level
Apache APISIXfree
Gloo Gatewayunknown
Transparent
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✗
Integrations
Count
Apache APISIX11
Gloo Gateway9
Security
Certifications
Apache APISIX–
Gloo GatewayFedRAMP
Disclosure policy
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Fedramp
Apache APISIX–
Gloo Gateway✓
Scorecard
Apache APISIX7.2
Gloo Gateway–
Soc2
Apache APISIX–
Gloo Gateway✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache APISIX1
Gloo Gateway–
Github stars
Apache APISIX17,220
Gloo Gateway–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache APISIX67
Gloo Gateway–
Release
Cadence days
Apache APISIX61
Gloo Gateway–
History
Apache APISIX20 items
Gloo Gateway–
License
Spdx
Apache APISIXApache-2.0
Gloo Gateway–
Language
Primary
Apache APISIXLua
Gloo Gateway–
Content
Faq
Apache APISIX6 items
Gloo Gateway6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for api gateways. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
Apache APISIXCloud + self-hosted
Gloo GatewaySelf-hosted only
Kubernetes-native
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Traffic
Rate limiting
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway-
Request/response transformation
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Security
OAuth2 / OIDC / JWT
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Mutual TLS
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Protocols
GraphQL gateway
Apache APISIX✗
Gloo Gateway✓
gRPC support
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Delivery
Developer portal
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Monetization
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Ecosystem
Plugin ecosystem
Apache APISIXExtensive
Gloo GatewayLimited
Insight
Observability
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Apache APISIX

Leader

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.

Independently observed

Gloo Gateway

A cloud-native API gateway built on Envoy that enables organizations to route, transform, and secure API traffic across multiple protocols. It provides enterprise security controls, developer portals for API discovery, and monetization capabilities for managing APIs as revenue-generating assets.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Apache APISIX

Leader
Open source
as of verify ↗

Gloo Gateway

HybridFree tier

Free open source forever. Enterprise support available.

  • Open SourceFree
    • Request routing by path, header, method, query parameter, host
    • Kubernetes Gateway API support
    • Traffic splitting and transformation
    • Multi-protocol support: REST, gRPC, GraphQL, WebSocket
    • Active community with regular releases
  • Solo EnterpriseContact sales
    • 24x7 Support SLA with guaranteed response times
    • N-3 Long Term Support with security patches and bug fixes
    • FIPS Compliant Images
    • Private Slack Channel with white-glove support
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✗
Linux
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
CLI
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache APISIX✗
Gloo Gateway✓
Self-hosted
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✓
On-premise
Apache APISIX✓
Gloo Gateway✗
Hybrid
Apache APISIX✗
Gloo Gateway✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (3)
  • Istio
  • AWS Lambda
  • Kubernetes

Apache APISIX

Leader
28 total - 25 not shared
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • AWS Bedrock
  • DeepSeek
  • Ollama
  • gRPC
  • gRPC-Web
  • Open Policy Agent
  • Spring Boot
  • OAuth2
  • OpenID Connect
  • Keycloak
  • Kuma
  • Azure Serverless Function
  • Apache OpenWhisk
  • Vault
  • Dubbo
  • MQTT
  • etcd
  • OpenTelemetry
  • ClickHouse
  • Google Cloud
  • Azure Functions
  • Prometheus
  • +1 more
Independently observed

Gloo Gateway

13 total - 10 not shared
  • MCP
  • Kubernetes Gateway API
  • Backstage
  • LLMs
  • AWS EKS
  • AWS API Gateway
  • OpenAPI
  • OAuth 2.0
  • OIDC
  • JWT
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Apache APISIX or Gloo Gateway: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.