vioscaleAI
Comparison

Apache APISIX vs Traefik

No clear leader: Traefik (56.0) and Apache APISIX (54.2) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Apache APISIX full profile →Traefik full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Apache APISIX54
Traefik56
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache APISIX54 / 100medium · 53%
Traefik56 / 100low · 43%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik✓
Model
Apache APISIXopen_source
Traefikcommercial
Price level
Apache APISIXfree
Traefiklow
Transparent
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik✗
Integrations
Count
Apache APISIX11
Traefik9
Security
Certifications
Apache APISIX–
TraefikFIPS 140-3, FIPS 140-2
Disclosure policy
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik–
Scorecard
Apache APISIX7.2
Traefik6.4
Trust center
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Status page
Apache APISIX–
Traefik✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache APISIX1
Traefik52
Github stars
Apache APISIX17,220
Traefik65,044
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache APISIX67
Traefik100
Release
Cadence days
Apache APISIX61
Traefik–
History
Apache APISIX20 items
Traefik20 items
License
Spdx
Apache APISIXApache-2.0
TraefikMIT
Language
Primary
Apache APISIXLua
TraefikGo
Market
Availability
Apache APISIX–
TraefikAvailable worldwide
Content
Faq
Apache APISIX6 items
Traefik6 items

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

Apache APISIX

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

Traefik

A cloud-native application proxy and API gateway that provides centralized management for Kubernetes workloads, VM-based services, and API endpoints—including AI models and agents—through a single programmable gateway deployable on-premises or with any cloud provider.

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

Open source
as of verify ↗

Traefik

HybridFree tier
  • Traefik ProxyFree
    • Services auto-discovery
    • HTTP/2/3, TCP, UDP, gRPC, WebSockets
    • Real-time metrics and distributed tracing
    • Canary deployments
    • OpenTelemetry support
    • +1 more
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✓
Traefik✓
Linux
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik✓
CLI
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache APISIX✗
Traefik✓
Self-hosted
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik✓
On-premise
Apache APISIX✓
Traefik✓

Integrations

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

In common (7)
  • Open Policy Agent
  • Vault
  • etcd
  • OpenTelemetry
  • Kubernetes
  • Prometheus
  • HashiCorp Vault

Apache APISIX

28 total - 21 not shared
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • AWS Bedrock
  • DeepSeek
  • Ollama
  • gRPC
  • gRPC-Web
  • Spring Boot
  • OAuth2
  • OpenID Connect
  • Keycloak
  • Istio
  • Kuma
  • AWS Lambda
  • Azure Serverless Function
  • Apache OpenWhisk
  • Dubbo
  • MQTT
  • ClickHouse
  • Google Cloud
  • Azure Functions
Independently observed

Traefik

26 total - 19 not shared
  • Docker
  • Docker Swarm
  • Consul
  • Rancher
  • Amazon ECS
  • HashiCorp Nomad
  • Azure Service Fabric
  • Let's Encrypt
  • Datadog
  • Statsd
  • InfluxDB
  • Argo CD
  • OpenAPI
  • ModSecurity
  • Mesos
  • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
  • Red Hat OpenShift
  • Treblle
  • Red Hat Marketplace
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Apache APISIX or Traefik: 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.