Comparison

Apache APISIX vs Traefik

No clear leader: Apache APISIX (55.7) and Traefik (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.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Apache APISIX56
Traefik54
Score
Vioscale score
Apache APISIX56 / 100medium · 54%
Traefik54 / 100medium · 55%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache APISIX
Traefik
Model
Apache APISIXopen_source
Traefikcommercial
Price level
Apache APISIXfree
Traefiklow
Transparent
Apache APISIX
Traefik
Integrations
Count
Apache APISIX13
Traefik19
Reliability
Status page
Apache APISIX
Traefik
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache APISIX1
Traefik52
Github stars
Apache APISIX17,037
Traefik64,604
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache APISIX61
Traefik90
Release
Cadence days
Apache APISIX61
Traefik
History
Apache APISIX20 items
Traefik20 items
License
Spdx
Apache APISIXApache-2.0
TraefikMIT
Language
Primary
Apache APISIXLua
TraefikGo

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

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.

Independently observed

Traefik

Traefik is a reverse proxy that automatically discovers services running in containers, virtual machines, and cloud environments, then routes traffic to them. It supports multiple orchestrators and deployment models while providing load balancing, security controls, API management capabilities, and real-time observability without requiring configuration changes as infrastructure scales.

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 sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Traefik

HybridFree tier

Traefik Proxy is open source and free. Traefik Hub API Gateway and Traefik Hub API Management are commercial products requiring contact for pricing.

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Linux
Apache APISIX
Traefik
CLI
Apache APISIX
Traefik
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Apache APISIX
Traefik
Self-hosted
Apache APISIX
Traefik
On-premise
Apache APISIX
Traefik
Hybrid
Apache APISIX
Traefik

Integrations

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

In common (1)
  • etcd

Apache APISIX

21 total - 20 not shared
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • AWS Bedrock
  • DeepSeek
  • Ollama
  • gRPC
  • gRPC-Web
  • Open Policy Agent
  • Spring Boot
  • OAuth2
  • OpenID Connect
  • Keycloak
  • Istio
  • Kuma
  • AWS Lambda
  • Azure Serverless Function
  • Apache OpenWhisk
  • Vault
  • Dubbo
  • MQTT
Independently observed

Traefik

19 total - 18 not shared
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker Swarm
  • Consul
  • Rancher
  • Amazon ECS
  • HashiCorp Nomad
  • Azure Service Fabric
  • HashiCorp Vault
  • Let's Encrypt
  • Prometheus
  • Datadog
  • Statsd
  • InfluxDB
  • Argo CD
  • OpenAPI
  • ModSecurity
  • Mesos
Independently observed

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