Apache APISIX
Claim this toolCloud-native API Gateway and AI Gateway for managing APIs and AI workloads.
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5 reviews tracked The Bottom Line
- Price
- Free, no paid tier. Compare plans
Key facts
- Open-source, cloud-native API Gateway and AI Gateway.
- Provides dynamic traffic management, security, and observability for microservices.
- Offers high performance, scalability, and hot-loading plugins for continuous updates.
Pros
- Ultimate performance with low latency (0.2 ms)
- Robust security features for identity authentication and API verification
- High scalability and availability with customizability
- Fully dynamic with hot updates and hot-loading plugins, saving development time
- Platform and protocol agnostic, avoiding vendor lock-in
Cons
- Requires familiarity with NGINX and etcd for advanced configurations
- Steep learning curve for new users due to extensive features and plugins
What is Apache APISIX?
Apache APISIX is an open-source, cloud-native API Gateway and AI Gateway designed for managing microservices and AI workloads. It provides comprehensive traffic management features such as load balancing, dynamic upstream, canary release, circuit breaking, authentication, and observability. Built on NGINX and etcd, APISIX offers dynamic routing and hot-loading plugins, enabling continuous configuration updates without restarts, which saves development time and reduces operational stress.
This platform is ideal for organizations building large-scale, high-value systems that require ultimate performance, security, and scalability for their APIs and microservices. It caters to developers and operations teams looking for a flexible, platform-agnostic solution that can run from bare-metal to Kubernetes, supporting various protocols like HTTP, gRPC, WebSockets, and Dubbo. With nearly 100 open-source plugins, APISIX helps users focus on designing world-class systems rather than fighting bugs.
Key benefits include exceptional performance with low latency, robust security features like JWT and OIDC authentication, and high scalability with custom plugin and load balancing capabilities. Its fully dynamic nature, multi-platform and multi-protocol support, and open-source, community-driven development ensure it remains a future-ready solution for modern API management and AI integration.
Available on: Web
Ratings Across the Web
4.8 (5 reviews)
Apache APISIX holds an aggregate rating of 4.8 out of 5 from 5 reviews across G2, last checked September 10, 2026.
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
- Load balancing
- Dynamic upstream
- Canary release
- Circuit breaking
- Authentication (JWT, Key Auth, OIDC, Keycloak)
- Observability (Prometheus, Grafana, Apache Skywalking integration)
- Nearly 100 open-source plugins
- Custom plugin development
Pricing
Free
Apache APISIX is completely free to use with no hidden costs.
Apache APISIX by the numbers
| Metric | Apache APISIX | Peer median | Position (1 is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | 77% have one | n/a |
| Listed as an alternative to | 4 tools | 2 | #151 of 447 (joint) |
Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. All DevOps data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position.
Cite this: Toolradar, “Apache APISIX by the numbers”, Oct 2026.
Reviews
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4.8/5
Across 5 verified user reviews on G2
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Apache APISIX FAQ
How does Apache APISIX achieve high performance for routing and plugins?
Apache APISIX utilizes radixtree-route-matching and etcd to enable high-speed synchronized systems. This architecture ensures that both routing and built-in plugins are designed for optimal performance with minimal latency.
What security features does Apache APISIX offer for API protection?
Apache APISIX provides various security plugins for identity authentication and API verification. These include support for CORS, JWT, Key Auth, OpenID Connect (OIDC), and Keycloak to shield against malicious activities.
Can Apache APISIX handle different communication protocols beyond standard HTTP?
Yes, Apache APISIX supports a wide range of protocols including HTTP to gRPC transcoding, websockets, gRPC, Dubbo, and MQTT proxy. This allows it to function across diverse communication requirements.
How does Apache APISIX ensure continuous operation and configuration updates without service interruption?
Apache APISIX features Hot updates and Hot plugins, which allow configurations to be updated dynamically without requiring a restart of the gateway. This capability, along with health checks and circuit breakers, helps maintain system balance and continuous availability.
What are the underlying technologies that Apache APISIX is built upon?
Apache APISIX is based on NGINX and etcd. This foundation enables features like dynamic routing and hot-loading plugins, differentiating it from traditional API Gateways.
Does Apache APISIX support custom load balancing and routing algorithms?
Yes, Apache APISIX provides the ability to write custom plugins and utilize custom Load Balancing Algorithms during the balancer phase for scaling. It also supports custom Routing algorithms for fine-grained control over traffic distribution.
Source: apisix.apache.org