Apache Apisix vs. Kong: Open-Source API Gateway | Hacker News Reader

Apache Apisix vs. Kong: Open-Source API Gateway

api7.ai

43 pointsguoqqqi15 comments

Important Kong Plugins are not Open-Source.

https://docs.konghq.com/gateway/3.0.x/kong-enterprise/

Apache Apisix is more predictable Open Source.

Yes, as Apache APISIX is community driven (owned by the ASF), features and roadmap are discussed and voted by contributors and PMC members.

That's not wholly true. Kong has a lot of FOSS plugins, but also has enterprise exclusive plugins.

https://docs.konghq.com/hub/

Alright I'll pull. You're not really saying anything different than your parent. Their entire point is that Kong has enterprise exclusive (i.e., non-FOSS) plugins, and some of those are important.

In a discussion comparing an Open Core offering to an Open Source offering, saying Open Core is not fully open is never untrue.

I don’t agree, there is a difference between all plugins vs some plugins

The Ingress Controller spreadsheet[1] was what originally tuned me in to APISIX. Huge huge matrix of capabilities that they do an incredible job on. Kubedex[2] has another similar-but-different sheet[2].

[1] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/191WWNpjJ2za6-nbG4ZoU... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24858363 (103 points, 2 years ago, 72 comments)

[2] https://kubedex.com/ingress/

Thanks for sharing! Except for Kong, Apache APISIX community users ask about differences between APISIX and NGINX as well. The main difference is that: APISIX is behind the onlt one location of NGINX, all traffic hit that location and use lua to rewrite or modify the request in different phases. For more information, can check https://apisix.apache.org/blog/

Two quick questions if anyone has the time:

- Are there any large companies that have adopted this?

- How does this compare to istio/envoy?

The HMAC support and python plugin support is really interesting to me.

I'm waiting for Envoy Gateway [1] to go GA before standardizing on that. A battle-tested core, simple deployment, and new packaging laser-focused on the modern needs of north-south traffic.

[1] https://github.com/envoyproxy/gateway

Hi,

To your first question, yes APISIX heavily used on prod by some well-known companies like Swisscom, TencentGames, Airwallex, BMW Finance and so on.

Feel free to research more.

Not heavily used in prod @ Swisscom btw

i was in the market for an api gateway and i ended up having a freelancer spin me up in nodejs because i could not find a dev who could implement one. All the people who i talked to could roll out their own. Or i had to do my own testing and set it up myself which i did with "fusio" but that never worked so i dropped the idea.

Hmm, read it like Opsix vs Korg

This is the most "media blitz" I can ever recall for an Apache project. These Apisix folks are in every http thread, banging the drum. I'm having a hard time squaring what the motivation is: for example, if folks use Apache Tomcat, I guess it's motivating for the Tomcat developers, but otherwise Apache doesn't get any kickbacks. Maybe the api7 folks are trying to use the Apisix for lead gen?

OT1H, maybe it really is great and I am at fault for not making the time to kick the tires on it. OTOH, my life experience has been that the louder the advertisement, the more suspicious I am of their claims

If you have doubts on whether it is Apache project or not, visit the APISIX website and GitHub repo, you will learn more. It is a community project by the community and we are helping out to APISIX developers to observe it, learn and upskill. You can follow blog posting channels, we have many technical content around APISIX for just knowledge sharing purposes.

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