Kong and APISIX, two popular open-source #APIGateway solutions. #kong looks versatile Unified Gateway but how it fares against #APISIX backed by a similar enterprise API7 offering.
Key Features:
- API Gateway and API Management
- Plugin architecture
- NGINX-based
- Config management
- Seamless Kubernetes integration
- Security
Differentiation:
- AI Gateway: Only Kong offers an AI gateway, leveraging AI for tasks like traffic management and anomaly detection.
- Performance: API7 claims superior performance, but real-world benchmarks may vary.
- Cost: Self-hosting Kong can be cost-effective, SaaS offering pricing are complex, its better to check the fine print and usage patterns Pricing Models
- Service Mesh: Kong uses Envoy, while API7 uses Istio (which also uses Envoy).
- Cloud Costs: Running AI and API gateways at scale in the cloud can be expensive, Network design, workload pattern and application architecture going to play a critical role in how costly its going to be.
Choosing the Right API Gateway:
APISIX(API7): If performance and native service mesh capabilities are your primary concerns, then API7 might be a good choice. While #APISIX is a top #CNCF project and cloud-native with its out-of-the-box plugins, API7's focus on performance and service mesh integration is a compelling factor.
Kong: if that #AIGateway is exiting, in-house team is capable and priority is for long standing community support and self management then considering kong is advisable; you could self mange or opt for enterprise option.
The best choice between Kong and APISIX depends on organizational inclinations and specific requirements, including the need for AI integration, performance demands, and budget constraints. Carefully evaluate your needs and consider the strengths and weaknesses of each platform to make an informed decision.
Considering both are open source in nature/base and a big community driving the adoption, over a period of time, feature coverage would eventually catch-up, so better to be cost & performance conscious when choosing the gateway. Watch out those pricing models; getting on is easy but not getting off :-)
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