Amazon API Gateway vs NGINX Gateway Fabric

Amazon API Gateway9.3Visit NGINX Gateway Fabric8.9Visit

Higher score Amazon API Gateway #2 in API Gateway Software 9.3/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 2 features Visit site

vs

NGINX Gateway Fabric #6 in API Gateway Software 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit NGINX

• Amazon API Gateway fits best

  AWS-native teams needing broad API management

• NGINX Gateway Fabric fits best

  Kubernetes teams needing a focused gateway

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Side by side

Feature	Amazon API Gateway 9.3/10 Visit ↗	NGINX Gateway Fabric 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	8.9
Ranking	#2 in API Gateway Software	#6 in API Gateway Software
Best for	AWS-native teams needing broad API management	Kubernetes teams needing a focused gateway
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Support	Docs, Community	Community, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon API Gateway 2/2 · NGINX Gateway Fabric 2/2
Rate limiting	✓	✓
Request transformation	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Cloud	Self-hosted
Supported protocols	HTTP, REST, WebSocket	HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, UDP
Authentication methods	IAM/SigV4, Amazon Cognito user pools, JWT/OIDC/OAuth 2.0, Lambda authorizers, API keys, mutual TLS	Basic authentication, JWT, OpenID Connect, external authentication
Monthly request limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports HTTP, REST, and WebSocket APIs Offers IAM, Cognito, JWT, authorizers, API keys, and mutual TLS Connects with Lambda, CloudWatch, WAF, CloudFront, and other AWS services	Routes HTTP, gRPC, TCP, TLS, and UDP traffic Adds authentication, rate limiting, rewrites, and request mirroring Open source with a free plan and self-hosted deployment
Cons	Usage pricing varies by API type, region, volume, and related services Data transfer, connection minutes, and caching can add separate charges API Gateway Portals cost $125 per month	Requires the Kubernetes team to manage self-hosted deployment Uses a separate control plane and NGINX data plane Broader integrations and management features are outside its scope
Our verdict	Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed cloud service for creating, publishing, securing, monitoring, and operating APIs. It supports HTTP APIs, REST APIs, and WebSocket APIs, making it suitable for teams exposing backend functionality to… Read the review →	NGINX Gateway Fabric is an open-source Kubernetes gateway implementation from F5, Inc. It uses NGINX as the data plane and implements Gateway API resources for routing HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, and UDP traffic. Teams can use it… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Amazon API Gateway — where it wins

  • Supports HTTP, REST, and WebSocket APIs
  • Offers IAM, Cognito, JWT, authorizers, API keys, and mutual TLS
  • Connects with Lambda, CloudWatch, WAF, CloudFront, and other AWS services

  Where it doesn't

  • Usage pricing varies by API type, region, volume, and related services
  • Data transfer, connection minutes, and caching can add separate charges
  • API Gateway Portals cost $125 per month

• NGINX Gateway Fabric — where it wins

  • Routes HTTP, gRPC, TCP, TLS, and UDP traffic
  • Adds authentication, rate limiting, rewrites, and request mirroring
  • Open source with a free plan and self-hosted deployment

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires the Kubernetes team to manage self-hosted deployment
  • Uses a separate control plane and NGINX data plane
  • Broader integrations and management features are outside its scope

• Amazon API Gateway9.3/10 · Paid

  A broad AWS-native gateway for HTTP, REST, WebSocket, and private API workloads.

  Visit siteFull verdict →
• NGINX Gateway Fabric8.9/10 · Free plan

  A focused, self-hosted Kubernetes gateway for teams that want open-source NGINX routing.

  Visit NGINXFull verdict →