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Head-to-head · API Gateway Software

Azure API Management vs Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Azure API Management #1 in API Gateway Software 9.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 2 features Visit site
Spring Cloud Gateway #5 in API Gateway Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Spring Cloud

Azure API Management leads on 0 checks, Spring Cloud Gateway on 1, and 2 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreAzure API Management · 9.4/10
  • Free planonly Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Most featuresSpring Cloud Gateway · 2 of 2

Azure API Management scores higher on our rubric for api gateway software: 9.4 against 9.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #5.

Spring Cloud Gateway offers free plan; Azure API Management doesn't. On deployment model, Azure API Management gives you Hybrid where Spring Cloud Gateway offers Self-hosted.

Azure API Management is the better fit for enterprises needing full API lifecycle management. Spring Cloud Gateway is the better fit for spring-based application teams.

  • Azure API Management fits best

    Enterprises needing full API lifecycle management

  • Spring Cloud Gateway fits best

    Spring-based application teams

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Azure API Management 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Spring Cloud Gateway 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 9.0
Ranking #1 in API Gateway Software #5 in API Gateway Software
Best for Enterprises needing full API lifecycle management Spring-based application teams
Pricing model Paid Free
Starting price — Free plan
Free plan — ✓ (best)
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Self-hosted
Support Docs Docs, Community
Built for Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Azure API Management 0/2 · Spring Cloud Gateway 2/2
Rate limiting Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Request transformation Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Deployment model Hybrid Self-hosted
Supported protocols Not checked yet HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, gRPC
Authentication methods Not checked yet Spring Security, OAuth 2.0, JWT, opaque tokens
Monthly request limit Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Gateway controls cover authentication, routing, caching, throttling, and quotas
  • Developer portal supports discovery, documentation, subscriptions, and testing
  • Self-hosted gateway supports on-premises and multicloud environments
  • Dynamic routing with route-specific predicates and filters
  • Rate limiting, rewrites, transformations, and circuit breaker integration
  • Supports HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, and gRPC conversion
Cons
  • Pricing requires contacting sales
  • The Developer tier has no SLA and is for non-production use
  • Isolated is a preview tier for high-isolation enterprise deployments
  • Requires self-hosted deployment and operational ownership
  • Delivered as a library rather than a hosted gateway service
  • Best suited to teams already working within the Spring ecosystem
Our verdict

Azure API Management is a managed platform for securing, governing, publishing, and monitoring APIs across Azure, on-premises environments, and other clouds. It combines an API gateway with lifecycle management, a customizable developer…

Read the review →

Spring Cloud Gateway is an open-source library for building API gateways on Spring. It routes requests to backend services while adding capabilities such as security integration, monitoring, resiliency, rate limiting, path rewriting,…

Read the review →
  1. Azure API ManagementAPI Gateway Software 9.4Pricing on request
  2. Spring Cloud GatewayAPI Gateway Software 9.0Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Azure API Management — where it wins

    • Gateway controls cover authentication, routing, caching, throttling, and quotas
    • Developer portal supports discovery, documentation, subscriptions, and testing
    • Self-hosted gateway supports on-premises and multicloud environments

    Where it doesn't

    • Pricing requires contacting sales
    • The Developer tier has no SLA and is for non-production use
    • Isolated is a preview tier for high-isolation enterprise deployments

  • Spring Cloud Gateway — where it wins

    • Dynamic routing with route-specific predicates and filters
    • Rate limiting, rewrites, transformations, and circuit breaker integration
    • Supports HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, and gRPC conversion

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires self-hosted deployment and operational ownership
    • Delivered as a library rather than a hosted gateway service
    • Best suited to teams already working within the Spring ecosystem

More comparisons

All API gateway software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update