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Head-to-head · Kubernetes Ingress Controllers

HAProxy Ingress vs Airlock Microgateway

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score HAProxy Ingress #5 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Try HAProxy Ingress
Airlock Microgateway #12 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Airlock

HAProxy Ingress leads on 0 checks, Airlock Microgateway on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreHAProxy Ingress · 8.9/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresHAProxy Ingress · 5 of 5

HAProxy Ingress scores higher on our rubric for kubernetes ingress controllers: 8.9 against 8.2 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #12.

HAProxy Ingress is the better fit for teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress. Airlock Microgateway is the better fit for security-focused Kubernetes gateway deployments.

  • HAProxy Ingress fits best

    Teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress

  • Airlock Microgateway fits best

    Security-focused Kubernetes gateway deployments

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Side by side

Feature HAProxy Ingress 8.9/10 Visit ↗ Airlock Microgateway 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.9 8.2
Ranking #5 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers #12 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers
Best for Teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress Security-focused Kubernetes gateway deployments
Pricing model Free Free plan + paid
Starting price Free plan —
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs, Tickets, Phone
Integrations 6 integrations 10 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features HAProxy Ingress 5/5 · Airlock Microgateway 4/5
TLS automation ✓ ✓
Canary routing ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Rate limiting ✓ ✓
Web application firewall ✓ ✓
Auth policies ✓ ✓
Specs
Ingress API model Both Both
Deployment model Self-hosted Self-hosted
Our review
Pros
  • Supports both Kubernetes Ingress resources and Gateway API
  • Automates ACME certificate issuance and renewal
  • Adds canary routing, rate limits, authentication, and WAF integrations
  • Free Community Edition supports unlimited requests with no license required
  • Combines TLS, mTLS, rate limiting, filtering, and authentication
  • Integrates with Kubernetes, OpenShift, Istio, Cilium, Helm, and observability tools
Cons
  • Self-hosted deployment requires Kubernetes and Linux infrastructure
  • HAProxy-based configuration may be more than simple ingress needs
  • Commercial pricing and managed hosting are not part of the offering
  • Self-hosted deployment requires a Kubernetes environment
  • Premium Edition uses license-based pricing
  • Community Edition provides community support rather than Airlock support
Our verdict

HAProxy Ingress is an open-source Kubernetes ingress controller for routing external HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP traffic to applications running in a cluster. It fits teams that want broad traffic-management capabilities while keeping deployment…

Read the review →

Airlock Microgateway is a self-hosted Kubernetes gateway for teams routing application and API traffic inside Kubernetes environments. It supports Ingress and Kubernetes Gateway API deployment patterns, reverse-proxy routing, TLS…

Read the review →
  1. HAProxy IngressKubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.9Free plan
  2. Airlock MicrogatewayKubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.2Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • HAProxy Ingress — where it wins

    • Supports both Kubernetes Ingress resources and Gateway API
    • Automates ACME certificate issuance and renewal
    • Adds canary routing, rate limits, authentication, and WAF integrations

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires Kubernetes and Linux infrastructure
    • HAProxy-based configuration may be more than simple ingress needs
    • Commercial pricing and managed hosting are not part of the offering

  • Airlock Microgateway — where it wins

    • Free Community Edition supports unlimited requests with no license required
    • Combines TLS, mTLS, rate limiting, filtering, and authentication
    • Integrates with Kubernetes, OpenShift, Istio, Cilium, Helm, and observability tools

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment requires a Kubernetes environment
    • Premium Edition uses license-based pricing
    • Community Edition provides community support rather than Airlock support

More comparisons

All kubernetes ingress controllers comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update