HAProxy Ingress vs Apache APISIX

HAProxy Ingress8.9Visit Apache APISIX8.7Visit

Higher score HAProxy Ingress #5 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Try HAProxy Ingress

vs

Apache APISIX #7 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Apache APISIX

• HAProxy Ingress fits best

  Teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress

• Apache APISIX fits best

  Open-source API gateway and ingress teams

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Side by side

Feature	HAProxy Ingress 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Apache APISIX 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.7
Ranking	#5 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers	#7 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers
Best for	Teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress	Open-source API gateway and ingress teams
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux	Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	6 integrations	5 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features HAProxy Ingress 5/5 · Apache APISIX 0/5
TLS automation	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Canary routing	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Rate limiting	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Web application firewall	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Auth policies	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Specs
Ingress API model	Both	Not checked yet
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	Kubernetes Ingress and Gateway API integration 100+ gateway and AI plugins plus a built-in Dashboard UI Supports HTTP, gRPC, MQTT, WebSocket, TCP, UDP, and HTTP/3
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 infrastructure ownership Broad capabilities can increase configuration and governance effort Not designed for teams seeking a fully managed ingress service
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 →	Apache APISIX is an open-source API and AI gateway for teams operating Kubernetes environments, APIs, microservices, and multi-protocol traffic. It combines dynamic routing, load balancing, authentication, configurable rate limiting,… Read the review →

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

• Apache APISIX — where it wins

  • Kubernetes Ingress and Gateway API integration
  • 100+ gateway and AI plugins plus a built-in Dashboard UI
  • Supports HTTP, gRPC, MQTT, WebSocket, TCP, UDP, and HTTP/3

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure ownership
  • Broad capabilities can increase configuration and governance effort
  • Not designed for teams seeking a fully managed ingress service

• HAProxy Ingress8.9/10 · Free plan

  A broad, self-hosted ingress option with Ingress and Gateway API support.

  Try HAProxy IngressFull verdict →
• Apache APISIX8.7/10 · Free plan

  A self-hosted Kubernetes gateway with broad protocol support and an extensive plugin ecosystem.

  Visit Apache APISIXFull verdict →