HAProxy Ingress vs kgateway

HAProxy Ingress8.9Visit kgateway8.8Visit

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

vs

kgateway #6 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit kgateway

• HAProxy Ingress fits best

  Teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress

• kgateway fits best

  Gateway API teams needing security controls

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	HAProxy Ingress 8.9/10 Visit ↗	kgateway 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.8
Ranking	#5 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers	#6 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers
Best for	Teams needing full-featured Kubernetes ingress	Gateway API teams needing security controls
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	6 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features HAProxy Ingress 5/5 · kgateway 5/5
TLS automation	✓	✓
Canary routing	✓	✓
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 open-source Gateway API implementation Weighted routing, canary splitting, and rate limiting Authentication, TLS automation, and WAF support
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 Integration coverage centers on a focused set of platforms No AI features are included
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 →	kgateway is an open-source Kubernetes-native ingress controller and API gateway for teams managing service, API, serverless, or legacy application traffic in Kubernetes. It implements the Kubernetes Gateway API and uses Envoy as its proxy… 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

• kgateway — where it wins

  • Free open-source Gateway API implementation
  • Weighted routing, canary splitting, and rate limiting
  • Authentication, TLS automation, and WAF support

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires a Kubernetes environment
  • Integration coverage centers on a focused set of platforms
  • No AI features are included

• HAProxy Ingress8.9/10 · Free plan

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

  Try HAProxy IngressFull verdict →
• kgateway8.8/10 · Free plan

  A focused open-source Gateway API gateway for teams needing routing, security, and traffic controls.

  Visit kgatewayFull verdict →