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Amazon API Gateway

aws.amazon.com

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Spec score 9.4 #1 of 36 in API Developer Portal Software

What it is

Amazon API Gateway is a cloud service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring, and securing APIs that connect applications to backend services. It supports REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs, including real-time two-way communication. Integrations include AWS Lambda, Step Functions, Elastic Beanstalk, EC2, and public HTTP endpoints; HTTP APIs can also route requests to certain private services. API Gateway Portals provide managed spaces to discover, document, and govern REST APIs. Traffic controls include request throttling and configurable caching for REST APIs. The console integrates with Amazon CloudWatch for call, latency, and error metrics, alarms, and execution logs. Authorization options include IAM, Lambda authorizers, OIDC, OAuth 2.0, and other listed methods; REST API keys are optional. A free tier is available to new AWS customers for up to 12 months within monthly allowances, with excess usage charged at standard rates. Pay-as-you-go has no minimum fees or upfront commitments; the listed pricing note is From $1. WebSocket messages can be up to 128 KB and are metered in 32 KB increments.

Spec sheet

What it does
Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring and securing APIs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Purpose
Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring, and securing APIs that connect applications to backend services.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Compliance
AWS states that API Gateway can support architectures covered by SOC, PCI, ISO, FedRAMP and HIPAA compliance programs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.aws.amazon.com
Headquarters
Seattle, Washington, United StatesRead 23 Sep 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Founded
2006Read 23 Sep 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Maker
Amazon Web Services says it launched in 2006; the opened AWS About page does not state its headquarters.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
API keys
For REST APIs, API keys can have per-key access permissions, throttling, and request quota plans; their use is optional.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
API keys and quotas
REST APIs can issue API keys, attach fine-grained permissions and apply usage-plan throttling and quotas.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
API types
The service supports HTTP APIs, REST APIs and WebSocket APIs for persistent two-way communication.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Authorization
Authorization options include AWS IAM and access policies, Lambda authorizers, and native OIDC and OAuth 2.0 support.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Backend integrations
Features pages list integrations with Lambda, Step Functions, Elastic Beanstalk, EC2, public HTTP endpoints, private ALBs, private NLBs and AWS Cloud Map.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Backends
It can integrate with AWS Lambda, Step Functions, Elastic Beanstalk, EC2, and publicly accessible HTTP endpoints.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Caching
REST APIs offer optional configurable caching billed hourly according to cache size.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
CLI and API
AWS provides a control API, AWS CLI commands and SDKs for managing API Gateway resources; the CLI can generate SDKs with get-sdk.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.aws.amazon.com
Client SDKs
API Gateway can generate client SDKs for languages including JavaScript, iOS, and Android.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Developer portals
API Gateway Portals provide AWS-native portals for discovering, documenting and governing REST APIs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Documentation depth
The documentation site includes conceptual guides, tutorials, API references, OpenAPI import/export procedures and security guidance.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.aws.amazon.com
Licence
AWS customer terms contain proprietary-rights provisions governing AWS services; API Gateway is not published as open-source software.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Lifecycle management
REST APIs support multiple simultaneous versions, stages such as alpha/beta/production and custom-domain associations.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Limit: complexity
Reviewers repeatedly describe advanced configuration, stages, authorizers and the console as difficult for beginners.Read 14 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
Limit: pricing
G2 and Capterra reviewers say the usage-based pricing becomes difficult to predict or expensive at higher traffic volumes.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: support and billing complaints
Trustpilot reviewers frequently report unresponsive support, unexpected charges, account suspensions and difficult cancellation workflows.Read 14 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Maker headquarters and size
Gartner lists Amazon Web Services as founded in 2006, headquartered in Seattle, publicly owned and employing more than 10,001 people.Read 14 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
Maker ownership
AWS states that Amazon Web Services has operated since 2006 and is part of Amazon.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Monitoring
The API Gateway console integrates with Amazon CloudWatch for API call, latency, and error metrics, alarms, and execution logs.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Notable outage
TechRadar reported that an AWS operational issue on October 20, 2025 disrupted many business, gaming and banking services worldwide and was linked to DynamoDB API errors in us-east-1.Read 14 Oct 2026 · techradar.com
Observability
The console integrates with CloudWatch for API-call, latency and error metrics, alarms and execution-error logs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
OpenAPI support
REST APIs can import and export OpenAPI 2.0 and OpenAPI 3.0 definitions.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.aws.amazon.com
Praise: integrations and scaling
G2, Gartner and TrustRadius reviewers repeatedly praise native AWS integrations, automatic scaling, security controls and reduced infrastructure work.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: monitoring and security
Independent reviewers commonly mention throttling, authentication, monitoring and CloudWatch integration as strengths.Read 14 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
Pricing model
AWS charges for API usage and data transfer without minimum fees or upfront commitments.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Private integrations
HTTP APIs can route requests to services behind private application or network load balancers and IP-based services registered in AWS Cloud Map.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Rating on Capterra
4.7 out of 5 from 14 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating on G2
4.2 out of 5 from 140 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Gartner Peer Insights
4.5 out of 5 from 984 ratingsRead 14 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
Rating on Google Play
4.7 out of 5 from 29.3K reviews for AWS Console, which supports Amazon API GatewayRead 14 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Software Advice
4.7 out of 5 from 14 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Rating on Trustpilot
1.3 out of 5 from 430 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Rating on TrustRadius
7.4 out of 10 from 107 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · trustradius.com
Scale
AWS says API Gateway can process up to hundreds of thousands of concurrent API calls and scales automatically.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
SDK generation
REST APIs can generate client SDKs for Java, JavaScript, Android Java, iOS Objective-C or Swift and Ruby.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Security controls
Authorization options include IAM, Amazon Cognito, OAuth2/OIDC, Lambda authorizers and AWS WAF integration.Read 14 Oct 2026 · docs.aws.amazon.com
Self-hosting
API Gateway is described by AWS as a fully managed AWS service accessed through the AWS console, APIs and CLI.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Shared security responsibility
AWS secures the cloud infrastructure, while customers are responsible for security in the cloud based on their service use and data and regulatory requirements.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.aws.amazon.com
Traffic controls
API Gateway supports request throttling, and REST APIs can use a cache with configurable keys and time-to-live.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Traffic management
Built-in capabilities include CORS, throttling, traffic management, authorization, monitoring and API version management.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Usage limit
WebSocket API messages can be up to 128 KB and are metered in 32 KB increments; control frames such as ping and pong are not metered.Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
WebSocket billing
WebSocket APIs charge for messages sent and received plus connection minutes, with messages metered in 32 KB units.Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com

Plans and prices

Free tier Free monthly for up to 12 months for new AWS customers 1M REST API calls/month · 1M HTTP API calls/month · 1M WebSocket messages/month · 750,000 WebSocket connection minutes/month Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Free Tier Free Free usage for up to 12 months; usage above the listed monthly allowances is charged at standard rates. 1M REST API calls/month · 1M HTTP API calls/month · 1M WebSocket messages/month · 750,000 WebSocket connection minutes/month · New AWS customers only Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
HTTP APIs $1 a month per million requests; tiered $1.00 per million for first 300M requests · $0.90 per million above 300M in example Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
WebSocket APIs $1 a month per million messages plus $0.25 per million connection minutes in example Messages up to 128 KB · metered in 32 KB increments Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
REST APIs $3.50 a month per million API calls in example regions $3.50 per million first tier · $2.80 per million next tier · $2.38 per million highest shown tier Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
API Gateway Portals $125 a month monthly portal charge in example Includes 10 PortalProducts · up to 40 ProductRestEndpoints per PortalProduct Read 14 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com
Pay-as-you-go Price not published Usage-based: API calls and data transferred out for HTTP and REST APIs; messages and connection minutes for WebSocket APIs. No minimum fees or upfront commitments · Private APIs have no data transfer out charge · Additional charges may apply for other AWS services Read 5 Oct 2026 · aws.amazon.com

Every Amazon API Gateway plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Supports REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs.
  • Integrates with multiple AWS services and public HTTP endpoints.
  • CloudWatch metrics, alarms, and execution logs are integrated.
  • Optional REST API keys support permissions and quotas.
  • Free tier listed for new AWS customers.

Limits

  • Free tier is limited to new AWS customers and 12 months.
  • Usage above free monthly allowances is charged.
  • WebSocket messages are limited to 128 KB.
  • Customer security responsibilities depend on service use and data.

Who it suits

It suits teams building APIs for AWS-connected applications, especially those needing multiple API types, traffic controls, and monitoring. New AWS customers can use the stated free-tier allowances before standard charges apply.

Verdict

API Gateway combines several API types with AWS integrations, monitoring, and traffic controls. Check the free-tier limits and the WebSocket message cap against your expected use.

Where Specifiction places it

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