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Apache APISIX

apisix.apache.org

LinuxAPISelf-hosted
Visit apisix.apache.org
Spec score 7.6 #12 of 28 in Rest Apis

What it is

Apache APISIX is a free, Apache 2.0-licensed, self-hosted gateway for routing, securing and managing API, microservice and LLM traffic. It runs on bare metal or Kubernetes and supports HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, UDP, WebSocket, gRPC, MQTT, HTTP/3 and Dubbo, with HTTP-to-gRPC transcoding. More than 100 open-source plugins cover traffic management, security, observability and protocol handling. The project provides authentication options including API keys, JWT, Basic Authentication, OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect, HMAC, LDAP, CAS, Keycloak, Casdoor, forward authentication and multi-auth, along with rate limiting and request transformation. Its NGINX-and-etcd architecture uses hot-reloadable plugins and distributes cluster configuration without restarts. AI gateway functions include multi-provider proxying, load balancing, retries, fallback, token limits, prompt security and transformation. Listed integrations include Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, OpenTelemetry, Kubernetes, Redis, OpenAI, Anthropic and AWS Bedrock. Official source releases include detached signatures and SHA-512 checksums.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Apache APISIX is an open-source API gateway for routing, securing, and managing traffic to APIs, microservices, and LLM workloads.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Integrations
The site lists integrations including Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, OpenTelemetry, Kubernetes, Redis, Keycloak, OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, DeepSeek, and Ollama.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Security
Security plugins include CORS, JWT, Key Auth, OpenID Connect, and Keycloak; vulnerability reports are directed to the Apache Security Team at [email protected].Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Support
The project FAQ directs users to its Slack channel, mailing list, GitHub Issues, and GitHub Discussions for help.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
License
The project is licensed under Apache 2.0.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Founded
2019Read 28 Sep 2026 · apisix.apache.org
AI gateway
Its AI gateway supports multi-provider proxying, load balancing, retries and fallback, token rate limits, prompt security, and prompt transformation.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Architecture
APISIX is based on NGINX and etcd, with a hot-reloadable plugin pipeline and real-time cluster configuration updates without restarts.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Deployment and protocols
APISIX can run on bare metal or Kubernetes and supports HTTP-to-gRPC transcoding, WebSocket, gRPC, Dubbo, MQTT proxy, and ARM64.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Downloads
The downloads page provides official source releases, detached signatures, SHA-512 checksums, and archived versions; it lists version 3.19.0 as current, released 2026-09-28.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Dynamic configuration
Its hot-reloadable plugin pipeline and etcd distribute configuration across a cluster in real time without restarts.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Integration catalog status
The Integration Hub page lists two integrations, LocalAI and Redis, and marks both as validation in progress.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Operational responsibility
The project describes APISIX as open source that teams can self-manage, with commercial support available separately if required.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Performance
The homepage reports about 18,000 queries per second per core and 0.2 ms added latency.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Plugin languages
The project lists Java, Go, and Python plugin runners implemented as sidecars accompanying Apache APISIX.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Plugins
APISIX offers more than 100 open-source plugins for traffic management, security, observability, and protocol handling.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Protocols and deployment
APISIX can run on bare metal or Kubernetes and supports HTTP-to-gRPC transcoding, WebSocket, gRPC, Dubbo, MQTT proxy, and ARM64.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Published performance figures
The homepage states approximately 18,000 QPS per core and 0.2 ms added latency.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Release verification
The downloads page provides source releases with detached signatures and SHA-512 checksums and explains how to verify an archive.Read 2 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org
Support and community
The site links to community discussion through Slack and GitHub.Read 3 Oct 2026 · apisix.apache.org

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free Apache 2.0 software
  • More than 100 open-source plugins
  • Runs on bare metal or Kubernetes
  • Real-time configuration without restarts
  • AI gateway capabilities

Limits

  • Self-hosted operational responsibility
  • Commercial support is separate
  • Integration Hub entries show validation in progress
  • Published performance figures are homepage estimates

Who it suits

APISIX suits teams that need a self-managed gateway for APIs, microservices or LLM workloads. It is also relevant to Kubernetes or bare-metal deployments requiring plugins, protocol support and security controls.

Verdict

Apache APISIX offers a broad, self-hosted gateway platform with extensive protocols, plugins and AI traffic controls at no license cost. Teams must handle operations themselves unless they obtain separate commercial support.

Where Specifiction places it

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