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Tech riderRev. 5 Oct 2026

NGINX Gateway Fabric

Ch 086.8of 27 API Gateway Software
  1. 1Runs onLinux, self-hosted
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Deployment modelself-hosted
  4. 4Supported protocolsHTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, UDP
  5. 5Authentication methodsBasic authentication, JWT, OpenID Connect, external authentication
  6. 6Rate limitingYes
  7. 7Request transformationYes
7 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: docs.nginx.com, github.com
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Overview

NGINX Gateway Fabric is ranked #8 of 27 in API gateway software on Specifiction. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

NGINX Gateway Fabric plans and pricing

All plans
NGINX Gateway Fabric (NGINX Open Source data plane) Free Open-source project · Kubernetes deployment · Gateway API support varies by resource github.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on API gateway software

Free plan
Yesdocs.nginx.com
Deployment model
self-hosteddocs.nginx.com
Supported protocols
HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, UDPdocs.nginx.com
Authentication methods
Basic authentication, JWT, OpenID Connect, external authenticationdocs.nginx.com
Rate limiting
Yesdocs.nginx.com
Request transformation
Yesdocs.nginx.com

Facts

Purpose
NGINX Gateway Fabric implements the Kubernetes Gateway API using NGINX as the data plane for load balancing, reverse proxying, and API gateway use cases.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Architecture
It separates the control plane and data plane, and the control plane translates Gateway API resources into NGINX configuration.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Routing
The project aims to implement core Gateway API resources including Gateway, HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute, TCPRoute, TLSRoute, and UDPRoute.github.com · 5 Oct 2026
Supported API resources
The compatibility table lists GatewayClass, Gateway, HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute, ReferenceGrant, TLSRoute, TCPRoute, UDPRoute, and BackendTLSPolicy, with support levels varying by resource.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Traffic features
Documented traffic management features include HTTP routing, TLS routing, redirects and rewrites, request mirroring, session persistence, and rate limiting.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Security features
The documentation covers HTTPS with cert-manager, mutual TLS, basic authentication, OpenID Connect, external authentication, and JWT authentication.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Integrations
The documentation describes monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana and tracing with OpenTelemetry collectors, including Jaeger examples.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Deployment
NGINX Gateway Fabric can be installed with Helm from an OCI registry or from source, and Gateway API resources must be installed before deployment.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Kubernetes compatibility
The technical specifications list Kubernetes 1.32 or later for NGINX Gateway Fabric 2.7.2.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Supported images
The documented control plane and NGINX data plane images are available for amd64 and arm64 architectures.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Advanced features
NGINX Plus data plane images are provided through F5's private container registry, and the installation guide includes separate NGINX Plus and WAF deployment options.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Telemetry
Product telemetry is collected by default once every 24 hours over HTTPS; the documentation says personally identifiable information is not collected and describes how to opt out.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Support
The support page directs users to GitHub issues and the NGINX Community Forum, and says users can contact F5 Sales for dedicated support or NGINX Plus features.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026
Notable limitation
The compatibility documentation marks some Gateway API resources or fields as partially supported or unsupported, and notes that some may never be supported.docs.nginx.com · 5 Oct 2026

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Where it ranks on Specifiction

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