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NGINX Gateway Fabric

docs.nginx.com

Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
Visit docs.nginx.com
Spec score 7.4 #16 of 28 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers

What it is

NGINX Gateway Fabric is a self-hosted Kubernetes implementation of the Gateway API, using NGINX as its data plane for load balancing, reverse proxying, and API gateway use cases. Its control plane translates Gateway API resources into NGINX configuration. Supported resource coverage includes GatewayClass, Gateway, HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute, ReferenceGrant, TLSRoute, TCPRoute, UDPRoute, and BackendTLSPolicy, though the support level varies by resource. Traffic features include HTTP and TLS routing, redirects, rewrites, request mirroring, session persistence, and rate limiting. Security documentation covers HTTPS with cert-manager, mutual TLS, basic authentication, OpenID Connect, external authentication, and JWT authentication. Monitoring examples use Prometheus and Grafana; tracing uses OpenTelemetry collectors, including Jaeger examples. The free NGINX Open Source data-plane plan costs nothing. Installation is available through Helm from an OCI registry or from source, with Gateway API resources installed beforehand. Version 2.7.2 requires Kubernetes 1.32 or later; documented images are available for amd64 and arm64. Support is directed to GitHub issues and the NGINX Community Forum.

Spec sheet

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.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
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.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Integrations
The documentation describes monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana and tracing with OpenTelemetry collectors, including Jaeger examples.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
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.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
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.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Architecture
It separates the control plane and data plane, and the control plane translates Gateway API resources into NGINX configuration.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Kubernetes compatibility
The technical specifications list Kubernetes 1.32 or later for NGINX Gateway Fabric 2.7.2.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
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.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Routing
The project aims to implement core Gateway API resources including Gateway, HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute, TCPRoute, TLSRoute, and UDPRoute.Read 5 Oct 2026 · github.com
Security features
The documentation covers HTTPS with cert-manager, mutual TLS, basic authentication, OpenID Connect, external authentication, and JWT authentication.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Supported API resources
The compatibility table lists GatewayClass, Gateway, HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute, ReferenceGrant, TLSRoute, TCPRoute, UDPRoute, and BackendTLSPolicy, with support levels varying by resource.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Supported images
The documented control plane and NGINX data plane images are available for amd64 and arm64 architectures.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
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.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com
Traffic features
Documented traffic management features include HTTP routing, TLS routing, redirects and rewrites, request mirroring, session persistence, and rate limiting.Read 5 Oct 2026 · docs.nginx.com

Plans and prices

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

Every NGINX Gateway Fabric plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free NGINX Open Source data-plane plan.
  • Supports HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, and UDP.
  • Includes rate limiting and request transformation.
  • Documented images support amd64 and arm64.

Limits

  • Gateway API support varies by resource.
  • Version 2.7.2 requires Kubernetes 1.32 or later.
  • Gateway API resources must be installed before deployment.

Who it suits

NGINX Gateway Fabric suits teams operating Kubernetes that need NGINX-based gateway, proxy, or load-balancing traffic handling. It assumes self-hosted deployment and a compatible Kubernetes version.

Verdict

NGINX Gateway Fabric combines Kubernetes Gateway API configuration with NGINX traffic handling and documents a broad set of routing and security features. Check resource compatibility before relying on a particular Gateway API capability.

Where Specifiction places it

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