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Cloud · head to head

Rook vs Spring Cloud Gateway

Rook logo

Rook

Cloud

Kubernetes operator that deploys and manages Ceph storage clusters

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Rook rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.; Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Rook covers Ceph operator, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rook and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Rook and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeRookSpring Cloud Gateway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, KubernetesJava, Spring Boot
CategoryCloudAPIs
FoundedUnknown1998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Rook

  • Ceph operator
  • Block, file and object
  • Erasure coding
  • CSI driver
  • Automated upgrades
  • Multi-cluster mirroring

Only in Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Rook

  • An on-premises Kubernetes platform needing block, shared filesystem and S3 storage without buying three productsnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • A team that already runs Ceph and wants its lifecycle managed declaratively inside Kubernetesnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • A large cluster where three-way replication overhead is unaffordable and erasure coding is requirednot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • An organisation building a private cloud that cannot use managed cloud storage services for residency reasonsnot Spring Cloud Gateway

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Rook
  • API Gatewaynot Rook
  • API Testingnot Rook
  • API Documentationnot Rook
  • Microservicesnot Rook

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Rook

  • Rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
  • There is no vendor and no SLA; the realistic commercial support routes are IBM Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation or an independent Ceph consultancy, both of which change the cost picture entirely.
  • Ceph is resource hungry, needing substantial memory and dedicated disks per OSD, so the hardware cost of a properly sized cluster is often underestimated.
  • Recovery and rebalancing after a disk or node failure generates heavy background input and output that can degrade application performance for hours, which surprises teams sizing for steady state.
  • Minimum viable clusters require several nodes with several disks each, so it is impractical at small scale and the entry hardware cost exceeds simpler alternatives.

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Rook

Free
  • RookFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
    • Graduated CNCF project
    • Community support via GitHub and Slack only

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Rook if

  • You need ceph operator.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
  • You also want block, file and object.
Rook review

Choose Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Rook or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Rook starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rook or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Rook starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free.
Does Rook or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Rook runs on Linux, Kubernetes. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
Can I use Rook for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Rook best used for?
Rook is most often used for an on-premises kubernetes platform needing block, shared filesystem and s3 storage without buying three products, a team that already runs ceph and wants its lifecycle managed declaratively inside kubernetes, a large cluster where three-way replication overhead is unaffordable and erasure coding is required, an organisation building a private cloud that cannot use managed cloud storage services for residency reasons. Of those, an on-premises kubernetes platform needing block, shared filesystem and s3 storage without buying three products and a team that already runs ceph and wants its lifecycle managed declaratively inside kubernetes are not what Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Rook do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Rook covers Ceph operator, Block, file and object, Erasure coding, CSI driver. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rook: Who supports it in production?

Nobody by default. IBM sells Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, which is supported Rook and Ceph, and independent consultancies sell Ceph support. Decide this before deployment.

Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

Source
Rook: Does it need Ceph knowledge?

Yes. Rook handles deployment and routine operations, but troubleshooting a degraded cluster is a Ceph skill and there is no way around it.

Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

Source
Rook: Can it replace an object storage appliance?

Functionally yes, through the RADOS gateway, but you take on the operations that an appliance vendor would otherwise carry.

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