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Spring Cloud Gateway vs Asyncapi

Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

Software

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Asyncapi logo

Asyncapi

Software

Specification and tools for defining asynchronous APIs

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier; Asyncapi complex to implement and debug asynchronous operations due to their non-linear and concurrent nature
  • They diverge on capability: Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Asyncapi covers API Specification.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Spring Cloud Gateway and Asyncapi differ
AttributeSpring Cloud GatewayAsyncapi
PlatformsJava, Spring BootWeb, CLI, IDE Extensions
Founded19982019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Only in Asyncapi

  • API Specification
  • Code generation
  • Documentation
  • Multiple messaging protocols
  • Code generators
  • Specification support
  • Tools support
  • CLI support

What people use each for

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Development
  • API Gateway
  • API Testing
  • API Documentation
  • Microservices

Asyncapi

  • API Development
  • API Gateway
  • API Testing
  • API Documentation
  • Microservices

Both are used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation, microservices, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Asyncapi

  • Complex to implement and debug asynchronous operations due to their non-linear and concurrent nature
  • Keeping AsyncAPI documents up to date is challenging as systems evolve
  • Tracing and debugging asynchronous operations is more difficult than synchronous request-response patterns

Pricing, plan by plan

Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Asyncapi

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • AsyncAPI specification
    • Tools
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

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.

Choose Asyncapi if

  • You need api specification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, IDE Extensions.
  • You also want code generation.

Questions people ask

Is Spring Cloud Gateway or Asyncapi better?
Neither clearly leads. Spring Cloud Gateway starts at Free and Asyncapi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Spring Cloud Gateway or Asyncapi?
Spring Cloud Gateway starts at Free and Asyncapi at Free.
Does Spring Cloud Gateway or Asyncapi run on more platforms?
Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot. Asyncapi runs on Web, CLI, IDE Extensions.
Can I use Spring Cloud Gateway for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Spring Cloud Gateway best used for?
Spring Cloud Gateway is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation.
What can Spring Cloud Gateway do that Asyncapi cannot?
Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot. Asyncapi covers API Specification, Code generation, Documentation, Multiple messaging protocols.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Asyncapi: What is AsyncAPI used for?

AsyncAPI is an open-source specification for defining and documenting asynchronous APIs, message-driven systems, and event-driven architectures. It serves the same purpose for async APIs as OpenAPI does for REST APIs, providing standardized documentation, code generation, and tooling.

Source
Asyncapi: Is AsyncAPI free to use?

Yes, AsyncAPI is completely free and open-source. It is hosted by the Linux Foundation and supported by community contributions and sponsorships from companies like Postman, IBM, IQVIA Technology, and Solace.

Source
Asyncapi: What protocols and technologies does AsyncAPI support?

AsyncAPI supports multiple protocols and technologies including Kafka, RabbitMQ, MQTT, Socket.IO, AWS EventBridge, and others. It provides language support for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, C#/.NET, Kotlin, and PHP.

Source
Asyncapi: Does AsyncAPI have IDE support?

Yes, AsyncAPI has IDE extensions available for VSCode and IntelliJ, along with CLI utilities and GitHub Actions integration for developers.

Source

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