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APIs · head to head

Spring Cloud Gateway vs Thanos

Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Thanos covers Global query.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Spring Cloud Gateway and Thanos differ
AttributeSpring Cloud GatewayThanos
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsJava, Spring BootKubernetes, Linux, Docker
CategoryAPIsCloud
Founded1998Unknown

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 Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Only in Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

What people use each for

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Thanos
  • API Gatewaynot Thanos
  • API Testingnot Thanos
  • API Documentationnot Thanos
  • Microservicesnot Thanos

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

Pricing, plan by plan

Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • 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.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Spring Cloud Gateway or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Spring Cloud Gateway starts at Free and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Spring Cloud Gateway or Thanos?
Spring Cloud Gateway starts at Free and Thanos at Free.
Does Spring Cloud Gateway or Thanos run on more platforms?
Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
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. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Spring Cloud Gateway do that Thanos cannot?
Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

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
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

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