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APIs · head to head

Spring Cloud Gateway vs Zipkin

Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zipkin logo

Zipkin

Cloud

Distributed tracing system for microservice latency

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; Zipkin less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • They diverge on capability: Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Zipkin covers Trace collection and search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Spring Cloud Gateway and Zipkin differ
AttributeSpring Cloud GatewayZipkin
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsJava, Spring BootLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
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 Zipkin

  • Trace collection and search
  • Dependency diagram
  • Simple deployment
  • Pluggable storage

What people use each for

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Zipkin
  • API Gatewaynot Zipkin
  • API Testingnot Zipkin
  • API Documentationnot Zipkin
  • Microservicesnot Zipkin

Zipkin

  • Adding distributed tracing quickly without standing up heavy infrastructurenot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Java and Spring Boot estates, where instrumentation support is long-establishednot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Small deployments where Jaeger is more than the problem requiresnot 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

Zipkin

  • Less active development and smaller community momentum than Jaeger
  • Fewer features: sampling, storage options and UI are all more limited
  • The interface is dated and slower to work with on large trace volumes
  • Tracing alone still leaves metrics and logs in separate tools during an incident

Pricing, plan by plan

Spring Cloud Gateway

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

Zipkin

Free
  • ZipkinFree
    • 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 Zipkin if

  • You need trace collection and search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want dependency diagram.
Zipkin review

Questions people ask

Is Spring Cloud Gateway or Zipkin better?
Neither clearly leads. Spring Cloud Gateway starts at Free and Zipkin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Spring Cloud Gateway or Zipkin?
Spring Cloud Gateway starts at Free and Zipkin at Free.
Does Spring Cloud Gateway or Zipkin run on more platforms?
Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot. Zipkin runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
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 Zipkin is typically brought in for.
What can Spring Cloud Gateway do that Zipkin cannot?
Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot. Zipkin covers Trace collection and search, Dependency diagram, Simple deployment, Pluggable storage.

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
Zipkin: Is Zipkin free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

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
Zipkin: Zipkin or Jaeger?

Jaeger has more momentum, more features and CNCF backing. Zipkin is lighter and quicker to stand up, and remains well supported in the Java and Spring ecosystem.

Zipkin: Does Zipkin work with OpenTelemetry?

Yes. OpenTelemetry can export to Zipkin, which is now the usual way to instrument for it.

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