Software · head to head
Swagger vs AWS API Gateway
S
Swagger
Software
API design and documentation platform for building, testing, and managing APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
AWS API Gateway
Software
Fully managed API gateway service for creating and managing APIs at scale
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Swagger swaggerHub, the commercial layer over the free open source Swagger tools, is sold in Free, Team and Enterprise tiers with the Enterprise tier requiring a sales contact and no public price, per the vendor pricing page; AWS API Gateway rEST APIs cost $3.50 per million calls against $1.00 for HTTP APIs, so the older and more featureful type is three and a half times dearer
- They diverge on capability: Swagger covers API Specification, AWS API Gateway covers REST APIs.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Swagger and AWS API Gateway actually diverge.
| Attribute | Swagger | AWS API Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | usage-based |
| Platforms | Web, CLI, Desktop | AWS Cloud |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Swagger
- API Specification
- Interactive Documentation
- Code Generation
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Azure DevOps
- Jira
- Web support
Only in AWS API Gateway
- REST APIs
- WebSocket APIs
- HTTP APIs
- Lambda
- EC2
- DynamoDB
- CloudWatch
- IAM
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Swagger
- API Developmentnot AWS API Gateway
- API Gatewaynot AWS API Gateway
- API Testingnot AWS API Gateway
- API Documentationnot AWS API Gateway
- Microservicesnot AWS API Gateway
AWS API Gateway
- Fronting Lambda functions with an HTTP endpointnot Swagger
- REST and HTTP API management with throttling and keysnot Swagger
- WebSocket APIs for real-time clientsnot Swagger
- Private APIs reachable only inside a VPCnot Swagger
- Publishing a developer portal for API consumersnot Swagger
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Swagger
- SwaggerHub, the commercial layer over the free open source Swagger tools, is sold in Free, Team and Enterprise tiers with the Enterprise tier requiring a sales contact and no public price, per the vendor pricing page
AWS API Gateway
- REST APIs cost $3.50 per million calls against $1.00 for HTTP APIs, so the older and more featureful type is three and a half times dearer
- Data transfer out is charged at $0.09 per GB on top of request pricing
- WebSocket APIs bill connection minutes as well as messages, at $0.25 per million minutes
- Private APIs avoid data transfer charges but incur AWS PrivateLink costs instead
- The developer portal is $125 a month, with additional portal products at $12.50 each
- The free tier lasts 12 months rather than being ongoing
Pricing, plan by plan
Swagger
Free- FreeFree
- OpenAPI specification
- Swagger UI
- API documentation
- Professional$20/monthly
- Advanced features
- Team collaboration
- API testing
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Advanced security
- Dedicated support
AWS API Gateway
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M requests per month
- Basic API management
- Pay-as-you-go$3.5/per 1M requests
- Unlimited requests
- HTTP APIs
- REST APIs
Which should you pick?
Choose Swagger if
- You need api specification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, CLI, Desktop.
- You also want interactive documentation.
Choose AWS API Gateway if
- You need rest apis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on AWS Cloud.
- You also want websocket apis.
Questions people ask
- Is Swagger or AWS API Gateway better?
- Neither clearly leads. Swagger starts at Free and AWS API Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Swagger or AWS API Gateway?
- Swagger starts at Free and AWS API Gateway at Free.
- Does Swagger or AWS API Gateway run on more platforms?
- Swagger runs on Web, CLI, Desktop. AWS API Gateway runs on AWS Cloud.
- Can I use Swagger for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Swagger best used for?
- Swagger is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what AWS API Gateway is typically brought in for.
- What can Swagger do that AWS API Gateway cannot?
- Swagger covers API Specification, Interactive Documentation, Code Generation, GitHub. AWS API Gateway covers REST APIs, WebSocket APIs, HTTP APIs, Lambda.