Reverse Proxy vs API Gateway

Developers should use reverse proxies when deploying web applications to manage traffic, enhance security by hiding backend server details, and optimize performance through caching and compression meets developers should use an api gateway when building microservices architectures or exposing apis to external clients, as it centralizes cross-cutting concerns like authentication, logging, and throttling. Here's our take.

Reverse Proxy

Nice Pick

Developers should use reverse proxies when deploying web applications to manage traffic, enhance security by hiding backend server details, and optimize performance through caching and compression

Pros

• Common use cases include scaling applications across multiple servers, implementing HTTPS with SSL termination, and protecting against DDoS attacks or malicious traffic
• Related to: nginx, apache-http-server

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

API Gateway

Developers should use an API Gateway when building microservices architectures or exposing APIs to external clients, as it centralizes cross-cutting concerns like authentication, logging, and throttling

Pros

• It's essential for managing API traffic efficiently, improving security by enforcing policies, and enabling features like versioning and monetization in enterprise applications
• Related to: microservices, rest-api

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Reverse Proxy is a tool while API Gateway is a platform. We picked Reverse Proxy based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Reverse Proxy wins

Based on overall popularity. Reverse Proxy is more widely used, but API Gateway excels in its own space.