Amazon API Gateway vs Zuul: What are the differences?

1. Scalability: Amazon API Gateway offers built-in horizontal scalability, allowing you to handle a large number of concurrent API requests. It automatically scales based on demand, ensuring high availability and performance for your APIs. In contrast, Zuul requires manual configuration for scaling and it may require additional resources to handle high traffic.

2. Security Features: Amazon API Gateway provides various security features such as integration with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), OAuth 2.0, and Amazon Cognito for user authentication and authorization. It also supports request validation and the use of API keys for controlling access. On the other hand, Zuul offers limited security features and may require additional configuration and third-party tools for securing your APIs.

3. Integration with AWS Services: Amazon API Gateway seamlessly integrates with other AWS services such as AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon S3. This enables you to easily create serverless architectures and leverage the power of serverless computing. In comparison, Zuul is not directly integrated with AWS services and may require custom development to integrate with them.

4. Backend Protocol Support: Amazon API Gateway supports various backend protocols including HTTP, AWS Lambda, and AWS services, providing flexibility in routing and executing API requests. Zuul primarily supports HTTP-based backends, limiting the types of services that can be used as the backend for your APIs.

5. Monitoring and Analytics: Amazon API Gateway provides detailed monitoring and analytics features, allowing you to track API usage, performance, and errors in real-time. It integrates with AWS CloudWatch and AWS X-Ray for comprehensive monitoring and analysis. Zuul lacks built-in monitoring and analytics capabilities, requiring additional setup and configuration to gather similar insights.

6. Pricing Model: Amazon API Gateway offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model, allowing you to only pay for the API requests and data transfer you consume. It also provides a free tier for new customers. Zuul, being an open-source project, does not have a specific pricing model. However, it may require additional resources and maintenance costs for deployment and management.

In Summary, Amazon API Gateway provides built-in scalability, advanced security features, seamless integration with AWS services, support for various backend protocols, comprehensive monitoring and analytics, and a flexible pricing model. Zuul, on the other hand, may require additional configuration for scaling, lacks extensive security features and AWS service integration, primarily supports HTTP-based backends, requires manual setup for monitoring, and does not have a specific pricing model.