What is AWS API Gateway?
AWS API Gateway (api tools): API management by AWS. Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed AWS service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring, and securing APIs at any scale. It supports REST APIs, HTTP APIs, and WebSocket APIs, handling hundreds of thousands of concurrent API calls with built-in traffic management, authorization, throttling, and monitoring. Key capabilities: REST, HTTP, and WebSocket API support, Automatic scaling to handle any traffic volume, Built-in authorization via IAM, Cognito, OAuth2, and Lambda, Traffic management with rate limiting and throttling, API versioning with multi-version deployment. AWS API Gateway ships a free plan plus paid tiers that unlock as usage grows. Buyers most often compare AWS API Gateway against Apache APISIX, RapidAPI, Stoplight.
TL;DR - AWS API Gateway
- Fully managed API gateway supporting REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs
- Scales automatically with pay-per-request pricing
- Free tier: 1M calls/mo; HTTP APIs from $1.00/M, REST from $3.50/M
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams
4.4/5 across review platforms
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fully managed — no infrastructure to maintain
- Native integration with Lambda, DynamoDB, and other AWS services
- Free tier includes 1M API calls/month for 12 months
- HTTP APIs offer significant cost savings for simple use cases
- Global edge network reduces latency
- Granular access control with multiple auth methods
Cons
- Vendor lock-in to AWS ecosystem
- Pricing complexity across REST vs HTTP vs WebSocket
- 29-second timeout limit on API calls
- Cold start latency when paired with Lambda
- REST API pricing ($3.50/M) is expensive at scale
- Limited WebSocket message size (128KB)
Ratings Across the Web
4.4(933 reviews)
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
REST, HTTP, and WebSocket API supportAutomatic scaling to handle any traffic volumeBuilt-in authorization via IAM, Cognito, OAuth2, and LambdaTraffic management with rate limiting and throttlingAPI versioning with multi-version deploymentCloudWatch monitoring dashboardEdge-optimized deployment via CloudFrontAPI Portal for discovery and documentationRequest/response transformationPay-per-request pricing with no minimum fees
Pricing
Freemium
AWS API Gateway offers a generous free tier with optional paid upgrades for advanced features.
About AWS API Gateway
By Toolradar Team·
Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed AWS service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring, and securing APIs at any scale. It supports REST APIs, HTTP APIs, and WebSocket APIs, handling hundreds of thousands of concurrent API calls with built-in traffic management, authorization, throttling, and monitoring. HTTP APIs offer up to 71% cost savings over REST APIs for serverless workloads, while WebSocket APIs enable real-time bidirectional communication for chat and streaming applications.
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AWS API Gateway FAQ
What is the difference between REST and HTTP APIs?
HTTP APIs are up to 71% cheaper and optimized for serverless and proxy workloads. REST APIs offer fuller API management features including request validation, caching, and private API endpoints. Choose HTTP APIs for simple Lambda proxies; REST APIs for complex API management needs.
Is there a free tier for API Gateway?
Yes. New AWS accounts receive 1 million REST API calls, 1 million HTTP API calls, 1 million WebSocket messages, and 750,000 connection minutes per month for the first 12 months.
Does API Gateway scale automatically?
Yes. API Gateway is fully managed and scales automatically to handle hundreds of thousands of concurrent API calls without any capacity planning.
What are the request size limits?
REST and HTTP APIs support payloads up to 10MB. WebSocket messages are limited to 128KB, metered in 32KB increments.
Can I use API Gateway without Lambda?
Yes. API Gateway can proxy requests to any HTTP endpoint, AWS services (like DynamoDB or S3 directly), or VPC-linked resources — Lambda is not required.
Source: aws.amazon.com