Introduction
As Kubernetes applications grow, managing external traffic becomes more important. Users need a reliable way to access services running inside the cluster, whether it's a web application, REST API, or microservice. Kubernetes provides multiple ways to expose services, and two of the most common approaches are Ingress and the Gateway API.
For years, Ingress has been the standard solution for routing HTTP and HTTPS traffic. However, as applications became more complex, the Kubernetes community introduced the Gateway API to provide a more flexible and extensible approach to traffic management.
If you're building or managing Kubernetes applications, understanding the differences between these two options will help you choose the right solution for your workloads.
In this article, we'll compare Kubernetes Ingress and Gateway API, explain their architecture, and explore when each one is the better choice.
What Is Kubernetes Ingress?
Ingress is a Kubernetes resource that manages external HTTP and HTTPS traffic entering a cluster.
Instead of exposing every service with its own public IP address, Ingress routes incoming requests to the appropriate service based on rules such as:
Hostname
URL path
HTTP protocol
A typical example is:
example.com/products → Product Service
example.com/orders → Order Service
example.com/users → User Service
Ingress simplifies traffic management by allowing multiple services to share a single entry point.
Example of an Ingress Resource
The following example routes requests to a web application.
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
name: web-ingress
spec:
rules:
- host: example.com
http:
paths:
- path: /
pathType: Prefix
backend:
service:
name: web-service
port:
number: 80
Once applied, requests for example.com are forwarded to the web-service.
Limitations of Ingress
Although Ingress works well for many applications, it has some limitations.
Some common challenges include:
Limited routing capabilities
Controller-specific features
Difficult configuration for advanced traffic management
Inconsistent behavior across different Ingress controllers
As Kubernetes environments became more advanced, these limitations led to the development of the Gateway API.
What Is the Gateway API?
The Gateway API is a newer Kubernetes networking API designed to provide more flexibility and better traffic management.
Instead of using a single resource, the Gateway API separates networking responsibilities into multiple resources.
Some of the main resources include:
GatewayClass
Gateway
HTTPRoute
TCPRoute
TLSRoute
This modular design makes networking easier to manage, especially in large organizations.
Example of a Gateway
The following example creates a Gateway.
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Gateway
metadata:
name: web-gateway
spec:
gatewayClassName: my-gateway
listeners:
- protocol: HTTP
port: 80
Traffic routing is then configured separately using route resources.
This separation provides greater flexibility and better access control.
Comparing Ingress and Gateway API
Both solutions route external traffic into a Kubernetes cluster, but they differ in design and capabilities.
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