Resources
  • eBooks
  • Reports
  • Demos
  • Videos
|
  • Value Calculator
  1. Home
  2. Resources
  3. eBooks
  4. The Difference Between API Gateways and Service Mesh
eBook

The Power of Integrating API Gateways and Service Mesh Capabilities

What are the differences between API gateways and service mesh? And when should you use one or the other? Let’s explore the differences in a pragmatic and objective way.

Understanding API Gateways and Service Mesh

For many years, API management (APIM) — and the adoption of API gateways — was the primary technology used to implement modern API use cases both inside and outside the data center. Then around 2017, another pattern emerged from the industry: service mesh. Almost immediately, the industry failed to recognize how this pattern played with the API gateway pattern, and a big cloud of confusion started to emerge.

Many people have already attempted to describe the differences between API gateways and service meshes, and it's been commonly communicated that API gateways are for north-south traffic and service meshes are for east-west traffic. This is not accurate, and if anything, it underlines a fundamental misunderstanding of both patterns. In this eBook, we set the record straight.

In this eBook:

  • Explore the differences between API gateways and service mesh
  • Discover when to use an API gateway and a service mesh
  • Powering the API world

    Increase developer productivity, security, and performance at scale with the unified platform for API management, AI gateways, service mesh, and ingress controller.

    Sign up for Kong newsletter

      • Platform
      • Kong Konnect
      • Kong Gateway
      • Kong AI Gateway
      • Kong Insomnia
      • Developer Portal
      • Gateway Manager
      • Cloud Gateway
      • Get a Demo
      • Explore More
      • Open Banking API Solutions
      • API Governance Solutions
      • Istio API Gateway Integration
      • Kubernetes API Management
      • API Gateway: Build vs Buy
      • Kong vs Postman
      • Kong vs MuleSoft
      • Kong vs Apigee
      • Documentation
      • Kong Konnect Docs
      • Kong Gateway Docs
      • Kong Mesh Docs
      • Kong AI Gateway
      • Kong Insomnia Docs
      • Kong Plugin Hub
      • Open Source
      • Kong Gateway
      • Kuma
      • Insomnia
      • Kong Community
      • Company
      • About Kong
      • Customers
      • Careers
      • Press
      • Events
      • Contact
      • Pricing
    • Terms
    • Privacy
    • Trust and Compliance
    • © Kong Inc. 2025