Side by side
NGINX Gateway Fabric vs OpenNJet Ingress Controller
Both stand on kubernetes ingress controllers. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
NGINX Gateway Fabric offers a free, self-hosted path to Kubernetes Gateway API traffic management with a wide set of documented routing and security options. Check the compatibility table before relying on a particular resource or field.
Visit NGINX Gateway Fabric Free plan Self-hosted
OpenNJet KIC offers a broad set of routing and proxy controls for self-hosted Kubernetes deployments. Review its reserved-port constraints and deployment requirements before assigning proxied services.
Visit OpenNJet Ingress ControllerThe facts
| NGINX Gateway Fabric | OpenNJet Ingress Controller | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Not published |
| Plans published | 1 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | docs.nginx.com | njet.org.cn |
| On kubernetes ingress controllers | #15 of 28 | #19 of 28 |
NGINX Gateway Fabric: what it does well
- Free open-source NGINX data-plane plan
- Supports HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, and UDP
- Includes documented rate limiting and request transformations
- Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenTelemetry integrations are documented
- Images support amd64 and arm64
What to know first
- Requires Kubernetes 1.32 or later for version 2.7.2
- Gateway API resource support varies
- Gateway API resources must be installed before deployment
- Some resources or fields are unsupported
OpenNJet Ingress Controller: what it does well
- Supports host and path routing, load balancing, and canary releases
- TCP and UDP proxy settings change without reloading
- Ingress resources can be sharded by IngressClass
- Supports cross-namespace routing
- Active TCP health checks can change backend availability
What to know first
- Ports 80 and 443 are reserved
- Ports 12001–12004, 8080, and 8081 cannot serve proxied services
Alternatives to NGINX Gateway Fabric Alternatives to OpenNJet Ingress Controller The whole list