Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apache APISIX VS Helm.sh

Compare Apache APISIX VS Helm.sh and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Apache APISIX logo Apache APISIX

Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real-time, high-performance Cloud-Native API gateway, based on the Nginx library and etcd.

Helm.sh logo Helm.sh

The Kubernetes Package Manager
  • Apache APISIX Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-27
  • Helm.sh Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-30

Apache APISIX features and specs

  • High Performance
    Apache APISIX is built on top of Nginx and designed to handle thousands of requests per second. This makes it suitable for high-performance applications and services requiring efficient request processing.
  • Dynamic Configuration
    APISIX allows for dynamic load balancing, routing, and plugin configuration without the need to restart or reload the service, offering robust flexibility and reducing downtime.
  • Extensive Plugin Ecosystem
    APISIX offers a wide range of plugins to extend its functionalities, covering authentication, security, traffic control, and more, allowing for customization and scalability.
  • Open Source and Community-driven
    Being an Apache project, APISIX is open-source and actively maintained by a community of contributors, ensuring continuous improvement and support.
  • Multi-language Support
    APISIX supports multi-language plugins such as Java, Go, and Python, thereby allowing developers to write plugins in the language they are most comfortable with.

Possible disadvantages of Apache APISIX

  • Complexity of Setup
    Setting up Apache APISIX can be complex for new users, requiring familiarity with Nginx and understanding its configuration model, which might involve a steep learning curve.
  • Documentation Gaps
    While the project is actively improved, some users might experience gaps or inconsistencies in the documentation, posing challenges during setup and customization.
  • Limited Enterprise Support
    Compared to some commercial API management solutions, APISIX might lack dedicated enterprise-level support, which could be a concern for organizations requiring rapid troubleshooting and expert assistance.
  • Evolving Features
    As a relatively new project, some features and components may still be evolving, which means users may encounter changes that require adaptation and adjustments over time.

Helm.sh features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Helm simplifies the deployment and management of Kubernetes applications by providing a package manager format that is easy to understand and use. It abstracts complex Kubernetes configurations into simple YAML files called Charts.
  • Reusable Configurations
    Helm Charts allow for reusable Kubernetes configurations, making it easier to maintain and share best-practice templates across different environments and teams.
  • Versioning
    Helm supports versioning of Helm Charts, enabling rollbacks to previous application states, which is critical for managing updates and rollbacks in production environments.
  • Extensibility
    Helm is highly extensible with Plugins and the ability to use community-contributed Charts. This extensibility facilitates customizations and leveraging the community for improved and varied functionality.
  • Templating Engine
    Helm Charts support Go templating, which allows for dynamic configuration values, making Helm Charts more flexible and powerful.
  • Broad Adoption
    Helm is widely adopted in the Kubernetes ecosystem, leading to a vast repository of pre-built Charts, extensive documentation, and strong community support.

Possible disadvantages of Helm.sh

  • Complexity
    While Helm simplifies many tasks, the templating language and Chart configurations can become complex and hard to manage, especially for large-scale applications.
  • Learning Curve
    New users of Helm may face a steep learning curve, particularly those who are not already familiar with Kubernetes concepts or YAML configuration syntax.
  • Security
    Helm's default Tiller component (used in Helm v2) had security concerns related to role-based access control (RBAC). While Helm v3 removed Tiller, previous versions may still be in use, leading to potential security risks.
  • Debugging
    Debugging issues with Helm Charts can be challenging, especially due to the abstraction and layering between the Helm template engine and the actual Kubernetes resources deployed.
  • Resource Abstraction
    Helm can sometimes abstract away too much of the Kubernetes internals, which might hinder advanced users who need fine-grained control over their deployments.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies between different Helm Charts can become cumbersome and lead to complex dependency trees that are hard to manage and debug.

Apache APISIX videos

Getting started with Apache APISIX Dashboard

More videos:

  • Review - Getting started with Apache APISIX
  • Review - APIs security with Apache APISIX

Helm.sh videos

Review: Helm's Zind Is My Favorite Black Boot (Discount Available)

More videos:

  • Review - Helm Free VST/AU Synth Review
  • Review - Another Khracker From Helm - Khuraburi Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache APISIX and Helm.sh)
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
11 11%
89% 89
API Tools
100 100%
0% 0
DevOps Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Apache APISIX and Helm.sh. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Helm.sh should be more popular than Apache APISIX. It has been mentiond 170 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache APISIX mentions (71)

  • Announcing Integration between Apache APISIX and open-appsec WAF
    Apache APISIX is a modern, flexible, and high-performance open-source API gateway solution designed to handle various use cases in microservices and cloud-native architectures. Its primary purpose is to facilitate API management by serving as a gateway for managing, securing, and optimizing API traffic between clients and backend services. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • open-source API gateway solutions and their managed offerings.
    Kong and APISIX, two popular open-source #APIGateway solutions. #kong looks versatile Unified Gateway but how it fares against #APISIX backed by a similar enterprise API7 offering. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Free tier API with Apache APISIX
    Lots of service providers offer a free tier of their service. The idea is to let you kick their service's tires freely. If you need to go above the free tier at any point, you'll likely stay on the service and pay. In this day and age, most services are online and accessible via an API. Today, we will implement a free tier with Apache APISIX. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • OpenResty on NixOS for an API Gateway
    We have been using Apache APISIX for a while now. It is a high-performance, cloud-native API gateway solution. It also has a nice dashboard for managing APIs. However, I have been looking for a simpler and more portable solution for our use case. In particular, I want to be able manage the API gateway as a NixOS service so that the configuration can be tested and redeployed easily. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Advanced URL rewriting with Apache APISIX
    I spoke at Swiss PgDay in Switzerland in late June. The talk was about how to create a no-code API with the famous PostgreSQL database, the related PostgREST, and Apache APISIX, of course. I already wrote about the idea in a previous post. However, I wanted to improve it, if only slightly. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

Helm.sh mentions (170)

  • Install Red Hat Developer Hub with AI Software Templates on OpenShift
    Helm installed: brew install helm or from https://helm.sh. - Source: dev.to / 20 days ago
  • Even more OpenTelemetry - Kubernetes special
    Docker Compose is great for demos: docker compose up, and you're good to go, but I know no organization that uses it in production. Deploying workloads to Kubernetes is much more involved than that. I've used Kubernetes for demos in the past; typing kubectl apply -f is dull fast. In addition to GitOps, which isn't feasible for demos, the two main competitors are Helm and Kustomize. I chose the former for its... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Kubernetes and Container Portability: Navigating Multi-Cloud Flexibility
    Helm Charts – An open-source solution for software deployment on top of Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Chart an Extensible Course with Helm
    Clicks, copies, and pasting. That's an approach to deploying your applications in Kubernetes. Anyone who's worked with Kubernetes for more than 5 minutes knows that this is not a recipe for repeatability and confidence in your setup. Good news is, you've got options when tackling this problem. The option I'm going to present below is using Helm. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • IKO - Lessons Learned (Part 1 - Helm)
    Looks like we're good to go (assuming you already have helm installed, if not install it first)! Let's install the IKO. We are going to need to tell helm where the folder with all our goodies is (that's the iris-operator folder you see above). If we were to be sitting at the chart directory you can use the command. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache APISIX and Helm.sh, you can also consider the following products

Prometheus - An open-source systems monitoring and alerting toolkit.

Kubernetes - Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers

API7 cloud - API management platform for hybrid and multi-cloud

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

etcd - A distributed, reliable key-value store for the most critical data of a distributed system

Docker Compose - Define and run multi-container applications with Docker