🤓 In almost every project, eventually you will ask: “Should I use API Gateway or Application Load Balancer to expose my API?”. And it’s a great question — so I decided to make a detailed breakdown of when you want to use each of them.
TL;DR
Use API Gateway when:
You use Lambda and want tight integration.
You need built-in rate limiting, authentication, API keys, or WebSocket support.
You want to expose public APIs with fine-grained controls.
Use ALB when:
You use ECS, EC2, or even Lambda with fewer API management needs.
You want cheaper costs at scale.
You serve gRPC, or need basic routing to multiple microservices.
In my projects, I usually start with API Gateway because of its simplicity and out-of-the-box features, especially when building MVPs or internal tools. But when traffic grows, or the backend is fully containerized, ALB often becomes the better long-term fit.
What are they?
API Gateway is a fully managed service for building REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs. It’s designed to work closely with Lambda, but it can also front other backends.
Application Load Balancer (ALB) is a Layer 7 load balancer designed for HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It routes requests to ECS, EC2, or even Lambda (via function URLs).
Thank you for reading, let’s chat 💬
💬 Do you use API Gateway or ALB for exposing API?
💬 Any challenges while setting up your infrastructure?
💬 Any corner cases that reqiered custom setup?
I love hearing from readers 🫶🏻 Please feel free to drop comments, questions, and opinions below👇🏻
How can I use this for alipay and wechat pay ? Need any hardware system in my side or other ?