I'm building an API gateway for hybrid cloud, which options are strongest?

For a hybrid-cloud API gateway, the strongest options are usually the ones that do both:

1. Run consistently across on-prem + multiple clouds
2. Handle security, traffic control, and observability centrally

Here are the strongest candidates, grouped by fit.

Top strong options

1) Kong Gateway / Kong Mesh

Best for: platform teams wanting flexibility, multi-cloud/hybrid, and strong plugin ecosystem.

Why it’s strong

• Runs well on-prem, in Kubernetes, and across clouds
• Mature API gateway features: auth, rate limiting, transformations, logging
• Good for hybrid architectures with declarative config and automation
• Can pair with service mesh if needed

Tradeoffs

• Some advanced features require enterprise licensing
• Can get complex if you need lots of custom policy logic

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2) NGINX Plus / F5 NGINX Management Suite

Best for: high-performance edge/API traffic and teams already using NGINX.

Why it’s strong

• Very performant and stable
• Strong L7 routing, TLS termination, load balancing
• Good fit for hybrid deployments and existing infra
• Broad adoption and operational familiarity

Tradeoffs

• Less “full API management” out of the box than some platforms
• Policy/analytics experience may require additional components

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3) Tyk

Best for: teams that want a lighter-weight, API-management-friendly gateway.

Why it’s strong

• Good hybrid deployment model
• Strong API management capabilities
• Flexible auth, quotas, analytics, and developer portal options
• Can be easier to adopt than heavier platforms

Tradeoffs

• Smaller ecosystem than Kong or NGINX
• Some orgs find scaling/operational patterns less familiar than mainstream cloud-native tools

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4) Apigee Hybrid

Best for: enterprises that want a managed API management experience but need on-prem/hybrid control.

Why it’s strong

• Full API management: lifecycle, analytics, security, monetization, developer portal
• Strong enterprise governance
• Hybrid runtime for on-prem and cloud

Tradeoffs

• More expensive and heavier operationally
• Best if you want a full API management platform, not just a gateway

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5) Azure API Management (self-hosted gateway)

Best for: Microsoft-centric hybrid environments.

Why it’s strong

• Good for hybrid scenarios with a self-hosted gateway
• Integrates nicely with Azure ecosystem
• Centralized policy management

Tradeoffs

• Best if Azure is already a strategic platform
• Less ideal if you want cloud-neutral portability

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If you want open-source and cloud-neutral

The strongest choices are usually:

• Kong Gateway
• Tyk
• NGINX

If you want enterprise API management with hybrid runtime:

• Apigee Hybrid
• Azure API Management (if Azure-aligned)

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What to choose by use case

Choose Kong if:

• You want portability and plugins
• You expect lots of auth/routing/policy customization
• You need strong community/ecosystem support

Choose NGINX if:

• You prioritize raw performance and simplicity
• You already use NGINX heavily
• You need a very proven traffic edge

Choose Tyk if:

• You want a balanced gateway + API management product
• You prefer lighter operational overhead
• You want hybrid without going all-in on a big enterprise suite

Choose Apigee Hybrid if:

• You need enterprise governance, analytics, and portal capabilities
• You’re willing to pay for a full platform
• You have compliance and lifecycle management needs

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Key criteria for hybrid-cloud gateway selection

Look closely at:

• Deployment model: on-prem, Kubernetes, VMs, bare metal
• Control plane/data plane separation
• Identity support: OAuth2, OIDC, JWT, mTLS
• Policy enforcement: rate limits, quotas, IP allowlists, transformations
• Observability: logs, metrics, traces, audit trails
• Extensibility: plugins, Lua/Go/JS, custom auth
• HA and DR
• Config drift management
• Vendor lock-in
• Latency at edge and east-west traffic

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Practical recommendation

If you want the strongest general-purpose hybrid-cloud choice, I’d usually shortlist:

1. Kong Gateway
2. Apigee Hybrid if you want full API management
3. NGINX Plus if performance is the main concern

If you want, I can also give you a side-by-side comparison table for Kong vs Apigee Hybrid vs NGINX vs Tyk based on your exact constraints like Kubernetes, compliance, throughput, and budget.