Azure API Management vs Kong
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and integrations.
Quick Verdict
Azure API Management offers fewer features (36 vs 59) and more integrations (11 vs 8). Starting price: Azure API Management at Contact Sales vs Kong at $12/mo. Azure API Management has 33 unique features while Kong has 56 unique features, with 3 features in common.
| Azure API Management | Kong | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | DevOps | DevOps |
| Total Features | 36 | 59 |
| AI-Powered Features | 14 | 4 |
| Starting Price | Contact Sales | $12/mo |
| Pricing Tiers | 3 | 6 |
| Integrations | 11 | 8 |
| Shared Features | 3 | |
| Shared Integrations | 0 | |
| Data Quality | 85% | 90% |
Feature Comparison by Category
AI (9 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| AI Gateway | ||
| AI Model Management | ||
| AI-Powered Policy Authoring | ||
| Content Safety Enforcement | ||
| MCP Server Enablement | ||
| MCP Server Registry | ||
| Prompt & Completion Safeguarding | ||
| Semantic Caching | ||
| Token Usage Tracking |
AI Connectivity (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| AI Gateway | ||
| AI Gateway Paid Plugins | ||
| MCP Gateway |
API Discovery (0 vs 2)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Developer Portal | ||
| Service Catalog |
API Gateway (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Polyglot API Gateway |
API Governance (0 vs 5)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer Groups | ||
| Federated API Management | ||
| Plugin Ordering | ||
| Request Validation | ||
| Workspaces |
API Management (2 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Lifecycle Management | ||
| API Transformations |
API Testing (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Insomnia |
Automation (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway Event Hooks |
Compliance & Governance (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance Scorecards |
Core Gateway (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Gateway |
Data Processing (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Data Transformation |
Deployment (2 vs 5)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated Cloud Gateway | ||
| Hybrid Gateway | ||
| Kubernetes Ingress Controller | ||
| Multi-Cloud API Management | ||
| Multi-Cloud Deployment | ||
| Self-Hosted Gateways | ||
| Serverless Gateway |
DevOps (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| CI/CD Integration | ||
| Declarative Configuration | ||
| Git Sync |
Developer Tools (3 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Specification Generation | ||
| GitHub Copilot Integration | ||
| Policy Debugging & Optimization |
Development Tools (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Design & Testing |
Discovery & Governance (3 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Center Integration | ||
| Centralized API Catalog | ||
| Semantic Search |
Event Streaming (0 vs 2)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Event Gateway | ||
| Kafka Integration |
Extensibility (0 vs 2)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin Development Kit | ||
| Plugin System |
Governance (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Federated API Management |
Management (0 vs 2)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Admin GUI | ||
| Kong Manager |
Monetization (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Metering & Billing |
Monitoring & Analytics (5 vs 3)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| AI Prompt & Completion Logging | ||
| API Analytics | ||
| Analytics & Insights | ||
| Customizable Logging | ||
| Observability | ||
| OpenTelemetry Support | ||
| Real-Time API Traffic Visibility | ||
| Usage Monitoring |
Performance (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Caching |
Protocol Support (0 vs 2)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| GraphQL Support | ||
| Multi-Protocol Support |
Reliability (1 vs 1)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Breaking | ||
| Data Plane Resilience |
Reporting (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Customizable Business Reports |
Security (3 vs 0)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication & Authorization | ||
| Microsoft Defender Integration | ||
| OWASP API Top 10 Protection |
Security & Compliance (0 vs 16)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| ACME Certificate Management | ||
| API Security Shift Left | ||
| Advanced Authentication | ||
| Advanced Authorization (OPA) | ||
| Audit Logging | ||
| Basic Authentication | ||
| Bot Detection & CORS Controls | ||
| Domain Capture and Control | ||
| End-to-End Encryption | ||
| FIPS 140-2 Compliance | ||
| Native Vault Integration | ||
| Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) | ||
| SCIM Integration | ||
| SSO (SAML/OIDC) | ||
| Secret Management Integration |
Testing (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway Mocking | ||
| Inso CLI | ||
| Mock Server Requests |
Traffic Management (3 vs 4)
| Feature | Azure API Management | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Rate Limiting | ||
| Caching | ||
| Dynamic Routing | ||
| Load Balancing | ||
| Rate Limiting | ||
| Rate Limiting & Quotas | ||
| Routing Engine |
Unique Features
Only in Azure API Management (33)
AI Model Management
AI-Powered Policy Authoring
Content Safety Enforcement
MCP Server Enablement
MCP Server Registry
Prompt & Completion Safeguarding
Semantic Caching
Token Usage Tracking
Polyglot API Gateway
API Lifecycle Management
API Transformations
Compliance Scorecards
Multi-Cloud API Management
Self-Hosted Gateways
API Specification Generation
GitHub Copilot Integration
Policy Debugging & Optimization
API Center Integration
Centralized API Catalog
Semantic Search
+ 13 more unique features
Only in Kong (56)
AI Gateway Paid Plugins
MCP Gateway
Developer Portal
Service Catalog
Consumer Groups
Plugin Ordering
Request Validation
Workspaces
Insomnia
Gateway Event Hooks
API Gateway
Data Transformation
Dedicated Cloud Gateway
Hybrid Gateway
Kubernetes Ingress Controller
Multi-Cloud Deployment
Serverless Gateway
API Design & Testing
CI/CD Integration
Declarative Configuration
+ 36 more unique features
View Azure API Management details View Kong details Azure API Management alternatives Kong alternatives
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