API Gateway vs Kong
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and integrations.
Quick Verdict
API Gateway offers fewer features (14 vs 59) and fewer integrations (5 vs 8). Starting price: API Gateway at Free vs Kong at $12/mo. API Gateway has 14 unique features while Kong has 59 unique features, with 0 features in common.
| API Gateway | Kong | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | DevOps | DevOps |
| Total Features | 14 | 59 |
| AI-Powered Features | 0 | 4 |
| Starting Price | Free | $12/mo |
| Pricing Tiers | 4 | 6 |
| Integrations | 5 | 8 |
| Shared Features | 0 | |
| Shared Integrations | 0 | |
| Data Quality | 60% | 90% |
Feature Comparison by Category
AI Connectivity (0 vs 3)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| AI Gateway | ||
| AI Gateway Paid Plugins | ||
| MCP Gateway |
API Discovery (0 vs 2)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Developer Portal | ||
| Service Catalog |
API Governance (0 vs 5)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer Groups | ||
| Federated API Management | ||
| Plugin Ordering | ||
| Request Validation | ||
| Workspaces |
API Management (3 vs 0)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Consistent Access Patterns | ||
| Quotas and Limits Management | ||
| REST API Definition |
API Testing (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Insomnia |
Automation (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway Event Hooks |
Billing (1 vs 0)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go Pricing |
Core Gateway (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Gateway |
Data Processing (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Data Transformation |
Deployment (1 vs 5)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Deployment to Gateway | ||
| Dedicated Cloud Gateway | ||
| Hybrid Gateway | ||
| Kubernetes Ingress Controller | ||
| Multi-Cloud Deployment | ||
| Serverless Gateway |
DevOps (0 vs 3)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| CI/CD Integration | ||
| Declarative Configuration | ||
| Git Sync |
Developer Tools (3 vs 0)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Development Environment Configuration | ||
| Google Cloud Console Integration | ||
| gcloud CLI Support |
Development Tools (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Design & Testing |
Event Streaming (0 vs 2)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Event Gateway | ||
| Kafka Integration |
Extensibility (0 vs 2)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin Development Kit | ||
| Plugin System |
Management (0 vs 2)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Admin GUI | ||
| Kong Manager |
Monetization (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Metering & Billing |
Monitoring (1 vs 0)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Service Control Integration |
Monitoring & Analytics (0 vs 3)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| API Analytics | ||
| Observability | ||
| OpenTelemetry Support |
Networking (2 vs 0)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Free Data Transfer Ingress | ||
| Premium Tier Data Transfer |
Protocol Support (0 vs 2)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| GraphQL Support | ||
| Multi-Protocol Support |
Reliability (0 vs 1)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Data Plane Resilience |
Security (3 vs 0)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication Configuration | ||
| Secure Access Control | ||
| Service-to-Service Authentication |
Security & Compliance (0 vs 16)
| Feature | API Gateway | 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 | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway Mocking | ||
| Inso CLI | ||
| Mock Server Requests |
Traffic Management (0 vs 4)
| Feature | API Gateway | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Rate Limiting | ||
| Caching | ||
| Rate Limiting | ||
| Routing Engine |
Unique Features
Only in API Gateway (14)
Consistent Access Patterns
Quotas and Limits Management
REST API Definition
Pay-as-you-go Pricing
API Deployment to Gateway
Development Environment Configuration
gcloud CLI Support
Google Cloud Console Integration
Service Control Integration
Free Data Transfer Ingress
Premium Tier Data Transfer
Authentication Configuration
Secure Access Control
Service-to-Service Authentication
Only in Kong (59)
AI Gateway
AI Gateway Paid Plugins
MCP Gateway
Developer Portal
Service Catalog
Consumer Groups
Federated API Management
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
+ 39 more unique features
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