Last updated on
Company health
Ratings
Kong API Gateway description
Kong API Gateway is a software platform that helps businesses manage how their applications communicate with each other. It acts like a central hub, directing traffic between different parts of your software and external services. Kong is designed to be fast, flexible, and secure, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes that need a reliable way to handle their API traffic.
What companies are using Kong API Gateway?
Who is Kong API Gateway best for
Kong API Gateway is a robust platform for managing communication between applications and services. Its flexible plugin architecture and high performance are praised by users. However, some find the documentation lacking and the Enterprise Edition costly. It's ideal for businesses adopting microservices or cloud-native architectures looking for scalable API management.
-
Ideal for small, medium, and enterprise businesses.
-
Best fit for Software, IT, Telecommunications, Education, Media & Entertainment, and Non-profit & Government.
Kong API Gateway features
| Supported Kong API Gateway supports API management, including design and security features. |
| Supported Kong supports hybrid deployments with its control plane and data plane architecture. |
| Supported Kong supports secure communication with encryption and authentication mechanisms. |
| Supported Kong supports encryption for data at rest and key management, especially in the enterprise version. |
| Supported Kong supports PKI for secure communication and authentication using certificates and mTLS. |
We evaluate the sentiment that users express about non-functional aspects of the software
Value and Pricing Transparency
Customer Service
Ease of Use
Reliability and Performance
Ease of Implementation
Scalability
Kong API Gateway reviews
We've summarised 238 Kong API Gateway reviews (Kong API Gateway G2 reviews) and summarised the main points below.
- Flexible and extensible through a wide range of plugins, including custom plugin development with Lua, Go, and Javascript
- High performance and scalability due to Nginx foundation
- Easy setup and deployment, particularly with Docker and Kubernetes
- Supports hybrid and multi-cloud deployments
- Good customer support, particularly for the Enterprise Edition
- Limited documentation, especially for troubleshooting and custom plugin development
- Developer portal lacks maturity and advanced features, like monetization and application limits
- High cost of the Enterprise Edition, especially with per-microservice and per-environment pricing
- Lack of client credential storage, unlike some competitors
- Dropping support for Alpine-based images, increasing attack surface with Ubuntu image
Kong API Gateway pricing
The commentary is based on 32 reviews from Kong API Gateway G2 reviews.
Kong API Gateway offers a robust free version, but some users find the pricing for the enterprise edition high, especially for smaller companies or numerous microservices. Several reviews mention useful plugins being locked behind the paywall, impacting cost-effectiveness.
Users sentiment
See the Kong API Gateway pricing page.
-
Kong API Gateway has a free plan.
-
Kong API Gateway has a free trial.
Plus
Access to Kong Konnect Dedicated Cloud Gateways, Dev Portal: Catalog and expose APIs, Analytics & Observability
Enterprise
Everything in Plus and: Professional Services, 24x7x365 technical support, Volume Discounts
Business
Our basic support offering, which includes a 2-hour response for urgent issues during regional business hours. Key Features: Gateway services starting at $210, API requests starting at $25/1M, Kong AI Gateway included, Professional Services, Regional business hour technical support: 2-hr SLA, Training through Kong Academy
Platinum
Our mid tier support offering, which includes 1-hour response for urgent issues 24/7. Key Features: Gateway services starting at $250, API requests starting at $28.75/1M, Kong AI Gateway included, Professional Services, 24x7x365 technical support: 1-hr SLA, Training through Kong Academy
Diamond
Our premium support offering, including a 30-minute SLA for urgent cases 24/7 and access to our premium support team. Key Features: Gateway services starting at $290, API requests starting at $33.06/1M, Kong AI Gateway included, Professional Services, 24x7x365 technical support: 30-min SLA, Training through Kong Academy
Hobby
Pro
Enterprise
Kong API Gateway alternatives
TykBetter ease of use. Growing faster than Kong API Gateway. Offers excellent customer support. Open-source gateway provides more flexibility and transparency. Simpler setup and deployment for basic use cases. Dashboard analytics are limited.Read more
MuleSoft Anypoint PlatformBetter for companies with complex integration needs and a large volume of data flows. More suitable for industries like finance, retail, and software/IT. Users report a steeper learning curve and higher licensing costs. Has less momentum than Kong API Gateway.Read more
Amazon API GatewayBetter integration with AWS services. Has simpler pricing, although users find the initial setup more challenging. Grows faster than Kong API Gateway.Read more
Apigee API ManagementBetter suited for users heavily invested in the Google Cloud ecosystem.Read more
Kong API PlatformBetter suited for API management across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Offers more comprehensive API lifecycle management features.Read more
Document360Better for creating internal knowledge bases and customer-facing help centers. Geared towards documentation management, with features like version control and AI-powered search. Has broader industry applicability but slower momentum.Read more
Kong API Gateway FAQ
What is Kong API Gateway and what does Kong API Gateway do?
Kong API Gateway is a cloud-native, open-source API gateway built on top of Nginx. It manages, secures, and governs API traffic, enabling seamless communication between applications and services. Kong offers flexible deployment options and a plugin-based architecture for extensibility.
How does Kong API Gateway integrate with other tools?
Kong API Gateway integrates with other tools through its plugin architecture. It supports a wide range of plugins for functionalities like authentication, traffic control, and analytics. This allows Kong to fit into various technology stacks and workflows.
What the main competitors of Kong API Gateway?
Top Kong API Gateway competitors include Apigee Edge, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, AWS API Gateway, and Azure API Management. These alternatives offer similar API management functionalities, catering to diverse business needs and technical preferences.
Is Kong API Gateway legit?
Kong API Gateway is a legitimate and safe API management platform. It offers robust security features, flexible deployment options, and high performance. However, potential users should be aware of the high cost of the Enterprise Edition and limited documentation.
How much does Kong API Gateway cost?
Kong API Gateway pricing is complex. Kong Konnect offers a free trial and pay-as-you-go plans with custom pricing for most features. Kong Gateway Enterprise has Business, Platinum, and Diamond support tiers with custom pricing. Kong Insomnia has Hobby (free), Pro ($12/month), and Enterprise ($45/month) plans. Contact sales for detailed pricing information.
Is Kong API Gateway customer service good?
Kong API Gateway's customer support receives positive feedback, with users highlighting its responsiveness and helpfulness in resolving issues and answering questions. However, some users mention that community support could be improved.
Reviewed by
Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.
Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.