Overview

Kong Gateway is an open-source API gateway for routing and managing API traffic in microservices and distributed architectures. It is best suited to teams that need control over where and how a gateway runs. Its broad deployment choices are a strong fit for varied infrastructure, while Windows users must run it through Docker.

Key features

Kong describes its NGINX engine as handling 50K+ transactions per second per node. That stated throughput may matter for teams serving busy APIs, but capacity claims alone do not determine whether a gateway fits a particular workload.

Operators can configure Kong through an API, a web UI, or declarative configuration, including changes managed through CI/CD pipelines. This accommodates both direct administration and configuration-as-code, though teams still need to decide which operating model they can maintain. Deployment options span on-premises, cloud, Kubernetes, and serverless environments, with or without a database, in hybrid or cloud-hosted modes.

Built-in plugins cover security, authentication, transformation, and analytics; the Plugin Development Kit supports custom plugins. That flexibility suits teams that need to adapt gateway behavior, but it places the responsibility for choosing and managing those extensions with the operator.

Kong Ingress Controller configures the gateway through Kubernetes-native resources, including traffic management, transformations, and observability across clusters. That makes it relevant to Kubernetes operators who want gateway management aligned with their existing control plane. Konnect Plus supports REST, HTTP, LLMs, Kafka, WebSockets, gRPC, and GraphQL. Across the broader product, supported protocols include REST, HTTP, Kafka, WebSockets, gRPC, GraphQL, UDP, TCP, and TLS, with authentication methods including Basic Auth, HMAC, JWT, Key Auth, LDAP, mutual TLS, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML, and Vault. The breadth is useful for mixed API estates; teams should match the specific protocol requirements to the plan they choose.

Pricing

Kong Gateway combines a free open-source edition with paid Konnect plans. Kong Gateway Open Source costs 0.00 USD per free and is an open-source API gateway; the product page states no paid-plan limits for this edition. It is the natural starting point for teams prepared to operate an open-source gateway, though it does not include the stated Konnect plan commitments.

The Konnect Free trial costs 0.00 USD per free, is billed for 30 days, requires no credit card, and includes Enterprise functionality with no Gateway limits. Analytics are retained for 30 days. This gives teams a time-limited way to evaluate the broader offering without gateway caps, but it is not a permanent free tier.

Konnect Plus is charged per Gateway per month, billed monthly, with custom pricing not stated. It includes up to 5 serverless gateways, 2 hybrid gateways, 2 dedicated cloud gateways, and 1M API requests/month; each additional 1M requests costs $200/month. The included allowance and gateway counts make it a defined option for teams whose deployment fits those caps, but request-heavy or larger estates need to account for overages or another plan.

Konnect Enterprise has custom pricing billed annually. It has no Gateway limits, includes unlimited developer portals and published APIs, and allows fully self-hosted API gateways. It is better suited to organizations needing those scale and deployment terms than to smaller teams that can work within Plus allowances. Enterprise also lists dedicated customer success and technical account managers with higher SLAs. Konnect Plus includes email support with a two-business-day SLA. The product lists paid from 25 /mo, but does not attach that figure to a named plan here, so readers should request pricing details before budgeting.

Platforms

Kong supports API, Linux, self-hosted, and web environments, with Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift among its supported platforms. Linux installation documentation provides packages and binaries, as well as Docker images and Kubernetes deployment instructions. Windows has no native installation method and requires Docker, a meaningful constraint for teams standardizing on Windows hosts.

Who it's for

Kong Gateway is a strong candidate for platform and infrastructure teams operating microservices across hybrid or multi-cloud environments, especially those already using Kubernetes or needing self-hosted deployment. Its configuration choices, plugin model, and protocol coverage reward teams with the capacity to manage gateway policy and deployment. It is less compelling for organizations seeking native Windows installation or a paid plan whose costs and allowances can be settled without a pricing request.

Pros and cons

Pros: Multiple configuration and deployment approaches let teams fit the gateway to existing API operations and infrastructure.
Pros: Built-in plugins and a development kit cover standard gateway needs while allowing custom extensions.
Pros: The open-source edition and no-card 30-day trial provide two distinct ways to begin evaluation.
Cons: Windows deployment requires Docker because Kong does not offer a native Windows installation.
Cons: Konnect Plus has gateway-count and request allowances, with additional 1M requests costing $200/month.
Cons: Konnect paid-plan prices require a request, making cost comparison less immediate.

Alternatives

Choose Zuplo if a free API gateway with an explicit small-team allowance is the priority: its Free plan is 0.00 USD per month, free forever for up to 100K req/mo, with 2 account members, 5 environments, and 100 consumers/API keys. Choose Gravitee API Gateway if Windows is required: it supports Windows and offers a free Apache 2.0 Community Edition with no numerical limits stated. For API analytics alternatives, Moesif, Revenium, Sentinel EMS, Lago, Stigg, and Tyk API Management are other options to compare.

Browse API Gateway Software or API Management Software for more choices. Teams focused on adjacent needs can also explore API Monetization Software, API Developer Portal Software, Service Mesh Platforms, and LLM Gateway Software.

Verdict

Choose Kong Gateway if your team needs a configurable gateway across self-hosted, hybrid, cloud, or Kubernetes infrastructure and can own its operational choices. Its open-source option and broad plugin and protocol coverage are the central reasons to consider it. Look elsewhere if native Windows installation is essential or if you need predictable paid-plan pricing before discussing scope with a vendor.

	Kong Gateway	ZenMux
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	Free	$20/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web	api, Web
Free plan	No	Yes
Fallback routing	Yes	Yes
Usage analytics	Yes	Yes
Self-hosted deployment	Yes	—
Budget controls	Yes	Yes
Virtual API keys	Yes	—
Paid from	—	20 /mo

Kong Gateway vs ZenMux

Kong Gateway

ZenMux