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Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache APISIX
Ranking in API Management
30th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Kong Gateway Enterprise
Ranking in API Management
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apache APISIX is 3.2%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kong Gateway Enterprise is 6.6%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Integration with backend systems and runtime configuration simplicity enhance operational efficiency
Apache APISIX ( /products/apache-apisix-reviews ) is easy to configure. It supports coding for filters and can integrate with many languages. Its configuration at runtime is very easy. You can configure your gateway at runtime without needing to restart the gateway to apply configurations. This is a perfect feature. The service discovery feature integrates with backend systems and provides powerful load balancing. Also, its integration with Keycloak and authorization systems is a valuable feature.
AmitKanodia - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides role-based access control and can be easily customized with Lua script
Kong is meant for north-south communications, so it will be interesting to see what solutions they can come up with in the realms of east-west communications, service-to-service communications, and Zero Trust architecture. I believe that if they can provide for these areas, then they will be able to solve the overall integration and security concerns for microservices architecture in general.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features."
"In our buying companies' perspective, it was easier to use compared to other platforms. The markets were pretty familiar with the solutions."
"I like everything about it. It provides the security we need."
"The solution's technical support is good and fast in terms of responsiveness and problem-solving skills."
"Kong Gateway helped to improve performance. It's good enough for our users."
"The tool's scalability is good...The solution's technical support is good."
"We use the solution for load-balancing, caching, and rate-limiting APIs."
"The most valuable feature of Kong Enterprise is its capability to integrate with various security tools."
"This is a solid intrusion prevention system that combines a firewall and antivirus in a single solution."
 

Cons

"The user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX."
"Kong Enterprise needs to improve its pricing, which starts at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pricing should be based on API usage rather than monthly. It should improve its documentation as well."
"The product's price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The technical support team's response time needs to be improved."
"The ease of billing is lost when Kong is not available directly on the Azure marketplace. This is one area where they can improve."
"The solution should include policy features that are available in other solutions like MuleSoft API manager but missing in Kong Enterprise."
"The tool needs to improve in areas like documentation and UI."
"Kong is meant for north-south communications, so it will be interesting to see what solutions they can come up with in the realms of east-west communications, service-to-service communications, and Zero Trust architecture. I believe that if they can provide for these areas, then they will be able to solve the overall integration and security concerns for microservices architecture in general."
"We would like to see an automatic data API when we have a table in the database."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Basically, my company uses the tool's open-source version."
"Kong Enterprise's pricing is at par compared to the other technologies."
"It's expensive in Thailand (10 million baht, in Thai currency)."
"The licensing is expensive."
"The product is reasonably priced because it goes by the SaaS model."
"I don't have any information on licensing costs currently."
"The licensing fees are paid yearly."
"The price is really reasonable compared to that of alternative solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Apache APISIX?
The user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX. Users must resort to using command-line interfaces (CLI) for certain configurations, which is not practical. Enhanc...
What is your primary use case for Apache APISIX?
We have used Apache APISIX ( /products/apache-apisix-reviews ) as a gateway for our backend systems. We have integrated it with our backend system for several banks in Saudi Arabia. This was a clie...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache APISIX?
I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features. However, the lack of documentation for some features presents challenges. I would rate Apache APISIX an eight out of ten due...
How does Kong Enterprise compare with Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager?
The Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager was designed with its users in mind. Though it is a reasonably complex piece of software, it is easy to install and upgrade. While there are different things that ...
What do you like most about Kong Enterprise?
The tool's feature that I find most beneficial is rate limiting. In our usage, especially in the financial sector, we prioritize limiting API usage. This is crucial because we provide APIs to other...
What needs improvement with Kong Enterprise?
The open-source version of Kong does not support a dashboard, which would be very helpful. We use an open-source tool called Konga for basic dashboard needs, but it lacks support. It would be bette...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Cargill, Zillow, Ferrari, WeWork, Healthcare.gov, Yahoo! Japan, Giphy, SkyScanner
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in API Management. Updated: April 2025.
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