Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise comparison

Apache and Kong are both solutions in the API Management category. Apache is ranked #30, while Kong is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.6. Apache holds a 3.2% mindshare in APIM, compared to Kong’s 6.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Kong users who would recommend it.

Apache APISIX

Read 1 Apache APISIX review

2,603 Views
2,495 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Kong Gateway Enterprise

Read 24 Kong Gateway Enterprise reviews

8,512 Views
6,571 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Apache APISIX

Kong Gateway Enterprise

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Apache APISIX and Kong Gateway Enterprise based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in API Management.

To learn more, read our detailed API Management Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

API Management

March 2025

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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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Kong Gateway Enterprise

Ranking in API Management

6th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

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

Ahmed_Sayed

Senior Java Software Developer at VOIS

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.

Read full review

AmitKanodia

Cloud & Integration CoE Head at Capgemini

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.

Read full review

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."

"The features I like include ease of operation and implementation in a cloud environment, the dashboarding features for API statistics, and the user-friendly developer portal."

"Kong's most valuable features are its lightweight performance when handling millions of requests and the ability to write custom plugins to enhance security, such as end-to-end encryption, even in the open-source version."

"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 companies and must ensure they adhere to their allocated usage limits. Without rate limiting, there's a risk of excessive usage, which could result in significant costs."

"Good at intercepting traffic and modeling APIs around that."

"Kong Gateway helped to improve performance. It's good enough for our users."

"The solution provides good performance."

"Protocol transformation is the most valuable feature of Kong Enterprise."

"The most valuable features of Kong Enterprise are the out-of-the-box open source easy functionality."

More Kong Gateway Enterprise pros

Cons

"The user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX."

"The developer portal needs to be improved."

"The tool needs to improve in areas like documentation and UI."

"Kong Enterprise fails to provide live tracing of the APIs, which is possible nowadays."

"We are facing issues with the solution's features like reports and traffic analysis."

"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 solution should include policy features that are available in other solutions like MuleSoft API manager but missing in Kong Enterprise."

"It becomes difficult if you try to scale it up to multiple clusters."

"From an improvement perspective, the product should offer more readily available connectors and also allow for more seamless AI integrations."

More Kong Gateway Enterprise cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It's expensive in Thailand (10 million baht, in Thai currency)."

"The price is really reasonable compared to that of alternative solutions."

"The licensing fees are paid yearly."

"Kong Enterprise's pricing is reasonable for our company size."

"There is a need to pay towards the licensing charges...In some areas, the functionalities are available free of charge."

"Kong Enterprise is cheaper than Apigee. I rate its pricing as four out of ten."

"Basically, my company uses the tool's open-source version."

"There are many factors that influence the price of Kong Enterprise, such as scale, licenses, and usage."

More Kong Gateway Enterprise pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

WSO2 API Manager vs Apache APISIX

Compared 23% of the time

Apigee vs Apache APISIX

Compared 18% of the time

Traefik Enterprise vs Apache APISIX

Compared 14% of the time

Tyk vs Apache APISIX

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Apache APISIX

Compared 8% of the time

More Apache APISIX Competitors

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 13% of the time

Apigee vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 12% of the time

WSO2 API Manager vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 12% of the time

Kong Konnect vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 9% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 4% of the time

More Kong Gateway Enterprise Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

March 2025

Download Apache APISIX product report

Buyer's Guide

Kong Gateway Enterprise

March 2025

Download Kong Gateway Enterprise product report

Overview

Apache APISIX is an open-source API Gateway that supports dynamic routing, plugins, and load balancing. It is highly scalable and suitable for managing, securing, and efficiently controlling API traffic. Users appreciate its flexible and robust capabilities.

Developed for developers and businesses seeking to optimize API management, Apache APISIX offers a range of features tailored to improve performance and adaptability. With support for real-time dynamic updates and a broad plugin ecosystem, it can easily integrate into diverse architectures. This tool caters to a range of use cases, from boosting API efficiency to refining load balancing and traffic management.

What are the key features of Apache APISIX?

Dynamic Routing: Enables users to modify routes without service disruption.
Plugin Framework: Allows the addition of custom features to enhance functionality.
HTTPS and SSL Termination: Increases security for API communications.
Load Balancing: Distributes traffic to optimize resource usage.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Offers real-time insights into API performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Scalability: Quickly adapts to increasing traffic demands.
Performance Enhancement: Optimizes API speed and responsiveness.
Reduced Downtime: Maintains stability with updates and changes.
Security: Enhances protection with strong encryption protocols.

Apache APISIX is widely implemented across industries, including finance and e-commerce, where it manages large volumes of transactions efficiently. Its adaptability allows it to meet specific industry needs, supporting businesses in achieving optimal API performance and security.

Apache

Kong delivers a next generation API platform built for modern architectures. With a lightnight-fast, lightweight, and flexible core, Kong delivers sub-millisecond latency across all your services. Kong's is deployment-, vendor-, and pattern-agnostic, allowing you to run your services how you want, where you want, and with who you want - from baremetal to cloud, monolith to microservices, service mesh, and beyond.

Kong

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: March 2025.

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