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Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Layer7 API Management comparison

Kong and Broadcom are both solutions in the API Management category. Kong is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.6, while Broadcom is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.6. Kong holds a 6.0% mindshare in APIM, compared to Broadcom’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Kong users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.
Kong Gateway Enterprise
Read 24 Kong Gateway Enterprise reviews
  • 10,739 Views
  • 8,279 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
Layer7 API Management
Read 110 Layer7 API Management reviews
  • 5,509 Views
  • 4,074 Comparison Views
90% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Kong Gateway Enterprise and Layer7 API Management based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two API Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed Kong Gateway Enterprise vs. Layer7 API Management Report (Updated: October 2024).
Buyer's Guide
Kong Gateway Enterprise vs. Layer7 API Management
October 2024
Download the complete report
Helped 816,406 peers since 2012
 

Categories and Ranking

Kong Gateway Enterprise
Ranking in API Management
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Layer7 API Management
Ranking in API Management
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
110
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Kong Gateway Enterprise is 6.0%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Layer7 API Management is 3.2%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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Ronald D'Souza - PeerSpot reviewer
Has great drag-and-drop features and it requires minimal coding
I have mainly implemented using Layer 7 API Management. Some of the major challenges we were able to meet with a quick release to market methodology. Some of the tasks which we achieved for our customers were: 1. Translation service from SOAP to REST and vice versa. 2. API service to DB (Oracle, MySQL, MSSQL, Snowflake, SAP HANA) -- Created Swagger APIs that were able to perform CRUD operation to the backend API mentioned above and provided routes to query and get data. 3. Integration with Payment gateway service providers to perform (transaction on behalf of the customer with third-party payment gateway service providers white labeled with our APIs ) -- Followed TMF standards for payment gateway integration with the Telcom world. 4. Orchestration of the API. Build multiple microservers and provided orchestration based on route, path, and data in the request and perform actions that would be communicated with multiple APIs and provide a single consolidated response. 5. Provided API-driven security (Oauth 2.0, JWT, SAML, Basic, and a variety of means) to access the API giving the developer the freedom to concentrate only on application/service/microservice and let the gateway handle the threat. 6. Seamless Mutual Authentication allowed good segregation between APIs in the DMZ and internal network.
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

"Kong enterprise has significantly enhanced our ability to manage and secure our Microservices. Its most valuable feature is monitoring."
"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."
"Kong Enterprise has excellent plugin support."
"The most valuable features of Kong Enterprise are the out-of-the-box open source easy functionality."
"Kong Enterprise comes with some ready plug-ins, which is very good for the customers."
"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."
"Kong Gateway helped to improve performance. It's good enough for our users."
More Kong Gateway Enterprise pros
"When I have used technical support they helped me a lot. Sometimes they took a long time to respond because we had very complex issues that we asked them for help with, but I think it is a very good service."
"It is helpful to have a central API that is hosted and managed."
"The most valuable feature is that it enables me to present data in the format that the client wants to consume it. That client might be a visualization tool, that client might be a report, that client might be a customer's API requirements."
"It's pretty easy to use, and once we have templating set up we can add new APIs, at least through the gateway, and apply the security to them; it takes a minute."
"A big win for CA was the expertise of the local country support plus having support staff on site in a matter of hours, if required."
"The product supports more than just HTTP protocols; it also caters to JMS and FTP protocols."
"I appreciate Layer 7 API management for its comprehensive approach to the entire API lifecycle, including governance, management, and analytics."
"It is a stable product."
More Layer7 API Management pros
 

Cons

"We are facing issues with the solution's features like reports and traffic analysis."
"Kong Enterprise has decided not to support the web portal feature anymore, but I think that feature should stay in the on-premises solution."
"The ease of billing is lost when Kong is not available directly on the Azure marketplace. This is one area where they can improve."
"Kong Enterprise can improve the customization to be able to do the integration properly."
"The software version upgrade process should be improved."
"We would like to see an automatic data API when we have a table in the database."
"The open-source version of Kong does not support a dashboard, which would be very helpful."
"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."
More Kong Gateway Enterprise cons
"From the last version, they have added more dashboard support, but there is still a lot they need to improve. In terms of monitoring, it's almost all covered. The interface can be improved, though."
"Layer7 API Management could improve by assing more portal-based capabilities."
"Layer7 API Management should improve the quota policy for the number of API calls."
"More developer focused tools. They have a nice debugger inside of the program, but when you are developing code with their policies, it is tough to visualize that sometimes as a developer."
"Layer7 API Management could have a live API creator feature, so my team can easily create APIs. Right now, the product doesn't have that feature."
"As the number of instances increases, its complexity of installation increases if you do not use the OVA."
"The interface is Java which is difficult to make look very nice."
"The solution should prioritize ease of use and align with the growing trend of cloud-native environments."
More Layer7 API Management cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The product is reasonably priced because it goes by the SaaS model."
"Kong Enterprise's pricing is at par compared to the other technologies."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing charges...In some areas, the functionalities are available free of charge."
"There are many factors that influence the price of Kong Enterprise, such as scale, licenses, and usage."
"Kong Enterprise is cheaper than Apigee. I rate its pricing as four out of ten."
More Kong Gateway Enterprise pricing and cost advice
"Pricing is competitive. CA is ready to offer attractive discounts."
"Be aware of additional licenses for your warm standby. Ensure you get plenty of non-production licenses."
"It is a pricey product, although not extremely overpriced compared to competitors in the market."
"CA has great pricing for gateways, so negotiate with your sales team."
"It's my manager who takes care of the pricing. But I keep on hearing that it's a little pricey, it's on the higher side. That is what he says."
"For what we are after, the pricing is okay. It is competitive."
"Do not buy piecemeal."
"If the CA pricing for API management would be a little lower, they would be able to cover a broader market."
More Layer7 API Management pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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
What do you like most about Layer7 API Management?
The solution's technical support is good.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Layer7 API Management?
Licenses are required to operate the product, but I don't know much about the validity periods attached to it.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Layer7 API Management?
Layer7 API Management should have more stability towards the operating system. I think we were planning to go to version 11, and then Layer7 API Management said you need to move from CentOS to some...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Microsoft Azure API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 16% of the time
WSO2 API Manager vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
WSO2 API Manager vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 11% of the time
Apigee vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Apigee vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 10% of the time
Amazon API Gateway vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Amazon API Gateway vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 8% of the time
Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 7% of the time
More Kong Gateway Enterprise Competitors
Apigee vs Layer7 API Management Logo
Apigee vs Layer7 API Management
Compared 33% of the time
MuleSoft API Manager vs Layer7 API Management Logo
MuleSoft API Manager vs Layer7 API Management
Compared 15% of the time
Amazon API Gateway vs Layer7 API Management Logo
Amazon API Gateway vs Layer7 API Management
Compared 11% of the time
Microsoft Azure API Management vs Layer7 API Management Logo
Microsoft Azure API Management vs Layer7 API Management
Compared 6% of the time
TIBCO Cloud API Management vs Layer7 API Management Logo
TIBCO Cloud API Management vs Layer7 API Management
Compared 4% of the time
More Layer7 API Management Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Kong Gateway Enterprise
November 2024
Kong Gateway Enterprise reportDownload Kong Gateway Enterprise product report
Buyer's Guide
Layer7 API Management
November 2024
Layer7 API Management reportDownload Layer7 API Management product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
CA API Management, CA Live API Creator, Espresso Logic, CA API Gateway
 

Learn More

Kong
Broadcom
 

Overview

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.

Layer7 API Management is a comprehensive solution that enables organizations to securely expose, manage, and monetize their APIs. 

It provides features such as API gateway, developer portal, analytics, and security to ensure seamless integration and control over API traffic. 

With Layer7 API Management, businesses can streamline their API operations and drive innovation.

 

Sample Customers

Cargill, Zillow, Ferrari, WeWork, Healthcare.gov, Yahoo! Japan, Giphy, SkyScanner
1. IBM  2. Microsoft  3. Oracle  4. Salesforce  5. SAP  6. Cisco  7. Dell  8. HP  9. Adobe  10. VMware  11. Accenture  12. Capgemini  13. Deloitte  14. PwC  15. Ernst & Young  16. Infosys  17. TCS (Tata Consultancy Services)  18. Wipro  19. Cognizant  20. HCL Technologies  21. Tech Mahindra  22. Fujitsu  23. Hitachi  24. NEC  25. NTT Data  26. Ericsson  27. Nokia  28. Siemens  29. AT&T  30. Verizon  31. Vodafone  32. Orange
Buyer's Guide
Kong Gateway Enterprise vs. Layer7 API Management
October 2024
Free Report: Kong Gateway Enterprise vs. Layer7 API Management
Find out what your peers are saying about Kong Gateway Enterprise vs. Layer7 API Management and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
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