Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway
On the evidence we track, Apache APISIX leads this comparison with a composite score of 56/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for api gateways. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Apache APISIX
LeaderA dynamic, high-performance gateway that routes and secures API traffic with built-in plugins for authentication, rate limiting, and observability. Runs anywhere from bare metal to Kubernetes with no vendor lock-in.
Kong Gateway
Kong provides a unified platform for building, testing, and governing APIs and AI agents. It handles both traditional API gateway functions—routing, rate limiting, authentication—and modern AI-specific concerns like token budgeting, context management, and LLM traffic control. Includes gateway, API management, testing tools, and event streaming capabilities.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
- AWS Bedrock
Apache APISIX
Leader- DeepSeek
- Ollama
- gRPC
- gRPC-Web
- Open Policy Agent
- Spring Boot
- OAuth2
- OpenID Connect
- Keycloak
- Istio
- Kuma
- AWS Lambda
- Azure Serverless Function
- Apache OpenWhisk
- Vault
- Dubbo
- MQTT
- etcd
Kong Gateway
- Azure Content Safety
- Google Cloud Model Armor
- Llama 3
- Kubernetes
- Helm
- Git
- Stripe
- Twilio
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.