9.3
Spot Score
Kong Review: Is It The Right API Management Software For Your Team?
Best for SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise
Free Trial & Free Plan Available
GDPR
SOC 2
ISO 27001Starts from $250 / Month, also offers free forever plan
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Yahoo JapanTrusted by many companies including Expedia
Overview
Pricing
Features
Buyer feedback
Alternatives
Customers
Media
Security & Compliance
Support
FAQ
Blogs
SpotSaaS Analysis for Kong
Kong is an API management software used by API developers and architects, as well as DevOps and platform engineering teams in medium to large enterprises. A 4.2/5 rating from 102 reviews indicates broad validation, suggesting it is well-regarded by a significant user base.
Kong's flexibility and versatility make it suitable for various platforms, offering efficient API management that is easy to set up and deploy. Its plugin-oriented architecture enhances extensibility, supported by good documentation and an active developer community. However, novice users may find the interface slow and intimidating, which could be a hurdle for those new to the platform.
Quick facts about Kong
What is Kong?
Kong is API management software, that allows Web and Mobile applications to access data, content and functions published by 3rd party providers. Kong works with any Public or Private API as well as any type of data source including RESTful HTTP services, Web Services, databases, message brokers, Document stores or even other APIs!
Pricing
Starts from $250 / Month
Free Trial available
Best For
Suited for solo users, small teams, SMBs, and enterprise
Security & Compliance
SOC 2GDPRISO 27001SSO & MFA supported
Data residency:Global
Kong Software Demo
Kong was reviewed internally using user feedback, in-house testing, and market research to assess its performance, reliability, and user experience. Learn how we review products and our evaluation process.
Who should consider Kong
- Use cases
- API management for microservices architectures, Enterprises requiring secure API gateways, Developers building extensible API platforms
- Team types
- API developers and architects, DevOps and platform engineering teams
- Company size
- Medium Business, Large Enterprises
- Workflow style
- Flexible and configurable
- Setup complexity
- Medium
Why teams choose Kong
Highly flexible and versatile with plugin-oriented architecture
Strong documentation and active developer community
Open source with built-in plugins enhancing extensibility
Is Kong right for you?
Best for enterprises needing flexible, extensible API management with strong developer focus.
Choose Kong if
- You require a highly customizable API gateway with plugin-oriented architecture.
- Your team consists of API developers, DevOps, or technical product managers.
- You operate a medium to large enterprise with complex microservices architectures.
Consider alternatives if
- Your team includes non-technical users needing an intuitive, user-friendly UI.
- You are a small business lacking dedicated API development resources.
What buyers should know before shortlisting Kong
Kong API management system shines as a robust self-managing platform that organizes operations efficiently. Users appreciate its secure API design, threat protection tools, and user-friendly access controls.
The versatility of Kong is praised for its ability to run on various platforms, catering to businesses of all sizes. The plugins enhance reusability, making it a flexible gateway solution for microservices.
However, some users encountered limitations when interfacing with larger APIs. The absence of system samples and occasional interface sluggishness are minor drawbacks.
Despite these, Kong's documentation, open-source community, and pricing make it an attractive option for businesses seeking efficient API management. Its adaptability, extensive plugin support, and easy inventory management tools highlight Kong's effectiveness in streamlining API development and deployment processes.
Kong pros and cons
- Kong pros
Highly flexible and versatile with plugin-oriented architecture
Strong documentation and active developer community
Open source with built-in plugins enhancing extensibility
- Kong cons
Interface can be slow and intimidating for novice users
Limited plugin development support for Python, Ruby, and JavaScript
Ready to try it?
Get started with Kong
Start your free trial — no credit card required.
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See how it stacks up
Compare Kong side-by-side with top API Management Software alternatives.
What is the pricing of Kong?
Kong Pricing Plans
Free
Essential security capabilities
Community support forums
Plus
$250
/Month
Includes features of Free plan, plus
Advanced security, rate-limiting, transformations, GraphQL, and more
3rd party IdP integrations with OpenID Connect
Prioritized email support
Enterprise
Includes features of Plus plan, plus
Fully self-managed deployment options
24x7x365 technical support (phone, chat, and email)
Enterprise-ready Service Mesh
ML-powered anomaly detection with Immunity available
Kong reviews and ratings
Buyer sentiment
Overall positive sentiment highlights Kong's flexibility, strong community support, and extensibility, tempered by concerns over usability and interface performance.
What buyers like
- Flexibility and versatility
- Community and documentation support
- Plugin architecture and extensibility
Common complaints
- Complex and slow interface
- Lack of user-friendly UI for non-developers
What users are saying
MS
Muhammad S
07/21/20
Kong manages and organizes my activities and operations.
What do you like best? Kong is a company that self-manages the progress and possibilities of the result for other companies, has a ...
Read more
KP
Kalindi P
07/14/20
Highly flexible & de-facto gateway solution for enterprise-grade micro-services
What do you like best? The plugins really improve the overall reusability of a lot of logic of the API gateway What do you dislike? Kong ...
Read more
A
Anonymous
01/04/18
Mashape's Kong API cloud support is great.
What do you like best? I love the versatility of Kong. It pretty much will run on any platform and the price point from my understanding isn't that ...
Read more
A
Anonymous
01/04/18
Simple an easy
What do you like best? Easy to use interface with tools to help manage all inventory. What do you dislike? Some errors and kinks need to be ...
Read more
UI
User in Food & Beverages
01/04/18
Simple an easy
What do you like best? Easy to use interface with tools to help manage all inventory. What do you dislike? Some errors and kinks need to be ...
Read more
JY
John Y
01/04/18
Mashape's Kong API cloud support is great.
What do you like best? I love the versatility of Kong. It pretty much will run on any platform and the price point from my understanding isn't that ...
Read more
What are the features of Kong?
API design is a crucial aspect of software development that enables applications to communicate with each other seamlessly. It involves crea…
API Lifecycle Management is a crucial process for managing the full lifecycle of an API, from its design and development to its retirement.…
The access control structure is a crucial characteristic that distinguishes a digital asset management system from other storage systems. Yo…
Analytics is a math-based field that aims to uncover patterns in marketing data to gain actionable knowledge that can be used in your market…
A real-time email marketing dashboard displays metrics. This allows individuals to track the effectiveness of an email marketing initiatives…
A developer portal is a centralized platform that provides developers access to tools, resources, and information related to a software deve…
Testing Management is a crucial aspect of any software development process. It involves the planning, execution, and monitoring of tests to…
Threat protection is a software feature designed to safeguard computer systems from potential cyber threats and attacks. This comprehensive…
Traffic control is a crucial aspect of managing traffic flow on roads and highways. It is the process of monitoring, regulating, and managin…
Version control, often known as source control, tracks and manages changes to digital asset management software code. Version control system…
Kong security and data handling
Key compliance certifications and security features for IT and security teams evaluating Kong.
Certifications
Security features
Developer & data
Alternatives to Kong
Kong Customers
Expedia
Verifone
WeWork
JustEat
Yahoo Japan
Depop
Karhoo
Kong Support Options
Frequently Asked Questions About Kong
Common questions buyers ask before choosing Kong.
Kong is a API Management Software. Kong offers Analytics, Traffic Control, Threat Protection, Developer Portal, API Lifecycle Management and many more functionalities.
Kong is a strong fit if: You require a highly customizable API gateway with plugin-oriented architecture.; Your team consists of API developers, DevOps, or technical product managers.. Consider alternatives if: Your team includes non-technical users needing an intuitive, user-friendly UI.; You are a small business lacking dedicated API development resources..
Buyers commonly note the following limitations of Kong: Interface can be slow and intimidating for novice users; Limited plugin development support for Python, Ruby, and JavaScript; No built-in UI or administration panel, reducing usability for non-programmers.
Some top alternatives to Kong includes Akana Platform, 3scale, Apigee Edge, WSO2 API Manager and Google Cloud APIs.
Kong offers Free Trial, Freemium, Open-source, Subscription, Quotation Based pricing models
The starting price of Kong is $250/Month
Ready to try it?
Get started with Kong
Start your free trial — no credit card required.
Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].
