Software · head to head
3scale vs Kong
3scale
Software
API management platform for designing, securing, and monetizing APIs
- From
- $300/monthly
- Rated
- -
Kong
Software
Cloud-native API gateway and service connectivity platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Kong has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: 3scale red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date; Kong the Plus plan includes 1M API requests a month and charges $200 a month for each additional million
- They diverge on capability: 3scale covers Developer Portal, Kong covers Authentication & Authorization.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which 3scale and Kong actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in 3scale
- Developer Portal
- API Monetization
- Red Hat OpenShift
- AWS
- Azure
- Cloud support
- On-premises support
- Hybrid support
Only in Kong
- Authentication & Authorization
- Rate Limiting
- Consul
- Eureka
- PostgreSQL
- Linux support
- Docker support
- Kubernetes support
Both cover
- API Gateway
- Kubernetes
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
3scale
- API gateway and lifecycle managementnot Kong
- Rate limiting and traffic control across API consumersnot Kong
- Developer portal and access key managementnot Kong
- Monetising APIs with usage-based plansnot Kong
- Hybrid deployment across on-premises and cloudnot Kong
Kong
- Running an API gateway in front of internal and public servicesnot 3scale
- Publishing and governing APIs through a developer portalnot 3scale
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
3scale
- Red Hat's managed 3scale services end on 30 June 2027, so anyone adopting the hosted option now is choosing a product with a published end date
- Sold as part of Red Hat middleware rather than standalone, and 3scale.net redirects into redhat.com
- Pricing is not published and a subscription is required for some services
Kong
- The Plus plan includes 1M API requests a month and charges $200 a month for each additional million
- Plus is capped at 10M requests a month, so growth past that forces an Enterprise contract
- Plus limits published APIs to 20 and includes one Developer Portal, with a second at $200 a month
- SSO and audit logging are Enterprise only
- Enterprise pricing is custom and billed annually
Pricing, plan by plan
3scale
$300/monthly- Starter$300/monthly
- API gateway
- Developer portal
- Basic analytics
- Professional$750/monthly
- Advanced features
- API monetization
- Enhanced support
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Dedicated support
- Premium SLA
Kong
Free- CommunityFree
- Core API gateway
- Community support
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Advanced features
- Priority support
- SLA
Which should you pick?
Choose 3scale if
- You need developer portal.
- You work on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid.
- You also want api monetization.
Choose Kong if
- You need authentication & authorization.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
- You also want rate limiting.
Questions people ask
- Is 3scale or Kong better?
- Neither clearly leads. 3scale starts at $300/monthly and Kong at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, 3scale or Kong?
- Kong has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $300/monthly for 3scale and Free for Kong.
- Does 3scale or Kong run on more platforms?
- 3scale runs on Cloud, On-premises, Hybrid. Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
- Can I use Kong for free?
- Yes. Kong has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. 3scale starts at $300/monthly.
- What is 3scale best used for?
- 3scale is most often used for api gateway and lifecycle management, rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers, developer portal and access key management, monetising apis with usage-based plans. Of those, api gateway and lifecycle management and rate limiting and traffic control across api consumers are not what Kong is typically brought in for.
- What can 3scale do that Kong cannot?
- 3scale covers Developer Portal, API Monetization, Red Hat OpenShift, AWS. Kong covers Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Consul, Eureka. Both handle API Gateway, Kubernetes.