API Management · head to head
Boomi API Management vs Kong Gateway
Boomi API Management
API Management
Unified API management within the Boomi integration platform
- From
- $1500/monthly
- Rated
- -
Kong Gateway
API Management
Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Kong Gateway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Boomi API Management pricing is not published on the product page and defers to the wider Boomi pricing; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
- They diverge on capability: Boomi API Management covers API Design, Kong Gateway covers API request routing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Boomi API Management and Kong Gateway actually diverge.
| Attribute | Boomi API Management | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $1500/monthly | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Cloud, Hybrid | web, linux, api |
| Founded | 2000 | 2017 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management).
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 Boomi API Management
- API Design
- API Gateway
- Developer Portal
- Boomi AtomSphere
- SAP
- Salesforce
- NetSuite
- Cloud support
Only in Kong Gateway
- API request routing
- Plugin ecosystem
- Developer portals
- AI Gateway
- Analytics and observability
- SSO and audit logs
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Boomi API Management
- Discovering and governing APIs across multiple gatewaysnot Kong Gateway
- Policy enforcement and security scoring on published APIsnot Kong Gateway
- Developer portal for internal and partner consumersnot Kong Gateway
- API analytics and performance monitoringnot Kong Gateway
- Exposing APIs to AI agents through Model Context Protocolnot Kong Gateway
Kong Gateway
- Routing and securing traffic across microservicesnot Boomi API Management
- Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Boomi API Management
- Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Boomi API Management
- Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Boomi API Management
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Boomi API Management
- Pricing is not published on the product page and defers to the wider Boomi pricing
- Most valuable inside the Boomi platform, so it draws an organisation toward one vendor for integration and APIs together
Kong Gateway
- The free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
- Plus tier caps API requests at 1M/month before incurring per-million overage charges.
- Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, making budgeting harder without sales contact.
- Configuration and plugin management can require significant operational expertise to run at scale.
Pricing, plan by plan
Boomi API Management
$1500/monthly- Professional$1500/monthly
- API Gateway
- Developer Portal
- Basic analytics
- Enterprise$4000/monthly
- Advanced features
- Multi-environment
- Premium support
- Custom$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Dedicated support
- SLA guarantee
Kong Gateway
Free- Free TrialFree
- 30-day enterprise functionality trial
- Unlimited gateways
- 30-day analytics retention
- Plus$undefined/month
- Up to 5 serverless, 2 hybrid, 2 dedicated cloud gateways
- 1M API requests/month included
- Up to 2 developer portals
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Unlimited hybrid and dedicated cloud gateways
- Unlimited developer portals
- SSO and audit logs
Which should you pick?
Choose Boomi API Management if
- You need api design.
- You work on Cloud, Hybrid.
- You also want api gateway.
Choose Kong Gateway if
- You need api request routing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, linux, api.
- You also want plugin ecosystem.
Questions people ask
- Is Boomi API Management or Kong Gateway better?
- Neither clearly leads. Boomi API Management starts at $1500/monthly and Kong Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Boomi API Management or Kong Gateway?
- Kong Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1500/monthly for Boomi API Management and Free for Kong Gateway.
- Does Boomi API Management or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
- Boomi API Management runs on Cloud, Hybrid. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api.
- Can I use Kong Gateway for free?
- Yes. Kong Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Boomi API Management starts at $1500/monthly.
- What is Boomi API Management best used for?
- Boomi API Management is most often used for discovering and governing apis across multiple gateways, policy enforcement and security scoring on published apis, developer portal for internal and partner consumers, api analytics and performance monitoring. Of those, discovering and governing apis across multiple gateways and policy enforcement and security scoring on published apis are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
- What can Boomi API Management do that Kong Gateway cannot?
- Boomi API Management covers API Design, API Gateway, Developer Portal, Boomi AtomSphere. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Kong Gateway: Is Kong Gateway free?
Kong's core gateway is open source and free to self-host. Kong Konnect, the managed cloud platform, offers a 30-day free trial before moving to paid Plus or custom Enterprise pricing.
SourceKong Gateway: How is usage metered on the Plus plan?
The Plus plan includes 1M API requests per month, with additional usage billed at $200 per extra 1 million requests up to a 10M/month cap, plus per-gateway and per-LLM-model charges.
SourceKong Gateway: What support is included?
Plus includes email support with a 2-business-day SLA, while Enterprise adds dedicated success managers and professional services.
SourceRelated pages
More on Boomi API Management
More on Kong Gateway
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