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Cloud · head to head

Caddy vs Kong Gateway

Caddy logo

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Caddy smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Kong Gateway covers API request routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caddy and Kong Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Caddy and Kong Gateway differ
AttributeCaddyKong Gateway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Dockerweb, linux, api
CategoryCloudAPIs
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Caddy

  • Automatic HTTPS
  • Caddyfile
  • Reverse proxy
  • Single binary

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.

Caddy

  • Sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages beforenot Kong Gateway
  • Small deployments where Nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrantsnot Kong Gateway
  • Reverse proxying internal services with TLS without a certificate workflownot Kong Gateway

Kong Gateway

  • Routing and securing traffic across microservicesnot Caddy
  • Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Caddy
  • Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Caddy
  • Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Caddy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Caddy

  • Smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer
  • Adding plugins means rebuilding the binary rather than loading a module
  • Under very high throughput Nginx generally still benchmarks ahead
  • Automatic certificate issuance needs outbound internet access, which complicates air-gapped deployments

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

Caddy

Free
  • CaddyFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

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 Caddy if

  • You need automatic https.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want caddyfile.
Caddy review

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.
Kong Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Caddy or Kong Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caddy or Kong Gateway?
Caddy starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free.
Does Caddy or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api.
Can I use Caddy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Caddy best used for?
Caddy is most often used for sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before, small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants, reverse proxying internal services with tls without a certificate workflow. Of those, sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before and small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Caddy do that Kong Gateway cannot?
Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caddy: Is Caddy free?

Yes, open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, free for commercial use.

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.

Source
Caddy: What does automatic HTTPS mean?

Caddy obtains certificates from Let’s Encrypt or ZeroSSL on first request and renews them before expiry, with no cron job or configuration.

Kong 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.

Source
Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

Caddy is dramatically simpler to configure and removes certificate management. Nginx has the larger ecosystem and better peak throughput.

Kong Gateway: What support is included?

Plus includes email support with a 2-business-day SLA, while Enterprise adds dedicated success managers and professional services.

Source
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