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APIs · head to head

Codat vs Kong Gateway

Codat logo

Codat

APIs

One API for small business accounting, banking and commerce data

From
On request
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

  • Only Kong Gateway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Codat the accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Codat covers Normalised accounting API, Kong Gateway covers API request routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Codat and Kong Gateway differ
AttributeCodatKong Gateway
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAPI, Webweb, linux, api
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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 Codat

  • Normalised accounting API
  • Banking and commerce data
  • Lending products
  • Write-back
  • Business verification
  • Supplier onboarding
  • Connection management
  • Data quality handling

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.

Codat

  • A business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported PDF accountsnot Kong Gateway
  • A commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterlynot Kong Gateway
  • A payment company verifying a merchant trading history before extending working capitalnot Kong Gateway
  • A B2B platform writing bills and payments back into a customer accounting system so reconciliation happens automaticallynot Kong Gateway

Kong Gateway

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

Where each one falls short

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

Codat

  • The accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.
  • Pricing is opaque and enterprise shaped for a product developers expect to evaluate technically first, so build decisions get made before anyone knows the unit economics.
  • Normalisation hides but does not remove the underlying differences between accounting systems, and edge cases in multi-currency, journals and tax handling surface as data quality problems that your team must reason about in each source system anyway.
  • Data quality depends on the small business keeping its books properly, so a lender using ledger data for underwriting inherits the bookkeeping standard of its worst borrower and needs its own validation layer regardless.
  • Connection breakage from expired tokens and platform API changes is an ongoing operational load, and a borrower whose connection lapses stops being monitored silently, which is the failure mode that matters most in a lending portfolio.

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

Codat

On request
  • Codat Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by connected companies, data types and products
    • Lending and verification products priced above core data access
    • Annual enterprise agreements

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 Codat if

  • You need normalised accounting api.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want banking and commerce data.
Codat 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 Codat or Kong Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Codat starts at On request and Kong Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Codat or Kong Gateway?
Kong Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Codat and Free for Kong Gateway.
Does Codat or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
Codat runs on API, Web. 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. Codat starts at On request.
What is Codat best used for?
Codat is most often used for a business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported pdf accounts, a commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterly, a payment company verifying a merchant trading history before extending working capital, a b2b platform writing bills and payments back into a customer accounting system so reconciliation happens automatically. Of those, a business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported pdf accounts and a commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterly are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Codat do that Kong Gateway cannot?
Codat covers Normalised accounting API, Banking and commerce data, Lending products, Write-back. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Codat: What is changing with Xero in 2026?

Xero is introducing a tiered, usage based developer pricing model effective 2 March 2026, with tiers based on the number of customer connections an app holds. That is a new cost in the chain for anyone reading Xero data at scale, whether directly or through Codat.

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
Codat: Can Codat write data back?

Yes. It supports pushing bills, payments and journal entries into accounting systems, not only reading from them.

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
Codat: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by connected companies, data types and products, and users consistently describe it as opaque.

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
Codat: Does it replace bank data aggregation?

Not entirely. It covers banking alongside accounting and commerce, but lenders commonly run it beside a bank aggregator for transaction level cash flow.

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