Software · head to head
Frontegg vs Kong Gateway
Frontegg
Software
Customer identity and access management platform for SaaS applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Kong Gateway
Software
Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Frontegg detailed per-unit pricing beyond the free tier is not published, requiring use of an online calculator or sales contact to estimate costs.; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
- They diverge on capability: Frontegg covers Hosted login, Kong Gateway covers API request routing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Frontegg and Kong Gateway actually diverge.
| Attribute | Frontegg | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | usage-based | freemium |
| Platforms | web, api | web, linux, api |
| Founded | Unknown | 2017 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Frontegg
- Hosted login
- Enterprise SSO/SCIM
- Multi-tenant organizations
- Custom domains
- M2M tokens
- Fraud protection
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.
Frontegg
- Adding enterprise SSO/SCIM to a B2B SaaS productnot Kong Gateway
- Multi-tenant customer identity managementnot Kong Gateway
- White-labeled, custom-domain login experiencesnot Kong Gateway
- Securing AI agent access to a SaaS product via Agen.conot Kong Gateway
Kong Gateway
- Routing and securing traffic across microservicesnot Frontegg
- Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Frontegg
- Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Frontegg
- Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Frontegg
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Frontegg
- Detailed per-unit pricing beyond the free tier is not published, requiring use of an online calculator or sales contact to estimate costs.
- Advanced fraud protection and multiple environments are Enterprise-only, unavailable on the Pay As You Go plan.
- The 7,500 free monthly active users is comparatively modest next to some competitors' free tiers.
- As a broader CIAM platform, it can be more complex to integrate than lighter-weight developer-first auth tools for smaller apps.
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
Frontegg
Free- Pay As You GoFree
- 7,500 monthly active users included
- 5 enterprise connections (SSO/SCIM)
- Unlimited organizations
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom pricing
- Multiple environments
- Advanced fraud protection
Kong Gateway
Free- Free TrialFree
- 30-day enterprise functionality trial
- Unlimited gateways
- 30-day analytics retention
- Plus$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 Frontegg if
- You need hosted login.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want enterprise sso/scim.
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 Frontegg or Kong Gateway better?
- Neither clearly leads. Frontegg 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, Frontegg or Kong Gateway?
- Frontegg starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free.
- Does Frontegg or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
- Frontegg runs on web, api. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api.
- Can I use Frontegg for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Frontegg best used for?
- Frontegg is most often used for adding enterprise sso/scim to a b2b saas product, multi-tenant customer identity management, white-labeled, custom-domain login experiences, securing ai agent access to a saas product via agen.co. Of those, adding enterprise sso/scim to a b2b saas product and multi-tenant customer identity management are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
- What can Frontegg do that Kong Gateway cannot?
- Frontegg covers Hosted login, Enterprise SSO/SCIM, Multi-tenant organizations, Custom domains. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Frontegg: What does Frontegg cost?
Frontegg's Pay As You Go plan is free up to 7,500 monthly active users, after which pricing scales with users, enterprise connections and M2M tokens via an online calculator; Enterprise pricing is custom.
SourceKong 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.
SourceFrontegg: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?
Yes, the free Pay As You Go plan includes 7,500 monthly active users, 5 enterprise SSO/SCIM connections, unlimited organizations, and a custom domain.
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.
SourceFrontegg: How is usage metered?
Pricing is consumption-based, driven by monthly active users, monthly enterprise connections (SSO/SCIM), and monthly M2M tokens, with customers paying only for usage beyond the free 7,500-user threshold.
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 Kong Gateway
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