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Cloud · head to head

HAProxy vs Kong Gateway

HAProxy logo

HAProxy

Cloud

High-performance TCP and HTTP load balancer

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: HAProxy configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: HAProxy covers High throughput, 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 HAProxy and Kong Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where HAProxy and Kong Gateway differ
AttributeHAProxyKong Gateway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedweb, 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 HAProxy

  • High throughput
  • Layer 4 and 7
  • Health checking
  • Rate limiting and ACLs

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.

HAProxy

  • Load balancing at traffic levels where proxy efficiency shows up in the hardware billnot Kong Gateway
  • Precise traffic control — rate limits, sticky sessions, complex routing rulesnot Kong Gateway
  • TCP load balancing for databases and non-HTTP servicesnot Kong Gateway

Kong Gateway

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

Where each one falls short

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

HAProxy

  • Configuration syntax is dense and unforgiving, with a steep initial learning curve
  • No automatic certificate management, unlike newer servers that treat it as default behaviour
  • The built-in stats page is basic, so real observability needs exporters and dashboards
  • A dedicated load balancer is more machinery than small deployments need

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

HAProxy

Free
  • HAProxyFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • 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 HAProxy if

  • You need high throughput.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want layer 4 and 7.
HAProxy 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 HAProxy or Kong Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. HAProxy 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, HAProxy or Kong Gateway?
HAProxy starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free.
Does HAProxy or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
HAProxy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api.
Can I use HAProxy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is HAProxy best used for?
HAProxy is most often used for load balancing at traffic levels where proxy efficiency shows up in the hardware bill, precise traffic control — rate limits, sticky sessions, complex routing rules, tcp load balancing for databases and non-http services. Of those, load balancing at traffic levels where proxy efficiency shows up in the hardware bill and precise traffic control — rate limits, sticky sessions, complex routing rules are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can HAProxy do that Kong Gateway cannot?
HAProxy covers High throughput, Layer 4 and 7, Health checking, Rate limiting and ACLs. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HAProxy: Is HAProxy free?

Yes, the community version is open source. HAProxy Technologies sells HAProxy Enterprise separately.

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
HAProxy: HAProxy or Nginx?

HAProxy is a specialist load balancer with deeper balancing and health-check features. Nginx also serves static content and is more approachable, which is why it is more common as a general web server.

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
HAProxy: Does HAProxy handle TLS certificates automatically?

No. Certificate issuance and renewal are external, unlike Caddy where it is automatic.

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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