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Cybersecurity · head to head

Infisical vs Kong Gateway

Infisical logo

Infisical

Cybersecurity

Security infrastructure for developers and AI agents

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: Infisical free tier limited to 5 identities, suitable only for small teams or evaluation; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Infisical covers Secrets management, 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 Infisical and Kong Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Infisical and Kong Gateway differ
AttributeInfisicalKong Gateway
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
PlatformsWeb, CLI, Cloud, Self-Hostedweb, linux, api
CategoryCybersecurityAPIs
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 Infisical

  • Secrets management
  • Certificate management
  • Privileged access management
  • Secret versioning
  • Dynamic secrets
  • SAML SSO
  • Open-source core
  • Secrets scanning

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.

Infisical

  • Managing secrets across Kubernetes clustersnot Kong Gateway
  • Automating certificate lifecycle for internal PKInot Kong Gateway
  • Providing privileged database access with audit trailsnot Kong Gateway
  • Securing credentials for AI agents at runtimenot Kong Gateway

Kong Gateway

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

Where each one falls short

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

Infisical

  • Free tier limited to 5 identities, suitable only for small teams or evaluation
  • Pricing tiers are per-identity, which scales costs with team size
  • Certificate management requires Enterprise plan for advanced features like wildcards
  • Privileged access tier is separate billing from secrets management

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

Infisical

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 5 identities
    • Unlimited projects
    • 3 environments
  • Pro - Secrets$20/month
    • Per-identity pricing
    • Unlimited identities
    • SAML SSO
  • Pro - Secrets (Annual)$20/year
    • Annual discount available
    • Unlimited identities
    • SAML SSO
  • Advanced - Secrets$40/month
    • Per-identity pricing
    • Dynamic secrets
    • Gateways

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 Infisical if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, Cloud, Self-Hosted.
  • You also want certificate management.
Infisical 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 Infisical or Kong Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Infisical 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, Infisical or Kong Gateway?
Infisical starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free.
Does Infisical or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
Infisical runs on Web, CLI, Cloud, Self-Hosted. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api.
Can I use Infisical for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Infisical best used for?
Infisical is most often used for managing secrets across kubernetes clusters, automating certificate lifecycle for internal pki, providing privileged database access with audit trails, securing credentials for ai agents at runtime. Of those, managing secrets across kubernetes clusters and automating certificate lifecycle for internal pki are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Infisical do that Kong Gateway cannot?
Infisical covers Secrets management, Certificate management, Privileged access management, Secret versioning. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Infisical: How is pricing calculated for Secrets Management?

Pricing is per-identity per month. Free tier includes 5 identities. Pro tier is $20/identity/month, Advanced is $40/identity/month. All pricing in USD.

Source
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
Infisical: Can I self-host Infisical?

Yes, Infisical's core is open-source under the MIT license and can be self-hosted. The managed cloud service is also available with additional features.

Source
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
Infisical: What is included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise plan includes SCIM, LDAP, approval workflows, external KMS/HSM support, and 99.99% SLA. Pricing is custom and determined by annual commitment.

Source
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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