Softwr

Networking · head to head

Kentik vs Twingate

Kentik logo

Kentik

Networking

Network observability platform built on flow and traffic data, sold on annual-only contracts starting around $24,000/year

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Twingate logo

Twingate

Networking

Zero trust remote access that publishes individual resources instead of a network

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Twingate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Kentik contracts are annual only, so there is no monthly option for a team wanting to trial the platform under real production load before committing to a year of spend; Twingate the control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • They diverge on capability: Kentik covers Flow-based traffic analysis, Twingate covers Outbound only connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kentik and Twingate actually diverge.

Attributes where Kentik and Twingate differ
AttributeKentikTwingate
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelAnnual contract only, per tierPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker

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

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 Kentik

  • Flow-based traffic analysis
  • Synthetic testing
  • Cloud network monitoring
  • DDoS detection
  • API-driven querying

Only in Twingate

  • Outbound only connectors
  • Per resource access
  • Identity provider integration
  • Device posture checks
  • Split routing
  • Access logging

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kentik

  • A network engineering team at an ISP or large enterprise needing flow-level traffic visibility beyond basic uptime monitoringnot Twingate
  • A cloud-heavy organisation wanting visibility into cloud provider network cost and performance across multiple providersnot Twingate
  • A security or network operations team wanting DDoS detection layered on top of standard traffic monitoringnot Twingate
  • A team needing synthetic testing alongside passive flow analysis in one platform rather than two separate toolsnot Twingate

Twingate

  • Retiring a VPN concentrator that grants whole network access to anyone who authenticatesnot Kentik
  • Giving contractors access to two internal applications without putting them on the corporate networknot Kentik
  • Reaching private cloud resources across several accounts without building peering and bastion hostsnot Kentik
  • Producing per user access logs for an audit that a network level VPN cannot supplynot Kentik

Where each one falls short

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

Kentik

  • Contracts are annual only, so there is no monthly option for a team wanting to trial the platform under real production load before committing to a year of spend
  • The Pro tier's $24,000/year starting price is a serious commitment relative to general infrastructure monitoring tools, and it is aimed specifically at flow-level traffic visibility rather than general host monitoring
  • Add-on modules for advanced DDoS protection, service provider analytics and the Firehose pipeline are priced separately, so real deployment cost frequently exceeds the Pro sticker price
  • Premier tier pricing is entirely quote-based, so organisations needing more than Pro's limits (50 users, 1,000 FPS, 120-day retention) cannot get a number without a sales conversation
  • It is a specialised flow and traffic analytics tool, not a general infrastructure monitoring platform, so most buyers will still need a separate tool like PRTG or Icinga for host and service uptime checks
  • Data retention is capped at 120 days for traffic and 45 days for forensic data even on Pro, which may be short for organisations with longer compliance or investigation requirements

Twingate

  • The control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • Every device needs the client installed and running, so unmanaged machines, appliances and third parties who will not install software are awkward to accommodate.
  • Pricing is per user per month, so an organisation with many occasional contractors pays full seats for accounts that connect twice a month.
  • Connections are client initiated, so server initiated flows back to a user device, and protocols that need arbitrary inbound reachability, do not fit the model.
  • It replaces remote access but not site to site networking, so an organisation that also needs offices and datacentres meshed together still runs a second network product alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kentik

On request
  • Pro$24000/year
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 flows per second baseline
    • 2.5M synthetics credits
  • Premier$undefined/year
    • 1,000 users
    • 5M synthetics credits
    • Custom dimensions and scheduled reporting

Twingate

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Small number of users
    • Limited remote networks
    • Community support
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Per user per month billing
    • Device posture checks
    • Identity provider group sync
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom terms and volume pricing
    • Advanced controls and support commitments
    • Dedicated onboarding

Which should you pick?

Choose Kentik if

  • You need flow-based traffic analysis.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want synthetic testing.
Kentik review

Choose Twingate if

  • You need outbound only connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
  • You also want per resource access.
Twingate review

Questions people ask

Is Kentik or Twingate better?
Neither clearly leads. Kentik starts at On request and Twingate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kentik or Twingate?
Twingate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Kentik and Free for Twingate.
Does Kentik or Twingate run on more platforms?
Kentik runs on Web, API. Twingate runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
Can I use Twingate for free?
Yes. Twingate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Kentik starts at On request.
What is Kentik best used for?
Kentik is most often used for a network engineering team at an isp or large enterprise needing flow-level traffic visibility beyond basic uptime monitoring, a cloud-heavy organisation wanting visibility into cloud provider network cost and performance across multiple providers, a security or network operations team wanting ddos detection layered on top of standard traffic monitoring, a team needing synthetic testing alongside passive flow analysis in one platform rather than two separate tools. Of those, a network engineering team at an isp or large enterprise needing flow-level traffic visibility beyond basic uptime monitoring and a cloud-heavy organisation wanting visibility into cloud provider network cost and performance across multiple providers are not what Twingate is typically brought in for.
What can Kentik do that Twingate cannot?
Kentik covers Flow-based traffic analysis, Synthetic testing, Cloud network monitoring, DDoS detection. Twingate covers Outbound only connectors, Per resource access, Identity provider integration, Device posture checks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kentik: Is there a monthly billing option?

No, Kentik states contracts are annual only.

Twingate: Can I self host it?

No. Connectors run in your network but the control plane is a hosted service, which is the main structural difference from the open source mesh tools.

Kentik: What is the entry price?

Pro starts at $2,000/month billed as $24,000/year for 50 users and baseline flow and synthetics quotas.

Twingate: Does it replace a site to site VPN?

No. It is remote access from users to resources. Connecting networks to each other is a different product category.

Kentik: Does Kentik replace general infrastructure monitoring tools like PRTG?

No, it is focused on flow-based traffic and network observability rather than general host and service uptime monitoring.

Twingate: What happens if Twingate is unavailable?

Established sessions may continue, but new connections depend on the hosted service to broker them, so plan a break glass path for administrators.

Twingate: Is the free tier usable for a small team?

For a handful of users and a small number of remote networks, yes. Group based policies and posture checks are the practical reason to move up.

Share

Related pages

More on Kentik

More on Twingate

Keep looking

Other head to heads