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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Linkerd

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Linkerd logo

Linkerd

Cloud

Lightweight service mesh for Kubernetes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.; Linkerd deliberately fewer features than Istio, so complex routing and multi-cluster policy can hit its limits
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Linkerd covers Automatic mutual TLS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Linkerd differ
AttributeKong GatewayLinkerd
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Platformsweb, linux, apiKubernetes, Linux
CategoryAPIsCloud
Founded2017Unknown

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 Kong Gateway

  • API request routing
  • Plugin ecosystem
  • Developer portals
  • AI Gateway
  • Analytics and observability
  • SSO and audit logs

Only in Linkerd

  • Automatic mutual TLS
  • Golden metrics
  • Rust micro-proxy
  • Traffic policy

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Linkerd

  • Adding mutual TLS between services to satisfy a compliance requirementnot Kong Gateway
  • Getting per-service latency and success rates without instrumenting applicationsnot Kong Gateway
  • Progressive delivery with traffic splitting during rolloutsnot Kong Gateway

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Linkerd

  • Deliberately fewer features than Istio, so complex routing and multi-cluster policy can hit its limits
  • Kubernetes only, with no story for workloads outside a cluster
  • A sidecar per pod is still real memory and latency overhead, however small, and a mesh is another layer to debug during incidents

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Linkerd

Free
  • LinkerdFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Linkerd if

  • You need automatic mutual tls.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want golden metrics.
Linkerd review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Linkerd better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Linkerd at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Linkerd?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Linkerd at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Linkerd run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Linkerd runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Kong Gateway for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kong Gateway best used for?
Kong Gateway is most often used for routing and securing traffic across microservices, publishing internal or external developer portals, managing rate limits and authentication at the api edge, gateway-level routing to multiple llm providers. Of those, routing and securing traffic across microservices and publishing internal or external developer portals are not what Linkerd is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Linkerd cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Linkerd covers Automatic mutual TLS, Golden metrics, Rust micro-proxy, Traffic policy.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Linkerd: Is Linkerd free?

The open-source project is free. Buoyant, its maintainer, sells enterprise distributions and support separately.

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
Linkerd: Linkerd or Istio?

Linkerd trades features for simplicity, with a smaller proxy and far less configuration. Istio is more capable and correspondingly more work to run.

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
Linkerd: Do I need a service mesh at all?

Only if you need mutual TLS, uniform retries or per-service traffic metrics across many services. For a handful of services it is usually more machinery than the problem justifies.

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