Softwr

APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Marqeta

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Marqeta logo

Marqeta

APIs

Card issuing and transaction processing APIs with just-in-time funding

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kong Gateway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.; Marqeta you still need a sponsor bank and a BIN, so the timeline and compliance burden of launching are set by a bank you must separately court and satisfy.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Marqeta covers Just-in-time funding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Marqeta differ
AttributeKong GatewayMarqeta
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, linux, apiWeb, REST API
Founded2017Unknown

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

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 Marqeta

  • Just-in-time funding
  • Virtual and physical issuing
  • Spend controls
  • Programme management tools
  • Multi-region issuing
  • Webhooks and ledger data

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Marqeta

  • A delivery marketplace funding courier cards only at the moment a courier pays for the ordernot Kong Gateway
  • An expense platform issuing a virtual card per subscription with merchant locksnot Kong Gateway
  • A lender issuing a card that draws on an approved credit line rather than a stored balancenot Kong Gateway
  • A fintech wanting the same issuing stack across US and European programmesnot 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.

Marqeta

  • You still need a sponsor bank and a BIN, so the timeline and compliance burden of launching are set by a bank you must separately court and satisfy.
  • Pricing carries minimum monthly platform commitments, so a programme with modest card volume pays for capacity it never uses.
  • Programme revenue depends heavily on interchange, which means regulated debit interchange caps and European interchange caps materially change the business case by market.
  • Disputes, chargebacks and fraud losses sit with the programme, and teams that assumed the processor absorbed them discover a real operations headcount requirement.
  • Just-in-time funding makes your own authorisation endpoint a hard availability dependency; if it is slow or down, cards decline at the point of sale.

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

Marqeta

On request
  • Marqeta card issuing$undefined/year
    • Minimum monthly platform fee plus per-transaction and per-active-card charges
    • Interchange share negotiated between programme, processor and sponsor bank
    • Sponsor bank required, with its own fees and approval process

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 Marqeta if

  • You need just-in-time funding.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want virtual and physical issuing.
Marqeta review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Marqeta better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Marqeta at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Marqeta?
Kong Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kong Gateway and On request for Marqeta.
Does Kong Gateway or Marqeta run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Marqeta runs on Web, REST API.
Can I use Kong Gateway for free?
Yes. Kong Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Marqeta starts at On request.
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 Marqeta is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Marqeta cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Marqeta covers Just-in-time funding, Virtual and physical issuing, Spend controls, Programme management tools.

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
Marqeta: Do I need a sponsor bank?

Yes. Marqeta is an issuer processor, not a bank. Card programmes run on a sponsor bank BIN, and that bank approves and supervises your programme.

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
Marqeta: How does the pricing really work?

A minimum monthly platform fee plus per-transaction and per-active-card charges, offset by a negotiated share of interchange. The interchange split is the substance of the deal.

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
Marqeta: What is just-in-time funding?

Marqeta calls your endpoint at authorisation so you decide and fund each transaction, rather than pre-loading balances onto cards.

Share

Related pages

More on Kong Gateway

More on Marqeta

Keep looking

Other head to heads