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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Mathesar

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mathesar logo

Mathesar

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own

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.; Mathesar there is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Mathesar differ
AttributeKong GatewayMathesar
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Platformsweb, linux, apiWeb, Linux
CategoryAPIsSpreadsheets
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 Mathesar

  • Direct PostgreSQL editing
  • PostgreSQL permissions
  • Schema editing
  • Data exploration
  • Relationship navigation
  • Import of tabular files
  • Self hosted only

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Mathesar

  • A nonprofit or research group whose data is already in PostgreSQL and whose staff cannot write SQLnot Kong Gateway
  • Giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already existnot Kong Gateway
  • Replacing a hand built Django or Rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintainnot Kong Gateway
  • Editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changesnot 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.

Mathesar

  • There is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • It works only with PostgreSQL, so a MySQL, SQL Server or SQLite estate is excluded outright.
  • There are no automations, no webhooks and effectively no integration catalogue, so it edits data and does nothing else.
  • Because it writes to the live database, a careless bulk edit or column type change is a production change with no staging step and no undo.
  • Development is grant and community funded rather than commercially funded, so roadmap pace and long term continuity carry a different risk profile from a venture backed vendor.

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

Mathesar

Free
  • Self hosted open sourceFree
    • No licence fee
    • No hosted option offered
    • Connects to your existing PostgreSQL database

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 Mathesar if

  • You need direct postgresql editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want postgresql permissions.
Mathesar review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Mathesar better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Mathesar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Mathesar?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Mathesar at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Mathesar run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Mathesar runs on Web, 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 Mathesar is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Mathesar cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, PostgreSQL permissions, Schema editing, Data exploration.

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
Mathesar: Is there a cloud version?

No. Self hosting is the only option, and that is a deliberate project decision rather than a gap waiting to be filled.

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
Mathesar: How does it handle permissions?

Through PostgreSQL roles and privileges directly, so there is no second permission model to keep in step.

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
Mathesar: What is the row limit?

Whatever PostgreSQL can handle. Mathesar adds no storage layer of its own.

Mathesar: Does it support databases other than PostgreSQL?

No.

Mathesar: Can it replace Airtable?

Only for editing and exploring data. There are no automations, apps or integrations.

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