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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Memcached

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
M

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

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.; Memcached no persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Memcached differ
AttributeKong GatewayMemcached
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separately
Platformsweb, linux, apiLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted
CategoryAPIsDatabases
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 Memcached

  • In-memory key-value cache
  • Multithreaded
  • Client-side sharding
  • Predictable memory use

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Memcached

  • Caching expensive database query results to cut loadnot Kong Gateway
  • Session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptablenot Kong Gateway
  • Fronting an API whose responses are costly and change slowlynot 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.

Memcached

  • No persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • No replication or failover, so losing a node loses that share of the cache
  • Only simple key-value, with none of the lists, sorted sets or streams Redis offers
  • Values are capped at 1MB by default, which surprises teams caching large documents

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

Memcached

Free
  • MemcachedFree
    • Full functionality
    • Self-hosted
    • No usage limits

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 Memcached if

  • You need in-memory key-value cache.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
  • You also want multithreaded.
Memcached review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Memcached better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Memcached at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Memcached?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Memcached at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Memcached run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
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 Memcached is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Memcached cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use.

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
Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

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
Memcached: Memcached or Redis?

Memcached is a pure cache: simpler, multithreaded and very predictable. Redis adds persistence, replication and rich data structures, which is why it is the default choice unless you specifically want a cache and nothing more.

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
Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

No. Everything is in memory and lost on restart, by design.

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