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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Moov

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Moov logo

Moov

APIs

Payments API with a published rate card covering card acceptance, ACH and instant payouts

From
$500/month
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.; Moov the 500 US dollar monthly minimum makes Moov unattractive below roughly 80,000 dollars a month of card volume, since the minimum rather than the rate becomes your effective price.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Moov covers Interchange-plus card acceptance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Moov differ
AttributeKong GatewayMoov
Starting priceFree$500/month
Pricing modelfreemiumPer transaction plus monthly minimum
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, linux, apiWeb, API, iOS, Android
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 Moov

  • Interchange-plus card acceptance
  • ACH transfers
  • Instant payments
  • Wallets
  • Payment links and invoices
  • Virtual cards
  • Account verification
  • Card account updater

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Moov

  • A vertical SaaS company embedding payments that needs published unit economics to price its own product before signing anythingnot Kong Gateway
  • A marketplace paying contractors that wants same-day ACH and instant push-to-card in one API with the cost of each visiblenot Kong Gateway
  • A platform that must hold balances for end users between collection and payout without becoming a money transmitternot Kong Gateway
  • A software company moving off a legacy gateway that wants interchange-plus transparency instead of a blended rate that hides interchange increasesnot 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.

Moov

  • The 500 US dollar monthly minimum makes Moov unattractive below roughly 80,000 dollars a month of card volume, since the minimum rather than the rate becomes your effective price.
  • The 50 cent monthly charge per active wallet penalises platforms with many end users who transact rarely, and that cost grows with your user base rather than your revenue.
  • United States only, so any platform with international sellers or buyers needs a second provider and a second reconciliation process.
  • At very high volume the published interchange-plus markup is less competitive than a directly negotiated acquiring relationship, so success eventually creates a reason to leave.
  • The ecosystem of prebuilt integrations, plugins and third-party tooling is far smaller than Stripe's, so anything outside the core API, from tax handling to subscription logic, is work you build yourself.

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

Moov

$500/month
  • Standard$500/month
    • 500 USD monthly minimum, no setup fee
    • Card online at interchange plus 0.60% and 15c
    • Tap to pay at interchange plus 0.50% and 15c
  • Custom$undefined/month
    • Negotiated rates for high volume
    • Specialised business models
    • Dedicated 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 Moov if

  • You need interchange-plus card acceptance.
  • You work on Web, API, iOS, Android.
  • You also want ach transfers.
Moov review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Moov better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Moov at $500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Moov?
Kong Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kong Gateway and $500/month for Moov.
Does Kong Gateway or Moov run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Moov runs on Web, API, iOS, Android.
Can I use Kong Gateway for free?
Yes. Kong Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Moov starts at $500/month.
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 Moov is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Moov cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Moov covers Interchange-plus card acceptance, ACH transfers, Instant payments, Wallets.

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
Moov: Does Moov publish its prices?

Yes, in unusual detail: interchange-plus card rates, per-transaction ACH and RTP charges, dispute and return fees, and the monthly minimum are all on the pricing page.

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
Moov: What is the monthly minimum?

500 US dollars, with no setup fee. Wallet charges and transaction fees count towards it.

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
Moov: Can I use Moov outside the United States?

No. Moov handles US payments only, though it accepts international cards at an extra 1.5 percent.

Moov: Is Moov a bank?

No. It is a payments platform working with partner financial institutions, so account and settlement arrangements depend on those partners.

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