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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Okteto

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Okteto logo

Okteto

Developer Tools

Runs production-like development environments on your own Kubernetes cluster

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.; Okteto two of the three plans publish no price at all, with no currency and no billing period stated anywhere, so any budget above five seats requires a sales conversation before you can even compare it with an alternative.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Okteto covers Cluster development environments.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Okteto differ
AttributeKong GatewayOkteto
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Platformsweb, linux, apiLinux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryAPIsDeveloper Tools
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 Okteto

  • Cluster development environments
  • File synchronisation
  • Development containers
  • Environment catalogue
  • Preview environments
  • Bring your own cloud

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Okteto

  • A microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptopnot Kong Gateway
  • Giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describenot Kong Gateway
  • Letting coding agents build and test against real databases and queues instead of mocksnot Kong Gateway
  • Removing a fleet of local Kubernetes installations that drift from production and produce false test resultsnot 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.

Okteto

  • Two of the three plans publish no price at all, with no currency and no billing period stated anywhere, so any budget above five seats requires a sales conversation before you can even compare it with an alternative.
  • The Apache-2.0 CLI is restricted to the development section of the manifest, so build services, user management and observability all require the commercial platform and the open licence provides very little continuity insurance.
  • The last disclosed funding round is a 15 million US dollar Series A from February 2022 with nothing announced since, and the contributor base is dominated by company employees, which is concentrated risk for something embedded in every developer daily loop.
  • You must bring and pay for the Kubernetes cluster, so node cost, capacity planning and version upgrades stay with your platform team on top of the licence fee.
  • The 2026 repositioning towards AI agents means the classic developer inner loop is no longer what the marketing leads with, so a buyer purchasing that use case should confirm roadmap commitment rather than assume it.

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

Okteto

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 5 seats included
    • Self-hosted deployment into your own cluster
    • Community support
  • Scale$undefined/year
    • Contact sales, no price, currency or billing period published
    • More seats and environments than Starter
    • Self-hosted deployment
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Contact sales, no price published
    • Bring your own cloud deployment
    • Available through Google Cloud and AWS marketplaces

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 Okteto if

  • You need cluster development environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want file synchronisation.
Okteto review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Okteto better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Okteto at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Okteto?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Okteto at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Okteto run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Okteto runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web.
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 Okteto is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Okteto cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Okteto covers Cluster development environments, File synchronisation, Development containers, Environment catalogue.

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
Okteto: Is Okteto open source?

The CLI is Apache-2.0, but the README states it supports only the development section of the manifest. Everything operationally interesting, including builds, user management and observability, is in the commercial platform.

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
Okteto: What does it cost?

Only the free Starter tier with five seats is published. Scale and Enterprise are both contact sales, with no price, currency or billing period disclosed on the pricing page.

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
Okteto: Do I need my own Kubernetes cluster?

Yes. Okteto installs into a cluster you provide and pay for, so capacity, upgrades and node costs remain your responsibility in addition to the licence.

Okteto: How is this different from running Kubernetes locally?

Environments run against the same managed databases, queues and service mesh as production, so a class of failures that only appears in a real cluster is caught before merge rather than after deploy.

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