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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs QuestDB

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuestDB logo

QuestDB

Databases

Fast open source time-series database for high throughput ingestion

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.; QuestDB open-source edition lacks high-availability, distributed architecture, and enterprise security features
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and QuestDB differ
AttributeKong GatewayQuestDB
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Platformsweb, linux, apiDocker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
CategoryAPIsDatabases
Founded20172014

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 QuestDB

  • High Throughput Ingestion
  • SQL Support
  • Time-series Optimization
  • SIMD Vectorization
  • Column-oriented Storage
  • Built-in Web Console
  • InfluxDB Line Protocol
  • PostgreSQL

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

QuestDB

  • Time-series analytics ingesting up to 20M rows/second from IoT sensors or financial data feedsnot Kong Gateway
  • Real-time dashboarding with 32ms time-to-first-row latency for minute-level analyticsnot Kong Gateway
  • Applications requiring multi-tier storage (hot ingest, real-time SQL, cold Parquet archive)not 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.

QuestDB

  • Open-source edition lacks high-availability, distributed architecture, and enterprise security features
  • Enterprise edition pricing not published; requires contacting sales for custom quote
  • Ingestion limit of 20M rows/sec platform-dependent; may not scale to extreme throughput requirements

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

QuestDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the QuestDB review.

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 QuestDB if

  • You need high throughput ingestion.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP).
  • You also want sql support.
QuestDB review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or QuestDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and QuestDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or QuestDB?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and QuestDB at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or QuestDB run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. QuestDB runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP).
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 QuestDB is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that QuestDB cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. QuestDB covers High Throughput Ingestion, SQL Support, Time-series Optimization, SIMD Vectorization.

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
QuestDB: How much does QuestDB Enterprise cost?

QuestDB does not publish specific pricing for the Enterprise tier. Customers must contact QuestDB via their enterprise contact form to receive a custom quote.

Source
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
QuestDB: Does QuestDB offer a free version?

Yes, QuestDB Open Source is completely free and recommended for evaluation, prototyping, and pilot projects. Enterprise features, high availability, security, and dedicated support require the paid Enterprise tier.

Source
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
QuestDB: What deployment options does QuestDB offer?

QuestDB offers open source deployment, Enterprise deployment, and Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) deployment. Pricing details for BYOC and Enterprise tiers are not published and require direct contact with sales.

Source
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