Softwr

APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs REST Client VSCode

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REST Client VSCode logo

REST Client VSCode

APIs

VSCode extension for making HTTP requests and testing REST APIs

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.; REST Client VSCode limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, REST Client VSCode covers REST Client.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong Gateway and REST Client VSCode actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong Gateway and REST Client VSCode differ
AttributeKong GatewayREST Client VSCode
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
Platformsweb, linux, apiWindows, macOS, Linux
Founded20172016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 REST Client VSCode

  • REST Client
  • HTTP requests
  • Response viewing
  • VSCode
  • Environment variables
  • Custom headers
  • VSCode extension support

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

REST Client VSCode

  • API Developmentnot Kong Gateway
  • API Gatewaynot Kong Gateway
  • API Testingnot Kong Gateway
  • API Documentationnot Kong Gateway
  • Microservicesnot 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.

REST Client VSCode

  • Limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application
  • No support for WebSocket, gRPC, or other advanced protocols
  • No cloud sync or team server features; requires Git-based workflow

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

REST Client VSCode

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the REST Client VSCode 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 REST Client VSCode if

  • You need rest client.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want http requests.
REST Client VSCode review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or REST Client VSCode better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and REST Client VSCode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or REST Client VSCode?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and REST Client VSCode at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or REST Client VSCode run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. REST Client VSCode runs on Windows, macOS, 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 REST Client VSCode is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that REST Client VSCode cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. REST Client VSCode covers REST Client, HTTP requests, Response viewing, VSCode.

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
REST Client VSCode: How much does REST Client VSCode cost?

REST Client VSCode is completely free and open source. It is available on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace with no subscription or licensing fees.

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
REST Client VSCode: What authentication methods does REST Client support?

REST Client supports Basic Auth, Digest Auth, SSL certificates, Azure AD, and AWS Signature v4 authentication for API requests.

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
REST Client VSCode: Can I save and manage multiple requests?

Yes. REST Client supports multiple requests per file using ### delimiters, request history with auto-save, environment variables for different configurations, and code snippet generation for multiple programming languages.

Source
REST Client VSCode: How do teams collaborate with REST Client?

REST Client requests are stored as text files that can be version-controlled in Git repositories. Teams collaborate by sharing requests through Git, making the API specs part of the codebase.

Source
REST Client VSCode: What protocols does REST Client support?

REST Client primarily supports HTTP/HTTPS and GraphQL. It does not support WebSocket, gRPC, or other advanced protocols available in desktop clients like Insomnia.

Source
REST Client VSCode: Is there cloud sync for REST Client requests?

No. REST Client has no built-in cloud sync or team server features. All collaboration and sharing relies on Git repository management.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Kong Gateway

More on REST Client VSCode

Keep looking

Other head to heads