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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Rook

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rook logo

Rook

Cloud

Kubernetes operator that deploys and manages Ceph storage clusters

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.; Rook rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Rook covers Ceph operator.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Rook differ
AttributeKong GatewayRook
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Platformsweb, linux, apiLinux, Kubernetes
CategoryAPIsCloud
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 Rook

  • Ceph operator
  • Block, file and object
  • Erasure coding
  • CSI driver
  • Automated upgrades
  • Multi-cluster mirroring

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Rook

  • An on-premises Kubernetes platform needing block, shared filesystem and S3 storage without buying three productsnot Kong Gateway
  • A team that already runs Ceph and wants its lifecycle managed declaratively inside Kubernetesnot Kong Gateway
  • A large cluster where three-way replication overhead is unaffordable and erasure coding is requirednot Kong Gateway
  • An organisation building a private cloud that cannot use managed cloud storage services for residency reasonsnot 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.

Rook

  • Rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
  • There is no vendor and no SLA; the realistic commercial support routes are IBM Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation or an independent Ceph consultancy, both of which change the cost picture entirely.
  • Ceph is resource hungry, needing substantial memory and dedicated disks per OSD, so the hardware cost of a properly sized cluster is often underestimated.
  • Recovery and rebalancing after a disk or node failure generates heavy background input and output that can degrade application performance for hours, which surprises teams sizing for steady state.
  • Minimum viable clusters require several nodes with several disks each, so it is impractical at small scale and the entry hardware cost exceeds simpler alternatives.

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

Rook

Free
  • RookFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
    • Graduated CNCF project
    • Community support via GitHub and Slack only

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 Rook if

  • You need ceph operator.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
  • You also want block, file and object.
Rook review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Rook better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Rook at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Rook?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Rook at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Rook run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Rook runs on Linux, Kubernetes.
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 Rook is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Rook cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Rook covers Ceph operator, Block, file and object, Erasure coding, CSI driver.

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
Rook: Who supports it in production?

Nobody by default. IBM sells Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, which is supported Rook and Ceph, and independent consultancies sell Ceph support. Decide this before deployment.

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
Rook: Does it need Ceph knowledge?

Yes. Rook handles deployment and routine operations, but troubleshooting a degraded cluster is a Ceph skill and there is no way around 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
Rook: Can it replace an object storage appliance?

Functionally yes, through the RADOS gateway, but you take on the operations that an appliance vendor would otherwise carry.

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