API Management · head to head
Kong Gateway vs Sanity
Kong Gateway
API Management
Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Sanity
API Management
Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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.; Sanity free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets
- They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Sanity covers Content API.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Kong Gateway and Sanity actually diverge.
| Attribute | Kong Gateway | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | subscription |
| Platforms | web, linux, api | Web |
| Founded | 2017 | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management).
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 Sanity
- Content API
- Collaborative editing
- Structured content
- Webhooks
- Third-party services
- GROQ query language
- Cloud support
- JavaScript SDK 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 Sanity
- Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Sanity
- Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Sanity
- Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Sanity
Sanity
- Headless CMS for structured content managementnot Kong Gateway
- Collaborative content editing with real-time multiplayer supportnot Kong Gateway
- API-driven content delivery with GROQ query languagenot 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.
Sanity
- Free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets
- Free plan supports only public datasets
- Growth plan capped at 50 seats maximum
- Private datasets, scheduled drafts, and comments/tasks require paid plans
- Annual billing unavailable for Growth plan; Enterprise-only
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
Sanity
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Sanity 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.
Choose Sanity if
- You need content api.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want collaborative editing.
Questions people ask
- Is Kong Gateway or Sanity better?
- Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Sanity at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Sanity?
- Kong Gateway starts at Free and Sanity at Free.
- Does Kong Gateway or Sanity run on more platforms?
- Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Sanity runs on 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 Sanity is typically brought in for.
- What can Kong Gateway do that Sanity cannot?
- Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Sanity covers Content API, Collaborative editing, Structured content, Webhooks.
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.
SourceKong 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.
SourceKong Gateway: What support is included?
Plus includes email support with a 2-business-day SLA, while Enterprise adds dedicated success managers and professional services.
SourceRelated pages
More on Kong Gateway
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