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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Skaleet

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skaleet logo

Skaleet

APIs

Cloud-native core banking and payment hub with deployments measured in months

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kong Gateway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.; Skaleet the installed base is in the tens rather than the hundreds, so the pool of consultants and systems integrators who know the platform is small and expensive.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Skaleet covers Cloud-native core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Skaleet differ
AttributeKong GatewaySkaleet
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, linux, apiWeb, REST API, Linux
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Skaleet

  • Cloud-native core
  • Payment hub
  • Card management
  • Lending
  • API-first
  • Configurable products

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Skaleet

  • A banking group launching a digital savings or deposit brand in a new country within a yearnot Kong Gateway
  • A bank modernising payments to ISO 20022 without replacing its whole corenot Kong Gateway
  • A payroll or HR software company adding embedded banking to its productnot Kong Gateway
  • A payment service provider needing a ledger and accounts under its existing licencenot 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.

Skaleet

  • The installed base is in the tens rather than the hundreds, so the pool of consultants and systems integrators who know the platform is small and expensive.
  • Speed references are mostly greenfield launches inside large groups, which is an easier problem than migrating an existing book off a legacy core.
  • It is European-centric, with payment rails and regulatory work concentrated on SEPA and EU requirements rather than global coverage.
  • As a smaller vendor carrying a bank core, it attracts hard concentration and viability questions in procurement that larger competitors do not face.
  • Pricing is unpublished and scaled by accounts and transactions, so a bank whose volumes grow faster than forecast faces cost escalation it did not model.

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

Skaleet

On request
  • Skaleet Core Banking Platform$undefined/year
    • Subscription licence scaled by accounts and transaction volume
    • Payment hub licensable separately from the full core
    • Implementation and configuration charged as a project

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 Skaleet if

  • You need cloud-native core.
  • You work on Web, REST API, Linux.
  • You also want payment hub.
Skaleet review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Skaleet better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Skaleet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Skaleet?
Kong Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kong Gateway and On request for Skaleet.
Does Kong Gateway or Skaleet run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Skaleet runs on Web, REST API, Linux.
Can I use Kong Gateway for free?
Yes. Kong Gateway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skaleet starts at On request.
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 Skaleet is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Skaleet cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Skaleet covers Cloud-native core, Payment hub, Card management, Lending.

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
Skaleet: What was Skaleet called before?

TagPay. The company rebranded to Skaleet while keeping the same platform lineage.

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
Skaleet: Can I buy just the payment hub?

Yes. The payment engine is licensable standalone and can sit over an existing core, which is a common first step.

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
Skaleet: How fast are real deployments?

Named European deployments have gone live in six to twelve months, including a Crédit Agricole savings platform live in Germany in eight months.

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