API Management · head to head
Kong Gateway vs Stoplight
Kong Gateway
API Management
Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Stoplight
API Management
API design, documentation, and governance platform
- 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.; Stoplight the free plan allows one project and one user
- They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Stoplight covers API Design.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Kong Gateway and Stoplight actually diverge.
| Attribute | Kong Gateway | Stoplight |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | web, linux, api | Web, Cloud |
| Founded | 2017 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Stoplight
- API Design
- API Documentation
- Governance
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Jenkins
- Azure DevOps
- Web 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 Stoplight
- Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Stoplight
- Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Stoplight
- Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Stoplight
Stoplight
- Designing and documenting OpenAPI specifications visuallynot Kong Gateway
- Serving interactive API docs and instant mock servers from a specnot 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.
Stoplight
- The free plan allows one project and one user
- Private projects, multi branch support and custom domains start at the Startup plan, $113 a month billed annually
- SSO and shared style guides are Pro Team only, at $362 a month billed annually
- Seats beyond each plan's allowance are $11 to $27 each per month depending on tier and billing period
Pricing, plan by plan
Kong Gateway
Free- Free TrialFree
- 30-day enterprise functionality trial
- Unlimited gateways
- 30-day analytics retention
- Plus$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
Stoplight
Free- FreeFree
- API design
- Documentation
- Community support
- Pro$75/monthly
- Governance
- Advanced testing
- Team collaboration
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- SLA
- Priority support
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 Stoplight if
- You need api design.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Cloud.
- You also want api documentation.
Questions people ask
- Is Kong Gateway or Stoplight better?
- Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Stoplight at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Stoplight?
- Kong Gateway starts at Free and Stoplight at Free.
- Does Kong Gateway or Stoplight run on more platforms?
- Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Stoplight runs on Web, Cloud.
- 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 Stoplight is typically brought in for.
- What can Kong Gateway do that Stoplight cannot?
- Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Stoplight covers API Design, API Documentation, Governance, GitHub.
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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