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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Temenos Transact

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Temenos Transact logo

Temenos Transact

APIs

Established core banking system used by banks in over a hundred countries

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.; Temenos Transact the codebase originates in the 1990s, so banks on older releases face major upgrade programmes to reach current versions, and many defer them for years.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Temenos Transact covers Country model banks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong Gateway and Temenos Transact actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Temenos Transact differ
AttributeKong GatewayTemenos Transact
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, linux, apiWeb, Linux, Windows, REST API
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 Temenos Transact

  • Country model banks
  • Multi-product core
  • Payments processing
  • API layer
  • Cloud deployment
  • Accounting engine

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Temenos Transact

  • A bank in an emerging market needing local regulatory compliance without building it from scratchnot Kong Gateway
  • An institution running Islamic banking products alongside conventional ones on one corenot Kong Gateway
  • A bank that needs a large pool of experienced implementation consultants to de-risk a migrationnot Kong Gateway
  • A group standardising subsidiaries in several countries onto one core banking systemnot 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.

Temenos Transact

  • The codebase originates in the 1990s, so banks on older releases face major upgrade programmes to reach current versions, and many defer them for years.
  • Total cost is dominated by implementation partner fees rather than licence, and those programmes routinely overrun their original estimates.
  • Product changes that cloud-native cores treat as configuration can require development work and a release cycle, which slows time to market for new products.
  • Heavy customisation is common and it makes every subsequent upgrade harder, creating a compounding cost that banks feel a decade after go-live.
  • Temenos has repeatedly restructured its product line and naming, so buyers must check carefully which components a proposal actually includes and which are separately licensed.

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

Temenos Transact

On request
  • Temenos Transact$undefined/year
    • Perpetual or subscription licence scaled by assets, accounts or users
    • Annual maintenance typically a percentage of licence value
    • Implementation delivered by partners and charged separately

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 Temenos Transact if

  • You need country model banks.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows, REST API.
  • You also want multi-product core.
Temenos Transact review

Questions people ask

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

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
Temenos Transact: Is Transact the same as T24?

Yes. T24 was renamed Temenos Transact; older installations and much of the consultant population still use the T24 name.

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
Temenos Transact: Can it run in the cloud?

Yes, it is offered on public cloud, though many existing installations remain on-premises and moving them is a project.

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
Temenos Transact: What drives the cost?

Licence scaled by size, annual maintenance as a percentage of licence, and implementation partner fees that usually exceed the software cost.

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