Softwr

APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Thanos

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

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.; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Thanos covers Global query.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Thanos differ
AttributeKong GatewayThanos
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Platformsweb, linux, apiKubernetes, Linux, Docker
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 Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Kong Gateway
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Kong Gateway
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot 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.

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

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

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community 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.
Kong Gateway review

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Thanos?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Thanos at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Thanos run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
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 Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Thanos cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

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
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

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
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

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
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

Share

Related pages

More on Kong Gateway

More on Thanos

Keep looking

Other head to heads