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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Zimpler

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zimpler logo

Zimpler

APIs

Nordic and Brazilian account-to-account payments for regulated high-risk sectors

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.; Zimpler pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Zimpler covers Bank payments.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Zimpler differ
AttributeKong GatewayZimpler
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, linux, apiWeb, 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 Zimpler

  • Bank payments
  • BankID identity
  • Payouts
  • Recurring payments
  • Risk screening
  • Brazil coverage

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

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

Zimpler

  • A Swedish gambling operator needing deposit and verified identity in a single customer flownot Kong Gateway
  • A Nordic merchant wanting instant bank payouts rather than card refundsnot Kong Gateway
  • A trading platform where confirming account ownership before funding is a regulatory requirementnot Kong Gateway
  • A European operator expanding into Brazil and wanting one provider across both marketsnot 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.

Zimpler

  • Pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
  • As a payment facilitator carrying merchant risk, it declines or offboards merchants on risk grounds, which makes it a dependency you cannot assume will persist.
  • Its strength is concentrated in the Nordics, and coverage in southern and eastern Europe is thinner than pan-European account-to-account specialists.
  • Revenue concentration in iGaming ties the provider to a sector under constant regulatory change, so licence changes in one market affect the supplier as well as the merchant.
  • Bank transfers have no chargeback protection, so disputes are handled commercially and consumers used to card protections may resist the payment method.

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

Zimpler

On request
  • Zimpler payments$undefined/year
    • Per-transaction pricing quoted by industry, risk and volume
    • Separate pricing for payouts and identity verification
    • Merchant underwriting required, with sector restrictions

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 Zimpler if

  • You need bank payments.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want bankid identity.
Zimpler review

Questions people ask

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

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
Zimpler: Which markets does Zimpler cover?

Sweden and the Nordics primarily, plus the wider EU and Brazil. It is strongest where national electronic identity schemes exist.

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
Zimpler: Does it handle identity verification?

Yes. In the Nordics it captures BankID identity alongside the payment, which removes a separate verification 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
Zimpler: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per merchant based on sector, risk and volume, and merchants must pass underwriting first.

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