Softwr

APIs · head to head

Kong vs Orkes

Kong logo

Kong

APIs

Cloud-native API gateway and service connectivity platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Orkes logo

Orkes

Automation Integration

Commercial Conductor, now the maintainer of the workflow engine Netflix archived

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kong the Plus plan includes 1M API requests a month and charges $200 a month for each additional million; Orkes netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong covers API Gateway, Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong and Orkes actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong and Orkes differ
AttributeKongOrkes
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsLinux, Docker, KubernetesLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryAPIsAutomation Integration
Founded2010Unknown

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

  • API Gateway
  • Authentication & Authorization
  • Rate Limiting
  • Kubernetes
  • Consul
  • Eureka
  • PostgreSQL
  • Linux support

Only in Orkes

  • JSON workflow definitions
  • Polyglot workers
  • Visual workflow builder
  • AI and LLM tasks
  • Human tasks
  • Event handlers
  • RBAC and secrets
  • Hosted or self-hosted

What people use each for

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

Kong

  • API gateway management and routingnot Orkes
  • API development and testingnot Orkes
  • Enterprise API security and governancenot Orkes

Orkes

  • A microservices estate that needs orchestration across services written in different languages without a shared SDKnot Kong
  • A team already running Conductor OSS that wants a supported distribution now that Netflix has stopped maintaining itnot Kong
  • An AI platform composing agent steps, model calls and vector lookups as versioned workflow definitionsnot Kong
  • A business process needing human approval steps interleaved with automated service callsnot Kong

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kong

  • The Plus plan includes 1M API requests a month and charges $200 a month for each additional million
  • Plus is capped at 10M requests a month, so growth past that forces an Enterprise contract
  • Plus limits published APIs to 20 and includes one Developer Portal, with a second at $200 a month
  • SSO and audit logging are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise pricing is custom and billed annually

Orkes

  • Netflix archived the Conductor repository in December 2023 and Orkes took over maintenance, so the large-company backing that justified many original adoptions no longer exists.
  • Enterprise pricing is entirely unpublished, and the only free option is explicitly a prototyping sandbox whose limits can change at any time, so there is no supported low-cost entry point.
  • Self-hosting Conductor OSS in production means operating the engine plus its persistence and indexing dependencies, typically Postgres or Cassandra with Elasticsearch, which is a substantial platform commitment.
  • JSON workflow definitions are language agnostic but verbose and awkward to test, and teams accustomed to defining workflows in code find them a step backwards in developer experience.
  • Orkes is a small company whose commercial future is tied to a single open source project it also maintains, which concentrates both vendor and project risk in the same place.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kong

Free
  • Kong Konnect Free TrialFree
    • 30-day free trial
    • Full enterprise functionality
    • Unlimited gateways
  • Kong Konnect Plus$null/month
    • Per gateway pricing billed monthly
    • Up to 5 Serverless Gateways, 2 Hybrid, 2 Dedicated Cloud Gateways
    • 1M API requests included per month
  • Kong Insomnia EssentialsFree
    • Unlimited projects and CLI access
    • Up to 3 Git Sync users
    • 1,000 mock server requests per month
  • Kong Insomnia Pro$12/month
    • Unlimited users with Git Sync access
    • Unlimited organizations
    • RBAC

Orkes

Free
  • Developer EditionFree
    • All Conductor OSS features plus enterprise capabilities
    • Sandbox for prototyping only
    • Rate limits and resources may change without notice
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Availability SLA up to 99.99%
    • Orkes-hosted or customer-hosted deployment
    • Dedicated technical account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Kong if

  • You need api gateway.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want authentication & authorization.
Kong review

Choose Orkes if

  • You need json workflow definitions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want polyglot workers.
Orkes review

Questions people ask

Is Kong or Orkes better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong starts at Free and Orkes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong or Orkes?
Kong starts at Free and Orkes at Free.
Does Kong or Orkes run on more platforms?
Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Orkes runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Kong for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kong best used for?
Kong is most often used for api gateway management and routing, api development and testing, enterprise api security and governance. Of those, api gateway management and routing and api development and testing are not what Orkes is typically brought in for.
What can Kong do that Orkes cannot?
Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. Orkes covers JSON workflow definitions, Polyglot workers, Visual workflow builder, AI and LLM tasks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kong: Does Kong offer a free trial?

Yes, Kong Konnect offers a 30-day free trial with full enterprise functionality, unlimited gateways, and no credit card required.

Source
Orkes: Does Netflix still maintain Conductor?

No. Netflix archived its repository in December 2023. The open source project continues at conductor-oss under Apache 2.0, maintained by Orkes.

Kong: How much does Kong Insomnia Pro cost?

Kong Insomnia Pro is $12 per user per month with 15% savings available for annual billing.

Source
Orkes: Is there a free production tier?

No. The Developer Edition is a sandbox that the vendor states is unsuitable for production. Self-hosting Conductor OSS is the free production route.

Kong: What are Kong Konnect Plus API request limits?

Kong Konnect Plus includes 1M API requests per month; additional requests cost $200 per 1M (maximum 10M per month).

Source
Orkes: What does Enterprise cost?

Nothing is published; it is quoted by deployment and support requirements.

Kong: What is included in Kong Insomnia Enterprise?

Kong Insomnia Enterprise is $45 per user per month with SSO, SCIM, vault integrations, unlimited mock server requests, and Konnect integration.

Source
Orkes: How does it compare with Temporal?

Conductor uses declarative JSON workflow definitions and external workers; Temporal defines workflows in code. Temporal has the larger community.

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