Is Kong or PubNub better?

Neither clearly leads. Kong starts at Free and PubNub at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Kong or PubNub?

Kong starts at Free and PubNub at Free.

Does Kong or PubNub run on more platforms?

Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. PubNub runs on web, ios, android, api.

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 PubNub is typically brought in for.

What can Kong do that PubNub cannot?

Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence tracking, Message persistence, Serverless Functions.

APIs · head to head

Kong vs PubNub

Kong

APIs

Cloud-native API gateway and service connectivity platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

PubNub

APIs

Realtime communication platform for chat, IoT, and live data apps

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; PubNub free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.
They diverge on capability: Kong covers API Gateway, PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong and PubNub actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong and PubNub differ
Attribute	Kong	PubNub
Pricing model	subscription	freemium
Platforms	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes	web, ios, android, api
Founded	2010	Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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

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

Only in PubNub

Pub/sub messaging
Presence tracking
Message persistence
Serverless Functions
File sharing
Encryption and access controls

What people use each for

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

Kong

API gateway management and routingnot PubNub
API development and testingnot PubNub
Enterprise API security and governancenot PubNub

PubNub

Building realtime chat applicationsnot Kong
Streaming live IoT sensor datanot Kong
Adding presence indicators to collaborative appsnot Kong
Running edge logic with serverless Functions on realtime eventsnot 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

PubNub

Free plan storage history is limited to 7 days, which is short for apps needing longer message retention.
MAU-based pricing means costs scale directly with user growth, which can be less predictable than flat message-based pricing.
Pro-tier custom pricing above 50,000 MAU requires contacting sales rather than self-serve checkout.

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

PubNub

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 200 MAU or 1M transactions
- 1GB data storage (7 days)
- 5 test Serverless Functions
Starter$98/month
- 1,000 MAU included
- User management
- Insights
Pro$undefined/month
- Custom MAU packages
- Volume discounts
- Enterprise-scale configurations

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 PubNub if

You need pub/sub messaging.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, ios, android, api.
You also want presence tracking.

PubNub review

Questions people ask

Is Kong or PubNub better?: Neither clearly leads. Kong starts at Free and PubNub at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong or PubNub?: Kong starts at Free and PubNub at Free.
Does Kong or PubNub run on more platforms?: Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. PubNub runs on web, ios, android, api.
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 PubNub is typically brought in for.
What can Kong do that PubNub cannot?: Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. PubNub covers Pub/sub messaging, Presence tracking, Message persistence, Serverless Functions.

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

PubNub: What does PubNub cost?

PubNub offers a free plan for up to 200 MAU or 1 million transactions, a Starter plan at $98/month for 1,000 MAU, and custom Pro pricing for larger volumes, e.g. around $550/month for 10,000 MAU.

Source

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

PubNub: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the free plan supports up to 200 monthly active users or 1 million transactions, includes 1GB of data storage retained for 7 days, and requires no credit card.

Source

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

PubNub: How is usage metered?

PubNub bills primarily by Monthly Active Users, defined as a unique user who connects at least once in a billing cycle; messages are bundled into MAU pricing with no separate per-message fees, and overage is billed proportionally.

Source

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

Kong vs PubNub

Kong

PubNub

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Kong

Only in PubNub

What people use each for

Kong

PubNub

Where each one falls short

Kong

PubNub

Pricing, plan by plan

Kong

PubNub

Which should you pick?

Choose Kong if

Choose PubNub if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Kong

More on PubNub

Keep looking

Other head to heads