Softwr

APIs · head to head

Kong vs Rowy

Kong logo

Kong

APIs

Cloud-native API gateway and service connectivity platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rowy logo

Rowy

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet interface for Google Cloud Firestore with cloud functions written in the browser

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; Rowy every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong covers API Gateway, Rowy covers Firestore backed grid.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong and Rowy actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong and Rowy differ
AttributeKongRowy
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Docker, KubernetesWeb
CategoryAPIsSpreadsheets
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 Rowy

  • Firestore backed grid
  • Browser authored cloud functions
  • Typed columns
  • Runs in your Google Cloud project
  • Role based access
  • Form view
  • Open source

What people use each for

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

Kong

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

Rowy

  • A Firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building onenot Kong
  • Operations staff correcting production records in Firestore without developer involvementnot Kong
  • Attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipelinenot Kong
  • A content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from Firestorenot 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

Rowy

  • Every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
  • Firestore has no joins, so linking tables in the grid is a convenience layer rather than a relational feature and reports across collections still need a separate query.
  • It is useful only to teams already on Firebase, so choosing it effectively locks the operational tooling to one cloud vendor.
  • Query costs are billed by document read, and an unfiltered grid on a large collection can generate a bill that a spreadsheet user has no intuition for.
  • Development activity has slowed relative to the broader category, so evaluate current maintenance before making it load bearing for internal operations.

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

Rowy

Free
  • Open source self hostedFree
    • No licence fee
    • Deploys into your own Google Cloud project
    • You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes and storage

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 Rowy if

  • You need firestore backed grid.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want browser authored cloud functions.
Rowy review

Questions people ask

Is Kong or Rowy better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong starts at Free and Rowy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong or Rowy?
Kong starts at Free and Rowy at Free.
Does Kong or Rowy run on more platforms?
Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Rowy runs on Web.
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 Rowy is typically brought in for.
What can Kong do that Rowy cannot?
Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Browser authored cloud functions, Typed columns, Runs in your Google Cloud project.

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
Rowy: Where is my data stored?

In your own Firestore instance inside your own Google Cloud project. Rowy does not hold a copy.

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
Rowy: What does it cost to run?

No licence fee. You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes, storage and function invocations, and an open grid on a big collection reads a lot.

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
Rowy: Can it do joins across collections?

Not really. Firestore does not support joins, and no interface layer can add them.

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
Rowy: Is there a row limit?

Not from Rowy. The limits that bite are Firestore document size and per document write throughput.

Rowy: Is it suitable if I am not on Firebase?

No. It is specifically a Firestore interface.

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