Is Kong or Semgrep better?

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

Which is cheaper, Kong or Semgrep?

Kong starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.

Does Kong or Semgrep run on more platforms?

Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.

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 Semgrep is typically brought in for.

What can Kong do that Semgrep cannot?

Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

APIs · head to head

Kong vs Semgrep

Kong

APIs

Cloud-native API gateway and service connectivity platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Semgrep

Cybersecurity

Open-source static analysis tool for finding security bugs and enforcing code standards.

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; Semgrep free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
They diverge on capability: Kong covers API Gateway, Semgrep covers Static code scanning.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong and Semgrep actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong and Semgrep differ
Attribute	Kong	Semgrep
Pricing model	subscription	freemium
Platforms	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes	web, api, linux, mac, windows
Category	APIs	Cybersecurity
Founded	2010	Unknown

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 Semgrep

Static code scanning
Supply chain scanning
Secrets detection
Cross-file analysis
AI-powered triage and remediation
CI/CD integration

What people use each for

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

Kong

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

Semgrep

Scanning code for security vulnerabilities in CI/CDnot Kong
Detecting vulnerable open-source dependenciesnot Kong
Finding hardcoded secrets before code shipsnot Kong
Enforcing custom code standards with rule setsnot Kong
Prioritizing findings with AI-assisted triagenot 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

Semgrep

Free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
Secrets scanning is priced as a separate module ($15/contributor) from Code and Supply Chain.
Self-managed repositories and custom CI/CD require the Enterprise tier.
AI credits are limited per tier and additional usage requires upgrading.

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

Semgrep

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 10 contributors
- Code and Supply Chain scanning
- 60 AI credits total
Teams$30/month
- Code, Supply Chain, or Secrets scanning per contributor
- Pro rules
- AI-powered triage and remediation
Enterprise$undefined/month
- On-prem support
- Custom CI/CD
- 50 AI credits per developer/month

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 Semgrep if

You need static code scanning.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
You also want supply chain scanning.

Semgrep review

Questions people ask

Is Kong or Semgrep better?: Neither clearly leads. Kong starts at Free and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong or Semgrep?: Kong starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.
Does Kong or Semgrep run on more platforms?: Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
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 Semgrep is typically brought in for.
What can Kong do that Semgrep cannot?: Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

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

Semgrep: What does Semgrep cost?

The Free edition covers up to 10 contributors; Teams starts at $30/contributor/month for Code scanning (Supply Chain also $30, Secrets $15); Enterprise is custom-priced.

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

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

Yes, the Free edition supports up to 10 contributors and 10 repositories with Code and Supply Chain scanning plus 60 AI credits total.

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

Semgrep: How is usage metered?

Pricing is per contributor, defined as someone who made at least one commit to a scanned private repository in the past 90 days.

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

Semgrep: Is there special pricing for startups?

Yes, Semgrep offers special startup pricing upon request for early-stage companies.

Source

Kong vs Semgrep

Kong

Semgrep

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Kong

Only in Semgrep

What people use each for

Kong

Semgrep

Where each one falls short

Kong

Semgrep

Pricing, plan by plan

Kong

Semgrep

Which should you pick?

Choose Kong if

Choose Semgrep if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Kong

More on Semgrep

Keep looking

Other head to heads