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APIs · head to head

Kong vs Skaleet

Kong logo

Kong

APIs

Cloud-native API gateway and service connectivity platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skaleet logo

Skaleet

APIs

Cloud-native core banking and payment hub with deployments measured in months

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kong has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Kong the Plus plan includes 1M API requests a month and charges $200 a month for each additional million; Skaleet the installed base is in the tens rather than the hundreds, so the pool of consultants and systems integrators who know the platform is small and expensive.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong covers API Gateway, Skaleet covers Cloud-native core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong and Skaleet actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong and Skaleet differ
AttributeKongSkaleet
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Docker, KubernetesWeb, REST API, Linux
Founded2010Unknown

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

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

Only in Skaleet

  • Cloud-native core
  • Payment hub
  • Card management
  • Lending
  • API-first
  • Configurable products

What people use each for

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

Kong

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

Skaleet

  • A banking group launching a digital savings or deposit brand in a new country within a yearnot Kong
  • A bank modernising payments to ISO 20022 without replacing its whole corenot Kong
  • A payroll or HR software company adding embedded banking to its productnot Kong
  • A payment service provider needing a ledger and accounts under its existing licencenot 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

Skaleet

  • The installed base is in the tens rather than the hundreds, so the pool of consultants and systems integrators who know the platform is small and expensive.
  • Speed references are mostly greenfield launches inside large groups, which is an easier problem than migrating an existing book off a legacy core.
  • It is European-centric, with payment rails and regulatory work concentrated on SEPA and EU requirements rather than global coverage.
  • As a smaller vendor carrying a bank core, it attracts hard concentration and viability questions in procurement that larger competitors do not face.
  • Pricing is unpublished and scaled by accounts and transactions, so a bank whose volumes grow faster than forecast faces cost escalation it did not model.

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

Skaleet

On request
  • Skaleet Core Banking Platform$undefined/year
    • Subscription licence scaled by accounts and transaction volume
    • Payment hub licensable separately from the full core
    • Implementation and configuration charged as a project

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 Skaleet if

  • You need cloud-native core.
  • You work on Web, REST API, Linux.
  • You also want payment hub.
Skaleet review

Questions people ask

Is Kong or Skaleet better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong starts at Free and Skaleet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong or Skaleet?
Kong has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kong and On request for Skaleet.
Does Kong or Skaleet run on more platforms?
Kong runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Skaleet runs on Web, REST API, Linux.
Can I use Kong for free?
Yes. Kong has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skaleet starts at On request.
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 Skaleet is typically brought in for.
What can Kong do that Skaleet cannot?
Kong covers API Gateway, Authentication & Authorization, Rate Limiting, Kubernetes. Skaleet covers Cloud-native core, Payment hub, Card management, Lending.

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
Skaleet: What was Skaleet called before?

TagPay. The company rebranded to Skaleet while keeping the same platform lineage.

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
Skaleet: Can I buy just the payment hub?

Yes. The payment engine is licensable standalone and can sit over an existing core, which is a common first step.

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
Skaleet: How fast are real deployments?

Named European deployments have gone live in six to twelve months, including a Crédit Agricole savings platform live in Germany in eight months.

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
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