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APIs · head to head

Kong Gateway vs Moesif

Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Moesif logo

Moesif

APIs

API analytics and monitoring platform for tracking API usage and customers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.; Moesif free tier is aimed at hobbyists and small projects, limiting scale before paid usage-based pricing applies.
  • They diverge on capability: Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Moesif covers API traffic monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kong Gateway and Moesif actually diverge.

Attributes where Kong Gateway and Moesif differ
AttributeKong GatewayMoesif
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
Platformsweb, linux, apiweb, api
Founded2017Unknown

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 Gateway

  • API request routing
  • Plugin ecosystem
  • Developer portals
  • AI Gateway
  • Analytics and observability
  • SSO and audit logs

Only in Moesif

  • API traffic monitoring
  • Customer-level analytics
  • Error tracking
  • Usage-based billing support
  • Alerting
  • SDK and integration library

What people use each for

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

Kong Gateway

  • Routing and securing traffic across microservicesnot Moesif
  • Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Moesif
  • Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Moesif
  • Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Moesif

Moesif

  • Monitoring API traffic and errors in productionnot Kong Gateway
  • Understanding customer-level API usage patternsnot Kong Gateway
  • Powering usage-based billing and monetizationnot Kong Gateway
  • Alerting on anomalous API behaviornot Kong Gateway

Where each one falls short

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

Kong Gateway

  • The free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • Plus tier caps API requests at 1M/month before incurring per-million overage charges.
  • Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, making budgeting harder without sales contact.
  • Configuration and plugin management can require significant operational expertise to run at scale.

Moesif

  • Free tier is aimed at hobbyists and small projects, limiting scale before paid usage-based pricing applies.
  • Usage-based pricing on the Growth tier can make costs less predictable at high event volumes.
  • Requires instrumenting APIs with SDKs, adding setup overhead compared to zero-config tools.
  • Focused specifically on API analytics rather than full API gateway or design functionality.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kong Gateway

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 30-day enterprise functionality trial
    • Unlimited gateways
    • 30-day analytics retention
  • Plus$undefined/month
    • Up to 5 serverless, 2 hybrid, 2 dedicated cloud gateways
    • 1M API requests/month included
    • Up to 2 developer portals
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited hybrid and dedicated cloud gateways
    • Unlimited developer portals
    • SSO and audit logs

Moesif

Free
  • FreeFree
    • For hobbyists and small projects
    • Core API analytics features
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Usage-based pricing by event volume
    • Full analytics and monitoring feature set

Which should you pick?

Choose Kong Gateway if

  • You need api request routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, linux, api.
  • You also want plugin ecosystem.
Kong Gateway review

Choose Moesif if

  • You need api traffic monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want customer-level analytics.
Moesif review

Questions people ask

Is Kong Gateway or Moesif better?
Neither clearly leads. Kong Gateway starts at Free and Moesif at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kong Gateway or Moesif?
Kong Gateway starts at Free and Moesif at Free.
Does Kong Gateway or Moesif run on more platforms?
Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api. Moesif runs on web, api.
Can I use Kong Gateway for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kong Gateway best used for?
Kong Gateway is most often used for routing and securing traffic across microservices, publishing internal or external developer portals, managing rate limits and authentication at the api edge, gateway-level routing to multiple llm providers. Of those, routing and securing traffic across microservices and publishing internal or external developer portals are not what Moesif is typically brought in for.
What can Kong Gateway do that Moesif cannot?
Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway. Moesif covers API traffic monitoring, Customer-level analytics, Error tracking, Usage-based billing support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kong Gateway: Is Kong Gateway free?

Kong's core gateway is open source and free to self-host. Kong Konnect, the managed cloud platform, offers a 30-day free trial before moving to paid Plus or custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
Moesif: Is there a free plan for Moesif?

Moesif offers a free tier aimed at hobbyists and small projects; after a 14-day trial with full Growth-tier features and 10,000,000 events, accounts move to the free plan.

Source
Kong Gateway: How is usage metered on the Plus plan?

The Plus plan includes 1M API requests per month, with additional usage billed at $200 per extra 1 million requests up to a 10M/month cap, plus per-gateway and per-LLM-model charges.

Source
Moesif: How is usage metered?

Moesif's Growth tier is priced based on the volume of API events processed, supporting usage-based billing use cases for API providers.

Source
Kong Gateway: What support is included?

Plus includes email support with a 2-business-day SLA, while Enterprise adds dedicated success managers and professional services.

Source
Moesif: Can I try Moesif's paid features first?

New accounts get a 14-day trial with full access to Growth-plan features and a large event allowance before being converted to the free plan if not upgraded.

Source
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