Alibaba Cloud API Gateway vs Kong Gateway

Alibaba Cloud API Gateway8.8Visit Kong Gateway8.4Visit

Higher score Alibaba Cloud API Gateway #7 in API Gateway Software 8.8/10 Paid ✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Alibaba Cloud

vs

Kong Gateway #11 in API Gateway Software 8.4/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Kong Gateway

• Alibaba Cloud API Gateway fits best

  Alibaba Cloud and Kubernetes users

• Kong Gateway fits best

  Flexible hybrid deployments and Kubernetes teams

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Side by side

Feature	Alibaba Cloud API Gateway 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Kong Gateway 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.4
Ranking	#7 in API Gateway Software	#11 in API Gateway Software
Best for	Alibaba Cloud and Kubernetes users	Flexible hybrid deployments and Kubernetes teams
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	—
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Live chat, Tickets, Docs	Email, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7
Integrations	6 integrations	10 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Alibaba Cloud API Gateway 2/2 · Kong Gateway 2/2
Rate limiting	✓	✓
Request transformation	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Cloud	Hybrid
Supported protocols	HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, WebSocket, gRPC	REST, HTTP, Kafka, WebSockets, gRPC, GraphQL, UDP, TCP, TLS
Authentication methods	AppCode, digest authentication, JWT, mutual TLS, custom authentication	Basic Auth, HMAC, JWT, Key Auth, LDAP, mutual TLS, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML, Vault
Monthly request limit	Not checked yet	1e+06 requests/mo
Our review
Pros	Supports API lifecycle management, routing, authentication, and traffic controls Works with Kubernetes, WebSocket, gRPC, HTTP/3, and multiple backends Integrates with WAF, VPC, Nacos, Function Compute, and logging	Supports REST, Kafka, WebSockets, gRPC, GraphQL, UDP, TCP, and TLS Combines routing, authentication, rate limiting, transformations, and load balancing Offers open-source, self-managed, hybrid, and managed cloud deployment options
Cons	No free plan is available Pricing varies by region and billing model Dedicated gateway options use Chinese mainland reference pricing	Plus uses metered gateway and request charges rather than one fixed listed price The Free trial retains analytics for 30 days Dedicated support and customer success are listed for Enterprise
Our verdict	Alibaba Cloud API Gateway is a managed cloud service for publishing, routing, securing, and governing APIs. It is aimed at teams running general traffic or microservice scenarios on Alibaba Cloud, especially those using… Read the review →	Kong Gateway is a cloud-native API gateway and reverse proxy for configuring, routing, securing, and observing APIs and microservices. It is aimed at platform teams, developers, and enterprises managing services across Kubernetes,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Alibaba Cloud API Gateway — where it wins

  • Supports API lifecycle management, routing, authentication, and traffic controls
  • Works with Kubernetes, WebSocket, gRPC, HTTP/3, and multiple backends
  • Integrates with WAF, VPC, Nacos, Function Compute, and logging

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is available
  • Pricing varies by region and billing model
  • Dedicated gateway options use Chinese mainland reference pricing

• Kong Gateway — where it wins

  • Supports REST, Kafka, WebSockets, gRPC, GraphQL, UDP, TCP, and TLS
  • Combines routing, authentication, rate limiting, transformations, and load balancing
  • Offers open-source, self-managed, hybrid, and managed cloud deployment options

  Where it doesn't

  • Plus uses metered gateway and request charges rather than one fixed listed price
  • The Free trial retains analytics for 30 days
  • Dedicated support and customer success are listed for Enterprise

• Alibaba Cloud API Gateway8.8/10 · Paid

  A cloud-managed gateway with strong Kubernetes, protocol, and traffic-control coverage.

  Visit Alibaba CloudFull verdict →
• Kong Gateway8.4/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A flexible gateway for Kubernetes, hybrid infrastructure, and multi-cloud API operations.

  Visit Kong GatewayFull verdict →