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Head-to-head · LLM Gateway Software

Kong AI Gateway vs Orq.ai

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Kong AI Gateway #7 in LLM Gateway Software 8.3/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 5 features Try Kong AI Gateway
Orq.ai #8 in LLM Gateway Software 8.2/10 Paid ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Orq.ai

Kong AI Gateway leads on 0 checks, Orq.ai on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreKong AI Gateway · 8.3/10
  • Free trialonly Kong AI Gateway

Kong AI Gateway scores higher on our rubric for llm gateway software: 8.3 against 8.2 out of 10; our editors rank them #7 and #8.

Kong AI Gateway is the better fit for enterprises needing governed multi-provider traffic. Orq.ai is the better fit for teams routing across many models and providers.

  • Kong AI Gateway fits best

    Enterprises needing governed multi-provider traffic

  • Orq.ai fits best

    Teams routing across many models and providers

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Kong AI Gateway 8.3/10 Visit ↗ Orq.ai 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.3 8.2
Ranking #7 in LLM Gateway Software #8 in LLM Gateway Software
Best for Enterprises needing governed multi-provider traffic Teams routing across many models and providers
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price — —
Free plan — —
Free trial 30 days —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web
Support Email, Tickets Email, Docs, Community
Integrations 14 integrations 26+ integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Kong AI Gateway 5/5 · Orq.ai 5/5
Fallback routing ✓ ✓
Usage analytics ✓ ✓
Self-hosted deployment ✓ ✓
Budget controls ✓ ✓
Virtual API keys ✓ ✓
Specs
Provider count Not checked yet 30
Our review
Pros
  • Routes and fails over traffic across multiple LLM providers
  • Tracks usage, tokens, costs, latency, and errors
  • Supports managed, cloud, and self-hosted deployments
  • Routes across 500+ models from 30+ providers with fallback options
  • Tracks traces, costs, tokens, latency, budgets, and spend limits
  • Supports cloud, VPC, on-premises, and self-hosted deployments
Cons
  • Paid pricing is not presented as a single flat AI Gateway price
  • No perpetual free plan is offered
  • Plus limits gateway and model counts
  • No free plan for evaluating the platform
  • Enterprise features require a custom pricing arrangement
  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple model routing
Our verdict

Kong AI Gateway is an API gateway for platform, infrastructure, and enterprise teams managing production AI connectivity. It governs traffic between applications, agents, MCP servers, and large language model providers through a unified…

Read the review →

Orq.ai is an AI gateway and platform for engineering, product, and enterprise teams building LLM applications. Its OpenAI-compatible endpoint routes requests across 500+ models from 30+ providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google,…

Read the review →
  1. Kong AI GatewayLLM Gateway Software 8.330-day trial
  2. Orq.aiLLM Gateway Software 8.2Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Kong AI Gateway — where it wins

    • Routes and fails over traffic across multiple LLM providers
    • Tracks usage, tokens, costs, latency, and errors
    • Supports managed, cloud, and self-hosted deployments

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid pricing is not presented as a single flat AI Gateway price
    • No perpetual free plan is offered
    • Plus limits gateway and model counts
  • Orq.ai — where it wins

    • Routes across 500+ models from 30+ providers with fallback options
    • Tracks traces, costs, tokens, latency, budgets, and spend limits
    • Supports cloud, VPC, on-premises, and self-hosted deployments

    Where it doesn't

    • No free plan for evaluating the platform
    • Enterprise features require a custom pricing arrangement
    • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple model routing

More comparisons

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update