Kong

Overview

Kong Gateway is an open-source API gateway built on NGINX that sits between clients and backend services to manage API traffic. It handles authentication, rate limiting, load balancing, and traffic control through a plugin-based architecture. Organizations use Kong to secure APIs, improve performance, and simplify microservices architecture. Available as free open-source software or paid enterprise editions with advanced features.

Key Features

Plugin Ecosystem: Access 60+ pre-built plugins for authentication, rate limiting, transformations, logging, and monitoring to extend gateway functionality without writing code.
Hybrid Deployment: Deploy on-premises, in the cloud, or across multiple environments with support for Kubernetes, multi-cloud, and database or database-less configurations.
AI Gateway Capabilities: Built-in AI features including semantic caching, observability, security controls, and routing for managing LLM and AI service integrations.
Traffic Management: Control API traffic with advanced load balancing, health checks, circuit breakers, and dynamic routing based on request parameters.
Authentication & Security: Support for OAuth2, JWT, API keys, LDAP, and role-based access control (RBAC) to protect APIs from unauthorized access.
Developer Portal: Self-service portal for API documentation, onboarding, and management to reduce time from weeks to hours.
Real-Time Analytics: Monitor API performance, errors, and latency with detailed metrics and custom dashboards for troubleshooting.
Custom Plugin Development: Build custom plugins using Lua or Go to meet specific business requirements and integrate with existing systems.

Pros

Open-Source Foundation: Free to use and modify with active community support, making it accessible for startups and teams with technical expertise.
High Performance: Built on NGINX for fast request processing and low latency, handling thousands of requests per second efficiently.
Scalability: Proven to manage thousands of APIs across large organizations like United Airlines and SeatGeek with minimal performance degradation.
Flexibility: Works with REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and other protocols, supporting diverse API architectures and legacy systems.
Multi-Cloud Support: Deploy across AWS, Azure, GCP, or hybrid environments without vendor lock-in.

Cons

Steep Learning Curve: Requires NGINX knowledge and technical expertise for setup and configuration, which can be challenging for beginners with insufficient documentation.
Pricing Opacity: Enterprise pricing not publicly disclosed and can be expensive for high API volumes with additional costs for analytics, portals, and infrastructure.
Performance Issues:Some users mention performance concerns unless the system is carefully optimized, which can require tuning and expertise to avoid latency or resource limits.

Use Cases

Microservices Architecture: Large enterprises managing hundreds of microservices use Kong to centralize authentication, rate limiting, and routing, reducing API onboarding time by 2-3x as seen with United Airlines.
Multi-Tenant SaaS Platforms: Telecommunications providers use Kong for customer-specific routing to separate EMS instances, ensuring each end customer accesses only their designated services securely.
API Version Management: Development teams implement A/B testing and gradual user migration between API versions, reducing risk and enabling controlled rollouts without downtime.
Mobile Application Backend: Organizations expose internal APIs to mobile apps by applying OAuth2 authentication, rate limiting, and request transformations through Kong's plugin system.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Kong Gateway used for?

Kong Gateway acts as a middleman between clients and your backend services, handling API traffic management, security, authentication, rate limiting, and monitoring. It simplifies microservices architecture by centralizing common functionality like logging and transformations.

Is Kong Gateway free?

Yes, Kong Gateway is available as free open-source software that you can download, use, and modify. Kong also offers paid Plus and Enterprise plans with additional features like advanced analytics, developer portals, and dedicated support, but pricing requires contacting sales.

What programming language does Kong use?

Kong is built on NGINX and uses Lua for plugin development. You can also create custom plugins using Go. The core gateway handles request routing and processing, while plugins extend functionality.

How does Kong compare to AWS API Gateway?

Kong offers more deployment flexibility (on-premises, multi-cloud, hybrid) while AWS API Gateway is limited to AWS infrastructure. Kong provides more customization through plugins but requires more technical expertise to manage. AWS API Gateway is easier to set up but has vendor lock-in.

What are Kong's deployment options?

Kong supports three main deployment modes: Serverless (fastest setup for development), Self-Hosted/Kubernetes (flexible production deployment), and Dedicated Cloud (fully managed auto-scaling option). You can run Kong with or without a database depending on your needs.

Does Kong support Kubernetes?

Yes, Kong includes native Kubernetes Ingress Controller support for seamless integration with container orchestration. Many organizations deploy Kong on Kubernetes for microservices management and API routing.

What authentication methods does Kong support?

Kong supports OAuth2, JWT tokens, API keys, LDAP, basic authentication, and custom authentication through plugins. The enterprise version includes additional RBAC features for granular access control.

Can Kong handle AI and LLM traffic?

Yes. Kong can manage AI and large language model (LLM) traffic using its AI Gateway features built on top of the core API gateway. Kong’s AI Gateway can route requests to different LLM providers, enforce security and usage policies, track metrics like tokens and latency, and help optimize performance and cost across multiple models. These capabilities make it suitable for handling AI‑centric workloads, including LLM service integrations.