Kong vs KrakenD: API Gateways Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of Kong and KrakenD for api gateways buyers — pricing, features, integrations, and how often each is cited by major AI engines.

AI Citation Scorecard

How often each is cited by major AI engines when buyers ask api gateways questions. Last 90 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot.

Too early to call — probes still building data.
ChatGPT
Kong
Tracking…
No data yet
KrakenD
Tracking…
No data yet
Perplexity
Kong
Tracking…
No data yet
KrakenD
Tracking…
No data yet
Gemini
Kong
Tracking…
No data yet
KrakenD
Tracking…
No data yet
Claude
Kong
Tracking…
No data yet
KrakenD
Tracking…
No data yet
Copilot
Kong
Tracking…
No data yet
KrakenD
Tracking…
No data yet
Scale:NoneLowFairStrongExcellent

Probes run hourly; each (engine × query) combo retests every ~3 days.

Pricing

Kong
Starting price
$12/user/month
Free tier
Yes
konghq.com
KrakenD
Starting price
Free tier
krakend.io

Key Features

Kong
  • API, protocol, and service support
  • Unlimited agents for agent-to-agent traffic
  • AI Observability with token-level tracking
  • Advanced analytics for up to 1M API requests
  • Developer portal support for 2 portals
  • Enterprise-grade security controls
  • Email support during trial
  • Unlimited access to plugins
KrakenD

Feature data is being indexed.

When to choose Kong

Choose Kong if your team prioritizes its strengths over KrakenD's. Full guidance populates as Kong's feature data is indexed.

When to choose KrakenD

Choose KrakenD if your team prioritizes its strengths over Kong's. Full guidance populates as KrakenD's feature data is indexed.

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