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API7 Enterprise vs Kong: Enterprise API Gateways Compared (2026)

By API7.ai Team

Last updated: July 2026

API7 Enterprise and Kong are both commercial-grade API gateways on an NGINX/OpenResty core, but they differ in the foundation they build on, the configuration store, and who governs the open-source core. This guide compares foundation and governance, architecture, plugins, AI gateway, performance, and licensing so you can choose.

TL;DR

Both are commercial-grade gateways on an NGINX/OpenResty core — the difference is the foundation. API7 Enterprise is built on Apache-2.0 Apache APISIX, a vendor-neutral Apache Software Foundation project with a 600+ contributor community: it contains all of open-source APISIX (two-way migration, no lock-in), uses an etcd store with no database, and adds a governed control plane, developer portal, and compliance attestations with SLA support from the APISIX maintainers. Kong pairs a mature plugin ecosystem and the managed Konnect platform with Kong Enterprise, on an open-source core governed by a single vendor, Kong Inc.

  • A governed, database-free gateway on the APISIX core: API7 Enterprise
  • The largest ecosystem + a managed SaaS: Kong
  • Compliance attestations and maintainer-backed SLA: API7 Enterprise
  • At a glance
  • What is API7 Enterprise?
  • What is Kong?
  • Architecture
  • Feature comparison
  • When to choose
  • FAQ

API7 Enterprise vs Kong at a glance

API7 Enterprise leads on its vendor-neutral, ASF-governed APISIX foundation, a database-free etcd architecture, and maintainer-backed compliance and SLA; Kong leads on ecosystem size and a managed Konnect platform.

DimensionAPI7 EnterpriseKong
Best forA governed, APISIX-based gateway with SLA supportA mature ecosystem with a managed Konnect platform
Core & config storeNGINX/OpenResty (Lua) + etcd — no databaseNGINX/OpenResty (Lua) + PostgreSQL or DB-less
Open-source foundation✓ Apache-2.0 Apache APISIX — vendor-neutral ASF governanceApache-2.0 core governed by a single vendor (Kong Inc.)
Lock-in & migration✓ Contains all of open-source APISIX — two-way migrationKonnect and Enterprise features are proprietary to Kong
Config propagation✓ Dynamic via etcd watch (ms)~5s DB poll; DB-less needs reload
LicensingCommercial, built on Apache-2.0 APISIX; CPU-core pricingOSS free; Konnect and Kong Enterprise are commercial

What is API7 Enterprise?

API7 Enterprise is API7.ai’s commercial gateway built on Apache APISIX. It keeps APISIX’s etcd-based data plane and adds a governed control plane, developer portal, compliance attestations, and SLA support.

API7 Enterprise is API7.ai’s commercial API gateway and full API-lifecycle platform built on Apache APISIX. It keeps APISIX’s etcd-based, NGINX/OpenResty data plane (~18,000 QPS per core at 0.2 ms) and adds a governed control plane — console RBAC, gateway groups, audit logging, a developer portal, and compliance attestations — with commercial SLA support.

Core

Apache APISIX data plane (NGINX/OpenResty) + etcd

License

Commercial (built on Apache-2.0 APISIX)

Best for

Governed APISIX with SLA support

Pros

  • Same high-performance APISIX core, plus a managed control plane — RBAC/IAM, gateway groups, audit logging
  • Built-in developer portal, API lifecycle management, and monetization
  • Compliance attestations: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, GDPR; FIPS 140-2 Level 1 builds
  • SLA support from APISIX core maintainers (up to 30-min response, 99.9% uptime)
  • 100+ open-source APISIX plugins plus enterprise add-ons (GraphQL, SOAP, traffic labeling)

Cons

  • Commercial license — Apache APISIX itself is free and open source
  • The data-plane engine is the same as APISIX OSS, not a faster core
  • Newer commercial ecosystem than Kong’s long-established one

What is Kong?

Kong Gateway is an open-source API gateway on NGINX/OpenResty backed by PostgreSQL (or DB-less), with a large Plugin Hub and commercial Kong Enterprise / Konnect offerings on top.

Kong Gateway is an open-source API gateway built on NGINX/OpenResty, backed by PostgreSQL or run DB-less, with a large plugin ecosystem. Kong Inc. layers Kong Enterprise and the managed Kong Konnect platform — adding RBAC, workspaces, and advanced plugins — on top of the open-source core.

Core

NGINX/OpenResty (Lua) + PostgreSQL / DB-less

License

Apache-2.0 core + commercial Enterprise/Konnect

Best for

Mature ecosystem + managed Konnect

Pros

  • Mature, widely adopted, with a large Plugin Hub (~130 plugins incl. partner)
  • Managed Konnect SaaS and an established commercial-support ecosystem
  • Flexible deployment: traditional (PostgreSQL), DB-less, and hybrid modes
  • Kong AI Gateway with its own published AI benchmarks

Cons

  • The open-source core and its roadmap are controlled by a single vendor, Kong Inc.
  • DB-backed config propagates on a ~5s poll; DB-less requires reloads
  • Cassandra was removed in Kong 3.4 (PostgreSQL or DB-less now)

Architecture: etcd vs database-backed

API7 Enterprise runs the APISIX data plane against an etcd config store, so changes propagate by watch in milliseconds with no restart. Kong persists state in PostgreSQL (or runs DB-less from a declarative file).

API7 Enterprise runs the Apache APISIX data plane and stores configuration in etcd, cached locally on each node. Routes, plugins, and upstreams update via etcd watch in milliseconds, with no database to scale and no restart. A separate control plane adds RBAC, gateway groups, audit logging, and multi-cluster management on top of that stateless data plane.

Kong runs in traditional mode backed by PostgreSQL, in DB-less mode from a declarative config file, or in hybrid mode separating control and data planes. In traditional mode, nodes pick up changes on a polling interval (the documented db_update_frequency default is 5 seconds); DB-less applies changes on reload. Cassandra was removed as a datastore in Kong Gateway 3.4.

API7 Enterprise vs Kong: feature comparison

The two converge on NGINX-based proxying, then diverge on foundation and governance, config store, developer portal, and plugin breadth.

FeatureAPI7 EnterpriseKong
ArchitectureApache APISIX data plane (NGINX/OpenResty) + etcd; CP/DP split, dynamic config, no databaseNGINX/OpenResty (Lua) + PostgreSQL, or DB-less; hybrid mode separates CP/DP
Config propagationetcd watch — milliseconds, no restartTraditional mode polls the DB (~5s default); DB-less applies on reload
Open-source foundationBuilt on Apache-2.0 Apache APISIX; 100+ plugins in open source, no data-plane paywallApache-2.0 Kong Gateway core, governed by a single vendor (Kong Inc.)
Control plane, RBAC & multi-tenancy✓ Console RBAC/IAM (Keycloak, Okta, OIDC/OAuth, 2FA), gateway groups, audit logging✓ RBAC, workspaces, and teams in Kong Enterprise / Konnect
Plugins100+ APISIX plugins + enterprise add-ons (GraphQL rate-limit/cache, SOAP, traffic labeling, oas-validator)~130 on the Kong Plugin Hub (incl. partner/3rd-party); several advanced plugins Enterprise
Custom plugin languagesLua, Go, Java, Python, WebAssemblyLua, Go, Python, JavaScript (PDK); Wasm (beta)
ProtocolsHTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, gRPC (+ transcoding), WebSocket, TCP/UDP, MQTT, DubboHTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, gRPC (+ transcoding, OSS), WebSocket, TCP/TLS, UDP
Developer portal✓ Built-in developer portal — docs, auth, rate limiting, monetizationKonnect Dev Portal across tiers (free tier); self-hosted Dev Portal is Enterprise
AI / LLM gateway✓ Multi-LLM routing, token rate limits, prompt guardrails, budgetsKong AI Gateway plugins — some advanced features Enterprise
Security & complianceJWT, OAuth2/OIDC, mTLS, key-auth in the APISIX core; SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, GDPR; FIPS 140-2 Level 1 (FIPS-validated OpenSSL)JWT, OAuth2, key-auth, ACL, mTLS; OIDC is Enterprise; see Kong’s Trust Center for Konnect compliance
Performance (self-reported)APISIX core ~18,000 QPS per core at 0.2 msKong publishes a single-node basic-proxy benchmark (~137,850 RPS, no plugins); methodology differs
Support & SLASupport from APISIX core maintainers; up to 30-min SLA, 99.9% uptime, first-priority security fixesKong Inc. commercial support; large partner ecosystem

When to choose API7 Enterprise vs Kong

Choose API7 Enterprise for a governed, database-free gateway on the open-source APISIX core with compliance and SLA; choose Kong for the largest ecosystem and a managed Konnect platform.

Choose API7 Enterprise if you…

  • Want a governed control plane — RBAC, gateway groups, audit — on the vendor-neutral APISIX core
  • Need compliance attestations (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR) and an SLA
  • Prefer an etcd-based, database-free architecture with millisecond config
  • Want support directly from the APISIX core maintainer team

Choose Kong if you…

  • Want the largest plugin ecosystem and a managed Konnect SaaS
  • Are standardized on Kong tooling across the organization
  • Prefer Kong’s long-established commercial ecosystem and partner network

Bottom line: if you want a commercial gateway rooted in the vendor-neutral, ASF-governed Apache APISIX core — with two-way open-source migration, a governed control plane, compliance attestations, and a maintainer-backed SLA — API7 Enterprise is the stronger fit; if you want the largest plugin ecosystem and a managed SaaS and are comfortable with a single-vendor stack, Kong is a solid choice. Explore API7 Enterprise or start a free trial.

Frequently asked questions

Related comparisons

API7 Enterprise vs Apache APISIX · Apache APISIX vs Kong · All gateway comparisons

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