API gateway comparison
Kong vs. Gloo Edge
Are you finding it challenging to choose a vendor for your API gateway, and are you struggling to make a decision? Our team of experts has conducted a comprehensive analysis and we are here to assist you in finding the best API gateway that suits your needs.
Comparison
Kong
Gloo Egde
API7 Enterprise
Architecture
Built on NGINX and OpenResty, optimized for high performance but adds latency with Lua scripting
Built on Envoy Proxy, designed for cloud-native environments
Built on Apache APISIX, high-performance with LuaJIT-based execution, lower latency than Kong
Performance & Scalability
Scalable but relies on PostgreSQL or Cassandra for persistence, which may create bottlenecks
Optimized for Kubernetes with service mesh integrations like Istio
Ultra-high performance and low latency, with a single-core QPS of 18,000 and an average delay of 0.2 ms. It can handle 1 trillion+ API calls per day.
Deployment
Supports Kubernetes, VM, and bare-metal deployments
Optimized for Kubernetes-native deployments
Flexible deployment, supports cloud, hybrid, and edge environments
Plugins
Large ecosystem of plugins, but enterprise features are locked behind a paid version
Offers built-in transformations, WebAssembly support for custom filters
Open-source plugin ecosystem, including custom plugins, security, observability, and authentication
Security & Authentication
Supports JWT, OAuth2, API keys, and ACLs
Deep integration with Oathkeeper, Open Policy Agent (OPA) for security
Supports JWT, OIDC, OAuth2, fine-grained RBAC and IAM, and mTLS
Observability & Monitoring
Integrates with Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenTelemetry
Supports tracing and is compaticle with Prometheus and Grafana
Advanced monitoring dashboards, OpenTelemetry support, and AI-based anomaly detection
Vendor Lock-in
The open-source project is under the control of Kong Inc. and the license can be changed
Supports various integrations to reduce the risk of vendor lock-in
Based on Apache APISIX, which is fully open source and licensed under the Apache 2.0 License
Developer Portal
Offers Kong Dev Portal for API documentation and onboarding
API7 Portal provides robust management and monitoring tools and powerful monetization strategies
Dashboard
Enterprise dashboard for API management, but requires licensing
Integrates with tools like Argo CD for deployment visualization
A visual, user-friendly dashboard for managing APIs, security policies, and traffic
Auditing & Reporting
Logs API requests, but lacks built-in auditing features
Advanced auditing & logging with detailed API access records and event tracking
CI/CD Integrations
Supports CI/CD pipelines but requires manual configurations for integration
Integrates well with cloud-native CI/CD tools like ArgoCD but lacks API-focused CI/CD support
Offers seamless CI/CD integrations, enabling DevOps teams to automate API deployment, configuration management, and testing
Community Support
Large open-source community, but enterprise support is expensive
Active open-source community
Strong open-source & enterprise support, with direct engagement and customization options
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