--- title: "Kong vs Gravitee (2026): API Gateway Platforms Compared - API7.ai" description: "Kong vs Gravitee compared: architecture, performance, protocol and event (Kafka, MQTT) support, developer portal, observability, and pricing — and how to choose." url: "https://api7.ai/kong-vs-gravitee" --- # Kong vs Gravitee: API Gateway Platforms Compared (2026) By API7.ai Team Last updated: June 2026 Kong and Gravitee are both open-source-rooted API platforms, but they were built for different jobs — Kong as a high-performance NGINX/OpenResty gateway, Gravitee as an event-native API management platform on a reactive Java runtime. This guide compares architecture, protocol and event support, the developer portal, observability, and pricing so you can pick the right fit. TL;DR Kong is an NGINX/OpenResty gateway optimized for high-throughput HTTP, gRPC, and L4 traffic with a broad plugin ecosystem. Gravitee is an event-native API management platform whose reactive Java gateway manages Kafka, Solace, and MQTT backends alongside REST in one plane. The decision comes down to raw gateway performance versus native event/async API management. - High-throughput HTTP / gRPC / L4 gateway: Kong - Event/async API management (Kafka, MQTT): Gravitee - Leanest footprint with a single DB-less node: Kong - [At a glance](#at-a-glance) - [What is Kong?](#what-is-kong) - [What is Gravitee?](#what-is-gravitee) - [Architecture](#architecture) - [Event & protocol support](#event-support) - [Feature comparison](#feature-comparison) - [When to choose](#choose) - [FAQ](#faq) ## Kong vs Gravitee at a glance Kong leads on raw gateway performance and plugin breadth on NGINX/OpenResty; Gravitee leads on event-native API management, managing Kafka, Solace, and MQTT backends alongside HTTP. | Dimension | Kong | Gravitee | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Best for | High-performance HTTP/L4 API gateway | Event-native API management (HTTP + async) | | Core & runtime | NGINX/OpenResty (Lua) | Java, reactive gateway (JVM) | | Datastore | PostgreSQL or DB-less | MongoDB/JDBC + Elasticsearch | | Async / event APIs | — HTTP/L4 only (no native broker) | ✓ Kafka, Solace, MQTT (Enterprise) | | Extensibility | Hundreds of plugins (advanced = paid) | Reactive policy engine | | Developer portal | Konnect (paid managed) | Community Edition (Classic portal) | | License & pricing | Apache-2.0 core; Enterprise custom | Apache-2.0 CE; Enterprise from $2,500/mo | ## What is Kong? Kong is an API gateway built on NGINX/OpenResty (Lua), backed by PostgreSQL or run DB-less, with hundreds of plugins for authentication, traffic control, and API management. Kong is an API gateway built on NGINX/OpenResty (Lua), backed by PostgreSQL or run DB-less, with hundreds of plugins for authentication, traffic control, and API management. It runs in traditional, hybrid, or DB-less mode across any environment. Architecture NGINX/OpenResty (Lua) Datastore PostgreSQL or DB-less License Apache-2.0 core + Enterprise ### Pros - NGINX/OpenResty foundation with strong HTTP/L4 throughput - Hundreds of plugins and a large, mature ecosystem - Flexible deployment: traditional, hybrid, or DB-less - DB-less mode removes the database for simple, declarative setups ### Cons - No native Kafka/MQTT or event-broker management - OIDC, Datadog, Vitals and other advanced features are Enterprise/Konnect - Modern developer portal and analytics live in paid Konnect - Enterprise pricing is custom — no fixed public number ## What is Gravitee? Gravitee is an open-source, event-native API management platform built on Java with a reactive gateway, designed to manage both synchronous (HTTP) and asynchronous (Kafka, MQTT) APIs in one plane. Gravitee is an open-source, event-native API management platform built on Java with a reactive gateway. It manages synchronous (HTTP) and asynchronous (Kafka, Solace, MQTT) APIs through one plane, with a Management API, Console, and Developer Portal. Architecture Java, reactive gateway (JVM) Datastore MongoDB/JDBC + Elasticsearch License Apache-2.0 CE + Enterprise ### Pros - Event-native: Kafka, Solace, and MQTT backends as managed APIs - Protocol mediation — expose one backend as HTTP, WebSocket, or SSE - Reactive gateway designed for streaming and long-lived connections - Unified management plane for synchronous and asynchronous APIs ### Cons - JVM runtime adds memory footprint and warm-up vs native gateways - Event-native message APIs are an Enterprise-Edition capability - Newer redesigned Developer Portal is Enterprise-only; Classic portal ships in Community Edition - More components to run: Gateway + Management API + MongoDB + Elasticsearch ## Architecture: NGINX gateway vs reactive Java platform Kong is a lean NGINX/OpenResty gateway that can run with PostgreSQL or no database at all; Gravitee is a multi-component Java platform with a reactive gateway plus MongoDB and Elasticsearch. Kong builds on NGINX/OpenResty with Lua plugins. It can run in traditional mode against PostgreSQL, in hybrid mode with separate control and data planes, or fully DB-less with declarative config and no database. That keeps the runtime footprint small and the data plane fast, while richer policies are added through plugins. (Cassandra was a supported data store historically but was removed in Kong Gateway 3.4.) Gravitee takes a platform approach. Its gateway runs a reactive execution engine on the JVM, and a full deployment also includes the Management API, Console, and Developer Portal, with MongoDB (or a JDBC database) for configuration and rate-limit data and Elasticsearch for analytics. That brings more out-of-the-box API management and native event handling, at the cost of more components to operate. ## Event and protocol support Gravitee natively manages event brokers — Kafka, Solace, and MQTT — and can mediate them to HTTP, WebSocket, Webhook, or SSE; Kong is an HTTP/L4 gateway with no native broker management. This is the clearest dividing line. Gravitee's v4 message APIs let a Kafka, Solace, or MQTT backend be exposed through HTTP GET/POST, WebSocket, Webhook, or Server-Sent Events entrypoints — and because entrypoints and endpoints are decoupled, you can mediate between protocols (for example, surfacing a Kafka topic as an SSE stream). Gravitee documents these message APIs as an Enterprise-Edition capability. Kong proxies HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, UDP, and WebSocket, and offers gRPC-Web and gRPC-Gateway transcoding plugins. But it has no native Kafka or MQTT broker management — teams pairing Kong with event-driven systems typically run a separate streaming layer. If async API management is central, Gravitee is purpose-built for it; if your traffic is HTTP and L4, Kong covers it with less to operate. ## Kong vs Gravitee: feature comparison Across architecture, protocol and event support, extensibility, security, and developer experience, the two trade raw gateway performance against native event-API management. | Feature | Kong | Gravitee | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Architecture | NGINX/OpenResty (Lua); PostgreSQL or DB-less; traditional, hybrid, or DB-less mode | Java reactive gateway (JVM); Management API, Console, Developer Portal as components | | Datastore | PostgreSQL (traditional) or none (DB-less); Cassandra removed in 3.4 | MongoDB or JDBC for config/management + Elasticsearch for analytics | | Protocol support | HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, gRPC, TCP, TLS, UDP, WebSocket | HTTP, WebSocket, Webhook, Server-Sent Events; Kafka/Solace/MQTT backends | | Event / async APIs | No native event-broker management; HTTP/L4 proxy | Native Kafka, Solace, MQTT via v4 message APIs (Enterprise Edition) | | Protocol mediation | gRPC-Web / gRPC-Gateway transcoding plugins | Decoupled entrypoints/endpoints — e.g. expose a Kafka topic as HTTP, WS, or SSE | | Extensibility | Hundreds of plugins; OIDC and other advanced plugins require Enterprise/Konnect | Reactive policy engine: security, transformation, protocol mediation | | Security & auth | JWT, OAuth2, API keys, ACLs, mTLS; OIDC plugin is Enterprise/Konnect | API keys, JWT, OAuth2, mTLS, keyless; policy-driven enforcement | | Observability | Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Zipkin via plugins; Datadog/Vitals = Enterprise | Built-in analytics dashboard (Elasticsearch-backed); reporters incl. Datadog (Enterprise) | | Developer portal | Konnect developer portal (paid managed); OSS reference client available | Classic Developer Portal in Community Edition; new portal is Enterprise | | Deployment footprint | Gateway + PostgreSQL, or a single DB-less node; hybrid CP/DP supported | Gateway + Management API + MongoDB + Elasticsearch (+ Console/Portal) | | License & pricing | Apache-2.0 core; Enterprise/Konnect pricing is custom (contact sales) | Apache-2.0 Community Edition; managed Enterprise from $2,500/mo per gateway | ## When to choose Kong vs Gravitee Choose Kong for a fast, lean HTTP/gRPC/L4 gateway with a broad plugin ecosystem; choose Gravitee when managing event/async APIs alongside REST in one plane is the priority. ### Choose Kong if you… - Need a high-performance HTTP/gRPC/L4 gateway on NGINX/OpenResty - Want a large plugin ecosystem and flexible traffic and auth policies - Prefer a lean footprint — a single DB-less node or PostgreSQL-backed cluster ### Choose Gravitee if you… - Need to manage event/async APIs (Kafka, Solace, MQTT) alongside REST - Want protocol mediation to expose a broker as HTTP, WebSocket, or SSE - Want one management plane for synchronous and asynchronous APIs **Bottom line:** pick Kong when you want a high-performance NGINX/OpenResty gateway with a large plugin ecosystem and a lean footprint; pick Gravitee when native event-API management — Kafka, Solace, MQTT alongside REST — is the deciding factor. If you're weighing NGINX/OpenResty gateways more broadly, Apache APISIX is another option worth a look — see [Apache APISIX vs Kong](https://api7.ai/apisix-vs-kong). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between Kong and Gravitee? Kong is an API gateway built on NGINX/OpenResty (Lua), backed by PostgreSQL or run DB-less, with hundreds of plugins for traffic, auth, and API management. Gravitee is an open-source, event-native API management platform built on Java with a reactive gateway, designed to manage both synchronous (HTTP) and asynchronous (Kafka, MQTT) APIs in one place. ### Is Kong or Gravitee better for event-driven and async APIs? Gravitee is built for event-driven APIs: its v4 gateway can expose Kafka, Solace, and MQTT backends through HTTP, WebSocket, Webhook, and Server-Sent Events entrypoints, with protocol mediation between them. Note that Gravitee documents these message APIs as an Enterprise-Edition capability. Kong is primarily an HTTP/L4 gateway and has no native event-broker management. ### Is Kong faster than Gravitee? They use different runtimes, so raw throughput differs. Kong runs on NGINX/OpenResty, an event-driven C/Lua stack; Gravitee runs a reactive Java gateway on the JVM. Neither vendor publishes a directly comparable head-to-head benchmark, so treat any single QPS figure as workload-specific and benchmark both on your own traffic and policy mix. ### Does Gravitee or Kong include a developer portal? Both platforms offer a developer portal, but availability differs by edition. Gravitee ships a Developer Portal in the open-source Community Edition (the Classic portal); its newer redesigned Developer Portal is an Enterprise-Edition feature; Kong's modern developer portal is part of Kong Konnect, its paid managed platform (an open-source reference Konnect portal client also exists). Check each vendor's edition and pricing pages for the current gating. ### What databases do Kong and Gravitee require? Kong uses PostgreSQL in traditional mode, or no database at all in DB-less mode; Cassandra was removed in Kong Gateway 3.4 and is no longer a supported data store. Gravitee uses MongoDB (or a JDBC database) for management and rate-limit data and Elasticsearch for analytics, so a full Gravitee deployment runs more moving parts. ### What are some alternatives to Kong and Gravitee? The API gateway space also includes Apache APISIX, Tyk, KrakenD, and the cloud-vendor gateways (AWS, Azure, Apigee), among others. Apache APISIX, for example, is an NGINX/OpenResty-based open-source gateway with an etcd-backed control plane. Which fits depends on whether you weigh event-native API management, plugin breadth, or operational simplicity most. ## Related comparisons [Kong vs Tyk](https://api7.ai/kong-vs-tyk) · [Kong vs MuleSoft](https://api7.ai/kong-vs-mulesoft) · [Apache APISIX vs Kong](https://api7.ai/apisix-vs-kong) · [All gateway comparisons](https://api7.ai/api-gateway-comparison) ## Ready to get started? For more information about full API lifecycle management, please contact us to Meet with our API Experts. [Contact Us](https://api7.ai/contact)