API gateway comparison
Kong vs. Mulesoft
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
Mulesoft
API7 Enterprise
Product Type
Open-source and enterprise API gateway, microservices management
Enterprise-level full lifecycle API management and integration platform
Built on open source API gateway Apache APISIX, it supports enterprise-level microservices management
Architecture
Pluggable architecture, uses PostgreSQL/Cassandra for configuration
Centralized integration platform with API-led connectivity
Cloud-native, uses etcd for dynamic configuration and real-time updates
Scalability
High (NGINX-based), but clustering requires manual tuning and PostgreSQL/Cassandra expertise
Moderate (heavyweight architecture), supports scalability through its CloudHub and on-premises deployment options
Extremely high (Apache APISIX), lightweight, supports real-time updates by dynamic upstream and downstream configuration
Deployment
Supports Kubernetes, VM, and bare-metal deployments
Supports Cloud, on-prem, hybrid deployments
Flexible deployment, supports multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud environments
Plugins
Offers a diverse array of plugins, but several advanced features are exclusive to the Enterprise Edition
Flex Gateway supports custom policy development using Rust Wasm SDKs but with limited extending functionality
Provides over 100 open-source plugins, supporting custom development in Lua, Wasm, Go, JavaScript, Python, Node.js, and Java
Security & Authentication
Supports JWT, OAuth2, API keys, and ACLs
Supports OAuth 2.0, JWT, and RBAC
Supports JWT, OIDC, OAuth2, fine-grained RBAC and IAM, and mTLS
Observability & Monitoring
Offers analytical tools such as Splunk, Datadog, Zipkin, Elastic, and more
Offers proprietary monitoring tool as a part of Anypoint Platform
Offers comprehensive and customizable monitoring tools including SkyWalking, Kafka, Elasticsearch, OpenTelemetry, and Grafana
Multi-Protocol Support
Supports protocols including TCP, UDP, HTTP/S, GraphQL, gRPC, and REST
Supports only HTTP/S
Supports protocols including TCP, UDP, HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, gRPC, WebSocket, MQTT, Dubbo, SOAP, and custom Layer 4 and Layer 7 protocols
Upstream Service Stability
Upstream service circuit breaker, load balancing, and health checking
Circuit breaker, load-balancing, mult-upstream, built-in health checking, and advanced traffic management features like canary traffic shifting and dynamic routing
Vendor Lock-in
Controlled by Kong Inc. raises potential concerns about future licensing changes
Deeply integrated within the broader MuleSoft ecosystem, this gateway presents a high degree of vendor lock-in
Vendor-agnostic, 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
Can be complex and may require a learning curve for new users
API7 Portal provides robust management and monitoring tools and powerful monetization strategies
Pricing Model
Expensive enterprise tier, complex pricing
Very high cost (enterprise-focused)
Cost-effective, flexible subscription/usage-based
What to consider most when choosing the API gateway
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