API gateway comparison
Kong vs. Tyk
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
Tyk
API7 Enterprise
Vendor Lock-in
The open-source project is under the control of Kong Inc. and the license can be changed
Open source project under MPL license, which is a little more restrictive
Based on Apache APISIX, which is fully open source and licensed under the Apache 2.0 License
Developer Portal
Kong Dev Portal
Tyk Developer Portal
API7 Portal provides robust management and monitoring tools and powerful monetization strategies
Supports GraphQL Federation Natively
No, it only provides core GraphQL capabilities through plugins
Yes, it supports GraphQL Federation v1
No, but it supports GraphQL APIs
On-Prem, Cloud, and Hybrid Options
Lightweight, Ultra-Performance, Low Overhead, Cloud-Native Gateway
High, average 9,840 QPS; dependent on PostgreSQL, which is not so lightweight
Low, 6,900 requests per second (RPS) with an introduced latency of about 8.6 milliseconds at the 95th percentile
Ultra-high, single-core QPS of 18,000 and an average delay of 0.2 ms; lightweight, cloud-native, and Kubernetes-friendly
Dashboard
Requires database and Kong Konnect for enterprise features
Slightly complex setup with good extensibility
User-friendly dashboard, easy setup, and fully extensible
Programmatic Enterprise-Grade RBAC
Supports audit logging, and detailed permission control over resources like APIs, Routes, and Plugins
Auditing & Reporting
Yes, but requires external tools for deeper audit logging
Yes, but it does not capture all events or actions performed within the system (such as changes to API configurations or user permissions)
Yes, but it does not capture all events or actions performed within the system (such as changes to API configurations or user permissions)
Full Lifecycle API Management
Strong enterprise security, and service mesh integration, but requires Kong Konnect for full lifecycle management
End-to-end API management, robust developer portal, but slightly complex setup for API monetization and analytics
Strong full API lifecycle management with built-in API monetization and fine-grained traffic control
CI/CD Integrations
Kong supports CI/CD through Kong Konnect and plugins that facilitate integration with CI/CD tools
Difficult to automate testing as part of the CI/CD pipeline or to manage configuration as code via the Dashboard UI or REST API
It integrates with popular DevOps tools and supports customizable workflows
Community Support
Relatively active open-source community
A much smaller open source community that can limit time to resolution when issues arise
Active APISIX community and issues can be resolved in time on Slack and GitHub; API7 experts for enterprise support
Plugins
Offers 100+ plugins but limits most to the enterprise version
Limited customization, including the inability to customize layouts, headers, or branding
100+ open-source plugins, and enterprise-grade plugins, including ai-proxy, traffic-label, soap, etc.
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