AWS API Gateway vs Kong Pricing (2026)
Compare / AWS API Gateway vs Kong
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Team size
25 seats

AWS API Gateway vs Kong

API Management pricing comparison · 2026

AWS API Gateway is quote-based, while Kong has a free plan, then $25/mo. AWS API Gateway is typically 93% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit AWS pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Kong pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · API Management
Side-by-side · live
AWS API Gateway
AWS API Gateway is Amazon's fully managed service that enables developers to create, publi
verified 10w ago
$2.0K $65K
View pricing →
Kong
Kong is an open-source API gateway and microservices management platform that enables deve
verified 4mo ago
$2.0K $65K
View pricing →
Recorded annual contract medians
AWS median is $63K less than Kong · different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest $2.0K
Spread 97%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
Plus
$300/yr
year 1 license · flat plan price
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$2.0K/yr
Vendr · n=89
Median annual
$65K/yr
Vendr · n=32
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 33 sourced facts
27 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 3 review platforms
Last verified 2mo ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 12 sourced facts
10 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 4mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • API Type Selection
    250%
    1 source
  • AWS Lambda Integration
    2-3 times the cost of API Gateway
    1 source
  • CloudWatch Logs
    double costs
    1 source
  • AWS WAF
    $5 per month per Web ACL, $1 per month per rule, $0.60 per million requests
    1 source
  • Data Transfer Out
    10-30%
    1 source
5 documented
  • Professional Services
    $30,000-$150,000
    1 source
  • Custom Plugin Development
    $10,000-$50,000+ per plugin
    1 source
  • Infrastructure Costs (Self-Hosted)
    $10,000-$100,000+ annually
    1 source
  • Training and Enablement
    $2,000-$10,000 per session or comprehensive program
    1 source
  • Support Tier Upgrades
    15-30% to base licensing costs; 20-40% to base licensing costs overall
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

AWS
Kong
Auto-renewal
—
—
Cancellation
—
—
Commitment
—
$30,000–$50,000 annually for small deployments
Price escalation
5-15% of license costs
—
Can downgrade
—
—
Based on 2 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
7.6out of 5 (107)
Trustpilot
1.04out of 5 (23)
G2
4.2out of 5 (14)
Best for
New AWS customers exploring API Gateway, startups, and low-volume applications within free tier limits
Watch out
No meaningful customer support — tickets go unassigned for weeks, chat times out, and AI bots provide unhelpful responses with no human escalation path
Trustpilot
1out of 5 (1)
Best for
Developers and small teams wanting a free, self-hosted API gateway with core features
Watch out
Sends unsolicited emails
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit AWS pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Kong pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
API Management

AWS API Gateway

Custom pricing
4 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
API Management

Kong

Free plan; paid $25
/mo
3 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

AWS API Gateway and Kong both operate in the api management category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan AWS API Gateway Kong
Free Tier Free /month Free /free
HTTP APIs Custom $25 /month
REST APIs Custom Custom
WebSocket APIs Custom —

Market Intelligence

AWS API Gateway

Median annual cost
$2,000
Based on
89 deals

Kong

Median annual cost
$65,328
Based on
32 deals

What Users Say

AWS API Gateway

G2
4.2out of 5 (14)
Trustpilot
1.04out of 5 (23)
TrustRadius
7.6out of 10 (107)
Top complaints
  • No meaningful customer support — tickets go unassigned for weeks, chat times out, and AI bots provide unhelpful responses with no human escalation path
  • Unexpected and phantom billing charges for services never requested or already deleted
  • Account and quota limitations that are extremely difficult to resolve

Kong

Trustpilot
1out of 5 (1)
Top complaints
  • Sends unsolicited emails

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

AWS API Gateway 19 hidden costs

high
API Type Selection 250%
high
AWS Lambda Integration 2-3 times the cost of API Gateway
high
CloudWatch Logs double costs
medium
AWS WAF $5 per month per Web ACL, $1 per month per rule, $0.60 per million requests
medium
Data Transfer Out 10-30%
See all AWS API Gateway hidden costs →

Kong 10 hidden costs

high
Professional Services $30,000-$150,000 (source dated Jul 2026)
medium
Custom Plugin Development $10,000-$50,000+ per plugin
high
Infrastructure Costs (Self-Hosted) $10,000-$100,000+ annually
medium
Training and Enablement $2,000-$10,000 per session or comprehensive program
medium
Support Tier Upgrades 15-30% to base licensing costs; 20-40% to base licensing costs overall
See all Kong hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term AWS API Gateway Kong
Auto-renewal — —
Cancellation — —
Minimum commitment — $30,000–$50,000 annually for small deployments
Price escalation 5-15% of license costs —

Continue researching

AWS API Gateway

Kong

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