Quick Answer
Last verified:

Kong pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $500 per month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes
  • Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
  • Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training

Kong offers 3 pricing tiers: Open Source, Konnect Plus, Kong Enterprise. Standard paid plans include Open Source at $0/free, Konnect Plus at $105/per service/month. The Konnect Plus plan is growing organizations needing flexible deployment options with usage-based pricing for production apis.

Compared to other api management software, Kong is positioned at the mid-market price point.

Last verified: February 2026 | Sources: 1 pricing pages and reviews
Kong is an open-source API gateway and microservices management platform that enables developers to manage, secure, and scale APIs across any cloud or on-premises environment. Built on top of NGINX, Kong offers a flexible, plugin-based architecture that supports everything from basic API routing to advanced features like rate limiting, authentication, and observability. With Kong Konnect, the cloud-native control plane, organizations can manage APIs across hybrid and multi-cloud environments while maintaining high performance and reliability.

All Kong Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
Open Source support: Community onlyfeatures: Core features Free Free 0 Developers and small teams looking for a free, self-hosted API gateway with core features
Konnect Plus services: Pay per servicerequests: $34.25 per million $105 /per service/month $1260 /per service/month Growing organizations needing flexible deployment options with usage-based pricing for production APIs
Kong Enterprise services: Customrequests: Custom Contact Contact Enterprise organizations requiring advanced security, dedicated support, custom SLAs, and mission-critical API infrastructure
View all features by plan

Open Source

  • Core API gateway features
  • Load balancing
  • Health checks
  • Rate limiting
  • Authentication plugins
  • Logging and monitoring
  • Community support
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Unlimited API calls

Konnect Plus

  • All Open Source features
  • Serverless, Self-Hosted, or Dedicated Cloud deployment
  • Usage-based pricing ($34.25 per million requests)
  • Cloud-native control plane
  • Service catalog
  • Advanced analytics
  • Dev Portal
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Standard support
  • 30-day free trial

Kong Enterprise

  • Everything in Konnect Plus
  • Enterprise plugins
  • Advanced security features
  • RBAC and workspaces
  • SSO integration
  • Premium support with SLA
  • Dedicated customer success manager
  • Custom integrations
  • Advanced monitoring and analytics
  • Professional services included
  • Multi-region deployment
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Hidden Costs to Budget For

Watch for 9 hidden costs
  • API request charges at $34.25 per million requests for Konnect Plus
  • Additional charges for advanced analytics beyond base allocation
  • Cloud infrastructure costs for self-hosted deployments
  • Network bandwidth and data transfer fees
  • Additional costs for published APIs and developer portals
  • Mesh Manager zones for service mesh deployments
  • Professional services for implementation and migration
  • Training and certification programs
  • Premium plugin costs for enterprise features
Tip

Ask your Kong sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Frequently Asked Questions

01 How much does Kong cost?

Pricing varies by plan. Check the official pricing page for current rates.

02 Does Kong have a free tier?

Check the pricing section above for free tier availability.

03 What are the main features of Kong?

Key features include the items listed in the pricing tiers above.

04 Is Kong worth the price?

Value depends on your specific needs and use case. Compare features across plans.