Compare IBM API Connect and Kong API Gateway 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Enterprise (44.7% of reviews)
Mid-Market (40.8% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Free Trial
Pay As You Go Per Month
IBM API Connect
Star Rating
(160)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (44.7% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Free Trial
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansKong API Gateway
Star Rating
(241)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (40.8% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Pay As You Go Per Month
Free Trial is available
Learn more about Kong API GatewaySummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that Kong API Gateway excels in scalability with a score of 9.0, allowing for seamless handling of increased traffic, while IBM API Connect, with a score of 8.6, is noted to be slightly less robust in this area.
- Reviewers mention that IBM API Connect shines in API testing, achieving a score of 9.1, which is higher than Kong API Gateway's score of 8.5, indicating a more comprehensive suite of testing tools and features.
- G2 users highlight that Kong API Gateway offers superior ease of setup with a score of 8.4 compared to IBM API Connect's 7.8, making it a more user-friendly option for quick deployment.
- Users on G2 note that IBM API Connect provides better orchestration capabilities, scoring 8.8 against Kong API Gateway's 8.4, which may be crucial for complex API workflows.
- Reviewers say that both products have similar scores in traffic control, with Kong API Gateway at 8.8 and IBM API Connect at 8.4, but users appreciate Kong's more intuitive interface for managing traffic.
- Users report that Kong API Gateway has a slight edge in access control with a score of 8.3, while IBM API Connect scores 8.7, indicating that both products are strong but Kong may offer more flexibility in user permissions.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Kong API Gateway
Kong Konnect
Pay As You Go
Per Month
- The easiest way to get started with Kong Gateway
- Customizable Dev Portal
- Plugins to extend capabilities including authentication, authorization, rate-limiting, transformations, security, and more
Free Trial
IBM API Connect
Free Trial is available
Kong API Gateway
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.8
118
8.5
197
Ease of Use
8.6
119
8.6
200
Ease of Setup
7.8
67
8.4
142
Ease of Admin
8.0
56
8.3
120
Quality of Support
8.2
113
8.3
185
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.4
51
8.7
110
Product Direction (% positive)
9.5
115
9.4
190
Features by Category
Development
9.1
47
8.5
63
8.9
46
8.5
59
8.8
41
8.4
60
8.8
41
8.7
61
Collaboration
8.8
42
8.3
60
8.7
43
8.3
59
8.9
44
8.4
60
Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)Hide 15 FeaturesShow 15 Features
Not enough data
Not enough data
Prompt Engineering - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Inference Optimization - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Model Garden - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Custom Training - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Application Development - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Model Deployment - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Guardrails - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Model Monitoring - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Security - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Gateways & Routers - Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Not enough data
Not enough data
API Construction
8.3
65
8.4
141
8.8
65
8.7
144
8.4
64
8.3
145
8.6
66
9.0
142
API Management
8.4
66
8.8
146
8.1
64
8.1
149
8.5
65
8.3
144
8.1
59
7.3
130
9.0
68
9.0
147
Data Integration
8.6
65
8.6
139
8.1
64
8.0
128
8.1
58
8.7
138
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
IBM API Connect and Kong API Gateway are categorized as API Development and API Management
Unique Categories
IBM API Connect is categorized as API Marketplace and API Platforms
Kong API Gateway is categorized as Large Language Model Operationalization (LLMOps)
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
IBM API Connect
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Kong API Gateway
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Information Technology and Services
24.1%
Financial Services
12.1%
Banking
9.9%
Computer Software
8.5%
Retail
6.4%
Other
39.0%
Computer Software
23.5%
Information Technology and Services
11.8%
Financial Services
8.4%
Banking
6.3%
Computer & Network Security
5.5%
Other
44.5%
Most Helpful Reviews
IBM API Connect
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Abhishek R.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
I used IBM API Connect for making computer things called REST APIs in my last project. It helped keep them safe connect different computer stuff together easily and liked it because it's simple and works well for big companies.
Most Helpful Critical Review
Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness
User Interface is cumborsome. Its not open source!
Kong API Gateway
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Andrew K.
Verified User in Computer Software
Kong API Gateway is easy to install on several platforms (k8s, VM) and is very feature-rich. Several plugins allow me to apply policies to my APIs at a global or granular level, from securing the API, request/response validation to rate limiting to name...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Subhadip P.
Verified User in Higher Education
But API aggregation is lacking as we have to implement the extra layer to get that. The extra layer may be microservice and serverless , but no build-in support is there
Abhishek R.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
I used IBM API Connect for making computer things called REST APIs in my last project. It helped keep them safe connect different computer stuff together easily and liked it because it's simple and works well for big companies.
Andrew K.
Verified User in Computer Software
Kong API Gateway is easy to install on several platforms (k8s, VM) and is very feature-rich. Several plugins allow me to apply policies to my APIs at a global or granular level, from securing the API, request/response validation to rate limiting to name...
Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness
User Interface is cumborsome. Its not open source!
Subhadip P.
Verified User in Higher Education
But API aggregation is lacking as we have to implement the extra layer to get that. The extra layer may be microservice and serverless , but no build-in support is there
Alternatives
Discussions
How does API Connect work?
3 comments
MG
APIs across their entire lifecycle. Here’s how it works:
API Creation: IBM API Connect allows users to design, develop, and deploy APIs quickly. You can...Read more
IBM API Connect has no more discussions with answers
What does KONG software do?
3 comments
TP
Great question! Kong API Gateway is a service connectivity platform that allows teams to build, test, deploy, and securely expose their services across any...Read more
What is Kong API management?
1 comment
Official Response from Kong API Gateway
Kong Gateway is the fastest, most-adopted API gateway. It is cloud-native, lightweight, and vendor agnostic, so you can connect services across any cloud,...Read more
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