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Kong: A Powerful Open-Source API Gateway for Managing APIs Across Any Environment
What do you like best about the product?
One of the Popular opensource API Gateways which help us to manage APIs deployed anywhere from a simple infra to complex multi cloud environment.
As per my obeservation Kong is capable to handle different protocols like REST, GRPC, Graphql which enables us to manage almost all of our APIs needs.
As per my obeservation Kong is capable to handle different protocols like REST, GRPC, Graphql which enables us to manage almost all of our APIs needs.
What do you dislike about the product?
Need improvement on AI features and plugins in Kong Gateway is limited, impacting overall functionality and performance.
There is lack of analytics and monitoring in Kong Gateway, hindering effective performance tracking.
There is lack of analytics and monitoring in Kong Gateway, hindering effective performance tracking.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
While using other backend APIs, we ended up in applying many of the below architecture characteristics to every individual APIs to support the general requirements. That will be a lot of work.
Authentication/Authorization, Monitoring, Logging, Traffic control, Caching, API Administration etc..
While using Kong Gateway it will take away all these cross-cutting concerns in managing these APIs and put them all across in a single plane. This will provide us with a lot of architecture advantages.
Authentication/Authorization, Monitoring, Logging, Traffic control, Caching, API Administration etc..
While using Kong Gateway it will take away all these cross-cutting concerns in managing these APIs and put them all across in a single plane. This will provide us with a lot of architecture advantages.
Kong Gateway’s Flexible, High-Performance Plugin Architecture
What do you like best about the product?
I love Kong Gateway's flexibility and performance thanks to its modular plugin architecture. This makes it easy to add features like authentication, rate limiting, and logging without changing the core service, while also centralizing API management, keeping the backend focused on business logic.
What do you dislike about the product?
While powerful, Kong Gateway has a steep learning curve and configuration can become complex as needs evolve.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Kong Gateway helps address the complexity of API management in microservices architectures, especially in Kubernetes environments. By centralizing functions like authentication, rate limiting, and routing, I don't need to implement them in every service. This is especially beneficial in fintech because it improves consistency, security, and simplifies scaling and compliance, freeing the backend to focus on business logic.
Centralized API Control with Operational Challenges
What do you like best about the product?
I like that Kong Gateway is on premise, so we can control it ourselves without data flowing to different cloud providers. It gives us centralized control over our API routing, which is essential for managing all the APIs in one place.
What do you dislike about the product?
I think it has a lot of operation overhead, like patching and other things. That's why we're migrating to the Chrome connect, where the control plan is hosted in the SaaS space. And the data plans leave our network, which have private access to all the backend.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Kong Gateway provides essential control for all our APIs, offering a centralized platform for managing API routing.
Reliable API Gateway with Strong Flexibility
What do you like best about the product?
What stands out most is the flexibility and control it gives us over our API traffic. The plugin-based architecture has been especially useful: we can apply authentication, rate limiting, and logging in a consistent way without having to build everything ourselves. It also integrates smoothly into our existing stack and supports both cloud and on-prem setups, which matters for us given our regulatory and data constraints. Performance has been solid under load as well, and that reliability is critical for our use cases.
What do you dislike about the product?
The biggest challenge for me is the initial setup and the ongoing maintenance. It isn’t always straightforward, especially for teams that aren’t deeply familiar with API gateway concepts. When configuration issues come up, debugging can take a while, and although the documentation is extensive, it can feel a bit fragmented when you’re working through more advanced scenarios. I also get the sense that some enterprise features are more necessary than optional, which can affect cost considerations.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Kong has helped us centralise API management and apply consistent security policies across our services. Before we started using it, many of these controls were implemented separately within each service, which led to duplication and inconsistent behaviour. Now we rely on a single layer for authentication, routing, and monitoring, which lowers risk and makes governance much simpler.
Fast, Scalable & Reliable API Gateway
What do you like best about the product?
What I like most about Kong Gateway is its high performance and scalability, which make it a strong fit for managing APIs in production environments. It also has a rich plugin ecosystem for authentication, rate limiting, logging, and security, so I can customize behavior easily without heavy coding. The setup feels straightforward, and its support for a microservices architecture helps streamline overall API management. On top of that, the flexibility to deploy either on-premise or in cloud environments makes it versatile for a wide range of use cases.
What do you dislike about the product?
One downside of Kong Gateway is that the initial setup and configuration can feel complex, especially for beginners. You really need a solid understanding of plugins, routing, and the different deployment modes to get everything working smoothly. In addition, some advanced features are only available in the enterprise version, which can drive up costs. Debugging and troubleshooting can also be challenging at times, particularly when visibility is limited unless you have the right monitoring set up.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Kong Gateway helps us address key API management challenges, including handling high traffic, securing APIs, and efficiently managing multiple microservices. It centralizes authentication, rate limiting, and logging, which cuts down on development effort and strengthens overall system reliability. In our experience, it has improved performance, made API monitoring simpler, and enhanced security, enabling faster deployments and giving us better control over our services.
Empowers API Management with Ease, Despite Initial Setup Hurdles
What do you like best about the product?
I like that Kong Gateway is a very useful tool for building secure and scalable applications. It helps me organize, secure, and manage all my APIs easily in one place. What I liked is that many features, like security and rate limiting, can be added easily without much coding. I like how it makes managing and securing APIs simple and organized. I enjoy its speed and how smoothly it integrates with my work.
What do you dislike about the product?
Initial setup can be tricky and debugging could be simpler. Debugging is sometimes hard because errors aren't clear. Clearer error messages or a visual dashboard could make it easier.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Kong Gateway helps securely manage and organize all my APIs efficiently, handling traffic smoothly. It simplifies adding features like security and rate limiting without much coding and integrates well with my workflow.
Robust API Governance and Identity Controls with Kong Gateway
What do you like best about the product?
Kong Gateway provides a robust set of API rules, policies, governance, and identity controls for proper shielding and protection of assets.
What do you dislike about the product?
The Kong Gateway does so many things, and the options are numerous that being focused on particular use cases with specific configuration can be daunting.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Main problem Kong Gateway is solving is a shielding aspect for core software programs and keeping misbehaving systems from interfering with functional activities.
Future-Ready Kong: Thoughtful Features, Flexible Automation, and Great Support
What do you like best about the product?
I started working with Kong about six months ago as a beginner. What I appreciate most about Kong is that the features they release are well thought‑out and come ready for use. Most capabilities can be easily performed through the UI, CLI, or Admin API, which makes automation straightforward and flexible. Kong also supports a wide range of architectures, from legacy setups to modern, cloud‑native designs. Their development process is strong, user feedback is actively considered, enhancements are delivered quickly, and the overall support experience has been very good. This has made learning and working with the platform much easier and more effective.
The introduction of AI Gateway capabilities further positions Kong ahead of the market, making it a future‑ready platform.
The introduction of AI Gateway capabilities further positions Kong ahead of the market, making it a future‑ready platform.
What do you dislike about the product?
One area where I see room for improvement is that some capabilities which were previously available—and are still relevant and commonly expected in the API gateway space—have been deprecated or are no longer supported. For example, earlier versions allowed API products to be created with the same name, which enabled a single‑organization model while differentiating environments such as Production and Non‑Production, and publishing them to their respective developer portals.
With the v3 Developer Portal, this is no longer supported, as API products must have globally unique names. This results in a less optimal user experience or requires maintaining separate organizations for Production and Non‑Production, which in turn increases operational and maintenance overhead. It would be valuable to revisit this capability to better support common enterprise environment‑segregation use cases.
With the v3 Developer Portal, this is no longer supported, as API products must have globally unique names. This results in a less optimal user experience or requires maintaining separate organizations for Production and Non‑Production, which in turn increases operational and maintenance overhead. It would be valuable to revisit this capability to better support common enterprise environment‑segregation use cases.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Based on my experience with Kong, one feature I particularly appreciate is the ability to assign approvers to individual APIs as part of the self‑service journey, without requiring any external approval workflow. This was something we struggled to implement in our previous developer portal. Additionally, Kong makes it very easy to integrate with observability and monitoring tools such as OpenTelemetry and Splunk, enabling seamless visibility into API behavior and performance.
Flexible, High-Performance API Management at Scale with Kong Gateway
What do you like best about the product?
What I like best about Kong Gateway is its flexibility and ease of managing APIs at scale. It provides a strong plugin ecosystem, solid performance, and smooth integration with Kubernetes and cloud-native environments. I also appreciate the centralized control it gives for security, traffic management, and observability, which makes operations much more efficient for both developers and platform teams.
What do you dislike about the product?
What I dislike most about Kong Gateway is that it can feel complex to configure and manage at first, especially for teams that are new to API gateways or service mesh concepts. Some advanced features also seem better suited to larger organizations, which can make it feel heavy for simpler use cases. In addition, troubleshooting and understanding plugin interactions can sometimes take more time than expected.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Kong Gateway is solving the challenge of securely exposing, managing, and monitoring APIs across multiple services and environments. Instead of handling authentication, rate limiting, routing, and observability separately in each service, we can centralize those capabilities in one platform. That reduces duplication, improves consistency, and makes it easier to enforce policies across teams.
The main benefit for me is simpler API operations. It helps improve security, speeds up onboarding for new services, and gives better visibility into traffic and performance. As a result, we spend less time on repetitive infrastructure work and more time delivering actual product features.
The main benefit for me is simpler API operations. It helps improve security, speeds up onboarding for new services, and gives better visibility into traffic and performance. As a result, we spend less time on repetitive infrastructure work and more time delivering actual product features.
Performance Powerhouse with Strong Security Features
What do you like best about the product?
I really like Kong Gateway for its performance and flexibility. It’s great how it’s built from the engines of Kong and can handle tasks with low latency, making it a strong fit for environments where performance is crucial. The plugin-based architecture is a huge advantage, making it straightforward to extend functionality for things like authentication, logging, and rate limiting without overcomplicating the core setup.
What do you dislike about the product?
I think it would be helpful to have more real case scenarios where companies use Kong Gateway. The initial setup was not easy. I recommend that Kong provides more real case scenarios or company use examples.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use Kong Gateway to secure and manage API traffic. It helps me maintain a strong security environment in my API setup and gives me a solid foundation in routing and flow management.
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