Amazon API Gateway vs Kong
Side-by-side from the Top 11 ranking of The 11 Best API Management Tools and Platforms (2026). Last verified June 29, 2026.
The short answer
Kong ranks higher on Top 11 (#1 vs #5) for Engineering teams and platform architects building, securing, and monitoring APIs. Top choice for raw performance and extensibility, especially in Kubernetes environments.
At a glance
| Amazon API Gateway | Kong | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #5 / The 11 Best API Management Tools and Platforms (2026) | #1 / The 11 Best API Management Tools and Platforms (2026) |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 8.4 | 9.3 |
| Best for | The default for AWS serverless apps | High-performance, extensible K8s gateway |
| Pricing | $$ (Pay-per-use, ~$3.50/million calls) | $$$$ (Starts free, enterprise >$2,500/mo) |
| HQ | Seattle, USA | San Francisco, USA |
| Founded | 2015 | 2017 |
Amazon API Gateway
The go-to gateway for serverless and AWS-native architectures.
aws.amazon.com/api-gateway/See full entry in The 11 Best API Management Tools and Platforms (2026)
Kong
Top choice for raw performance and extensibility, especially in Kubernetes environments.
konghq.com/See full entry in The 11 Best API Management Tools and Platforms (2026)
Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.