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Kong Konnect: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

Kong Gateway is one of the most widely deployed open-source API gateways, built on NGINX with a large plugin library for auth, rate limiting and transformations. Konnect is Kong's hosted control plane on top of it. Plus starts at $25/month plus usage, includes 1M requests and 2 published APIs, and charges $200/month for each additional million requests. Hybrid control planes cost $200/month each. Enterprise is billed annually by quote. The open-source gateway itself remains free to self-host.

Category

API Gateways & Key Management

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

API Gateways & Key Management — open-source, rate-limiting

Kong Konnect Pricing Plans (2026)

PlanPrice
Kong Gateway OSS (self-hosted)$0
PlusPopularFrom $25 / month + usage
EnterpriseCustom (annual)

Pricing summary: Free · paid from $25/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

Key Kong Konnect Features

  • 1M requests / month
  • 1 developer portal
  • 2 published APIs

Pros

  • +Huge plugin ecosystem on a proven open-source core
  • +Runs anywhere: cloud, Kubernetes, on-prem
  • +AI gateway features for LLM traffic

Cons

  • −Overage at $200 per extra million requests adds up fast
  • −Hybrid control planes are $200/month each
  • −More operational setup than edge-native gateways

Best Kong Konnect Alternatives

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Kong Konnect FAQ

What is Kong Konnect used for?⌄

Kong Konnect is a api gateways & key management tool. Hosted control plane for the widely used open-source Kong Gateway, with a developer portal, analytics and AI gateway.

Is Kong Konnect free?⌄

Yes — Kong Konnect has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does Kong Konnect cost?⌄

Kong Konnect offers a free tier, with paid plans starting at $25/month. Some plans are usage-based (pay-as-you-go).

What are the best Kong Konnect alternatives?⌄

Popular Kong Konnect alternatives include Zuplo, Tyk, Unkey. Compare pricing and features on our Kong Konnect alternatives page.

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