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Amazon API Gateway vs Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Layer7 API Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Amazon API Gateway offers significant ROI through cost savings, efficient management, and secure infrastructure, especially with usage-based payment.
Sentiment score
6.2
Kong Gateway Enterprise scales cost-effectively, enabling quick API delivery and efficient problem detection, with free community accessibility.
Sentiment score
6.7
Layer7 API Management offers business growth and protection, with varying ROI timelines; quick benefits are observed by many users.
API Gateway saves time and secures my infrastructure, allowing effective deployment.
CTO at Atulya Abhinav Tech Private Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Amazon API Gateway support is prompt and effective, but opinions vary due to occasional delays and high costs.
Sentiment score
6.9
Kong Gateway Enterprise's support is responsive and capable, with some feedback on response times and communication improvements needed.
Sentiment score
7.3
Layer7 API Management is praised for support and resources, though some users note post-acquisition service challenges.
Technical support is excellent, deserving a ten out of ten rating.
CTO at Atulya Abhinav Tech Private Limited
We encountered challenges accessing technical support channels, such as a need for a clear telephone number and chat sessions.
SAP Successfactors Consultant at Innoux Solutions IT Pvt ltd
With the enterprise plan, there is a set SLA.
AWS Engineer at Abbott
The technical support from Kong Gateway Enterprise would be rated about eight, as we missed local technical support.
Enterprise Architect at El Al
Technical support is excellent, and I would rate them as ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Amazon API Gateway provides excellent scalability, efficient autoscaling, and seamless AWS management for diverse projects and significant traffic handling.
Sentiment score
6.9
Kong Gateway Enterprise offers scalable integration for diverse environments, excelling in deployments but facing some geographical licensing limitations.
Sentiment score
7.3
Layer7 API Management efficiently scales to handle significant traffic, supporting millions of daily requests with proper configuration.
I have not experienced or seen the product going down or responding late.
Enterprise Architect at Collins Aerospace
Amazon API Gateway exhibits satisfying scalability.
Director at Govology
If the business management agrees to scale out, it's easy and fast using coded infrastructure with Terraform scripts.
AWS Engineer at Abbott
The scalability of this solution would be rated about eight or nine.
Enterprise Architect at El Al
All nodes communicate with one primary database, affecting connections and causing crashes under high load.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.6
Amazon API Gateway is highly reliable, hailed for its stability and 99.99% uptime, effectively handling high traffic.
Sentiment score
7.9
Kong Gateway Enterprise is rated highly for stability, with users praising its reliable performance and improved documentation.
Sentiment score
7.6
Layer7 API Management is stable and reliable, with minor scalability issues, often resolved through updates and support.
Our applications are stable, owing partly to our architecture, which is spread across three regions.
AWS Engineer at Abbott
I would rate its stability as nine out of ten.
AWS Developer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Amazon API Gateway has proven to be very stable, with a stability rating of ten out of ten.
AWS Cloud Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Without rebooting for ninety to one hundred eighty days, cache builds up in Linux boxes, causing memory utilization issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon API Gateway needs better pricing, support, interfaces, integration, security, and connectivity, plus improved analytics and debugging features.
Kong Gateway Enterprise needs improvements in pricing, connectivity, usability, documentation, API features, integration, and intuitive scaling options.
Layer7 API Management needs improvements in UI, documentation, integration, functionality, training, policy tools, monitoring, reporting, and migration.
A local version of the API Gateway would be beneficial for testing purposes without incurring extra costs.
AWS Cloud Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Since the first invocation of AWS Lambda takes more than 30 seconds because of Lambda's cold start, Amazon API Gateway blocks that resource, thereby aborting the invocation.
Associate Cloud Engineer at Rishabh Software
Amazon API Gateway will wait for only 30 seconds to get a response from other services, such as the Lambda function.
Senior Professional I-Software Engineer Lead at Capgemini
Security is a major concern, especially with new security architecture coming into place.
Business Consultant at Ernst & Young
More plugins for additional integrations would be helpful and openness for traditional development languages, such as .NET, because many enterprises are looking for .NET solutions or incorporating with .NET solutions.
Enterprise Architect at El Al
Broadcom's push for upgrades from version nine to ten, ten to 10.3, and onwards to twelve needs improvement in migration processes, especially with service dependencies.
 

Setup Cost

Amazon API Gateway offers variable pricing that can be costly compared to competitors, but remains cost-effective for many users.
Kong Gateway Enterprise pricing is competitive, with varying costs, and a cost-benefit analysis is recommended for specific needs.
Layer7 API Management offers competitive pricing with Essential and Enterprise tiers, though perceived costly for smaller enterprises.
However, my understanding is that it easily goes to $14,000 or $15,000 USD each month for each account, and we have several such accounts.
AWS Engineer at Abbott
It is a really cheap product, but if used incorrectly, it can become expensive.
DevOps Engineer/SRE - AWS at Lavoro autom inf e com ltda
It is expensive.
CTO at Atulya Abhinav Tech Private Limited
Seeing other products makes the tool's pricing seem high.
 

Valuable Features

Amazon API Gateway offers ease of management, strong security, AWS integration, and scalability, making it efficient for global API operations.
Kong Gateway Enterprise offers scalability, security, seamless Kubernetes integration, and customization, enhancing API management with a user-friendly dashboard.
Layer7 API Management excels with robust security, scalability, and features like content routing and drag-and-drop functionality.
works well for defining different states for different customers based on their purchase plans
AWS Developer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
A most valuable feature of Amazon API Gateway is how quickly we can connect to backend services and have APIs accessible from anywhere.
AWS Cloud Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
It handles security and other headaches, keeping our database and servers secure.
CTO at Atulya Abhinav Tech Private Limited
The most valuable features of Kong Gateway Enterprise are its seamless integration with Kubernetes and cloud, many plugins that can be incorporated in a solution, and its incorporation with low-code function systems.
Enterprise Architect at El Al
Price is not a concern for us, but based on our experience working with financial institutions, maintainability and security are the primary concerns and areas they focus on.
Business Consultant at Ernst & Young
The flexibility to develop APIs for various platforms, from front-end applications to ATM machines, is valuable.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Amazon API Gateway is 12.1%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kong Gateway Enterprise is 5.6%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Layer7 API Management is 2.1%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Amazon API Gateway12.1%
Kong Gateway Enterprise5.6%
Layer7 API Management2.1%
Other80.2%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

PT
Architect at Birlasoft IndiaLtd.
Strong technical support and effective toolset improve workflow but setup process requires refinement
I have experience with Nintex and K2, but I do not have experience with Unqork. I am specialized in Microsoft products such as Power Automate and Power Apps. I have knowledge of Microsoft Intune and Defender, along with certain Azure components. I work for an organization as a presales architect, proposing solutions to customers. I am familiar with Microsoft Defender for Identity, for Business, and for IoT, though I haven't worked extensively on that. I have a conceptually good understanding of it. I'm mostly working on Microsoft collaboration tools, which include SharePoint and Power Platform tools. I have been dealing mostly with Microsoft, but also with other vendors. Regarding database services, we typically use SQL server services. We have not used Amazon RDS; typically, we use PostgreSQL or MySQL. On the Azure side, I work with Azure Database services including PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Cosmos. I was previously working as an architect for U3Soft and am currently working with Birlasoft (B I R L A S O F T). My overall rating for Amazon API Gateway is 8 out of 10.
ES
Enterprise Architect at El Al
Seamless integration and efficient security boost API management capabilities
More plugins for additional integrations would be helpful and openness for traditional development languages, such as .NET, because many enterprises are looking for .NET solutions or incorporating with .NET solutions. I mostly missed local resellers or partners that we could use within our enterprise, because it was difficult for some tech personnel to work with remote tech support.
Integration capabilities excel and support for varied platforms enhances communication across backend systems
We mainly use REST APIs, and the solution's integration capabilities are excellent. It allows communication with a number of back-end providers and data consolidation. The flexibility to develop APIs for various platforms, from front-end applications to ATM machines, is valuable. Code changes and migration are straightforward, and it supports identity and access management integration.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise21
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise84
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Apigee or Amazon API Gateway?
Amazon API Gateway is a platform that supports the creation and publication of API for web applications. The platform...
How does Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager compare with Amazon API Gateway?
I have found that Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager is the best integration tool out there for API management. It is easy...
Which is better - Azure API Management or Amazon API Gateway?
If you use Azure products, API Management is a great solution. It solves many of the problems of externalizing web se...
How does Kong Enterprise compare with Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager?
The Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager was designed with its users in mind. Though it is a reasonably complex piece of sof...
What do you like most about Kong Enterprise?
The tool's feature that I find most beneficial is rate limiting. In our usage, especially in the financial sector, we...
What needs improvement with Kong Enterprise?
Bringing in additional features to Kong Gateway Enterprise would not necessarily help it. Improving the existing feat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Layer7 API Management?
Pricing is more than average. While I am used to Layer7 API Management ( /products/layer7-api-management-reviews ), s...
What needs improvement with Layer7 API Management?
Broadcom's push for upgrades from version nine to ten, ten to 10.3, and onwards to twelve needs improvement in migrat...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
CA API Management, CA Live API Creator, Espresso Logic, CA API Gateway
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Autodesk, Fox Digital Consumer Group, iFlix, UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Miovision, Olympusat, PhotoVogue, Royale International Group, Veracode
Cargill, Zillow, Ferrari, WeWork, Healthcare.gov, Yahoo! Japan, Giphy, SkyScanner
1. IBM  2. Microsoft  3. Oracle  4. Salesforce  5. SAP  6. Cisco  7. Dell  8. HP  9. Adobe  10. VMware  11. Accenture  12. Capgemini  13. Deloitte  14. PwC  15. Ernst & Young  16. Infosys  17. TCS (Tata Consultancy Services)  18. Wipro  19. Cognizant  20. HCL Technologies  21. Tech Mahindra  22. Fujitsu  23. Hitachi  24. NEC  25. NTT Data  26. Ericsson  27. Nokia  28. Siemens  29. AT&T  30. Verizon  31. Vodafone  32. Orange
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and others in API Management. Updated: March 2026.
885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.