IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs Kong Gateway Enterprise comparison

IBM and Kong are both solutions in the API Management category. IBM is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.5, while Kong is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.9. IBM holds a 0.5% mindshare in APIM, compared to Kong’s 7.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Kong users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Read 5 IBM Cloud Pak for Integration reviews

1,159 Views
556 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Kong Gateway Enterprise

Read 25 Kong Gateway Enterprise reviews

6,455 Views
6,455 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Kong Gateway Enterprise

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Kong Gateway Enterprise and IBM Cloud Pak for Integration compete in the API management and integration space. Kong Gateway Enterprise stands out in pricing and support, whereas IBM Cloud Pak for Integration is notable for its extensive features, suggesting its higher cost is worthwhile.

Features: Kong Gateway Enterprise provides high-performance API gateway capabilities, excellent scalability, and seamless integration with multiple platforms. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration offers robust integration features, including comprehensive data integration, AI-driven automation, and multi-cloud flexibility.

Room for Improvement: Kong Gateway Enterprise could enhance its integration capabilities to compete with more comprehensive solutions, improve its AI-driven functionalities, and support even broader platform agnosticity. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration may benefit from simplifying its deployment model, reducing operational complexity, and offering more cost-effective options for smaller businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Kong Gateway Enterprise is praised for its straightforward deployment and configuration, coupled with responsive customer service. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, despite its complex deployment model, provides detailed documentation and strong customer support, catering well to organizations with intricate environments.

Pricing and ROI: Kong Gateway Enterprise is cost-effective, with attractive ROI prospects, suitable for budget-conscious organizations. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, while involving higher upfront costs, promises long-term ROI with its expansive features and scalability, making it ideal for strategic investments.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise

September 2025

Download the complete report

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Ranking in API Management

28th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Data Integration (16th)

Kong Gateway Enterprise

Ranking in API Management

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kong Gateway Enterprise is 7.1%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Kong Gateway Enterprise	7.1%
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration	0.5%
Other	92.4%

API Management

Featured Reviews

Neelima Golla

Senior Software Engineer at NessPRO Italy

A hybrid integration platform that applies the functionality of closed-loop AI automation

I recommend using it because, in today's context, the cloud plays a significant role. Within the same user interface, you can develop applications and manage multiple applications, making it a more user-friendly option. Moreover, you can explore various other technologies while deploying on the cloud, broadening your knowledge of cloud technologies. In my case, the transition led to my learning of Kubernetes, enabling multi-scaling and expanding my technical skills. It was a valuable experience, and I had the opportunity to learn many new things during the migration process. I can easily rate it an eight or nine out of ten.

Read full review

Sudhanshu Dev

Senior Principal DevOps Engineer at barq

Custom plugin capability with enhanced high traffic handling and lightweight performance

We use Kong for our API gateway, handling all public traffic. It is an open-source tool, and even though we are a startup, it provides us with stability without incurring high costs initially Kong has helped us by performing smoothly even when we receive millions of requests, which prevents any…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution."

"Redirection is a key feature. It helps in managing multiple microservices by centralizing control and access."

"The most preferable aspect would be the elimination of the command, which was a significant improvement. In the past, it was a challenge, but now we can proceed smoothly with the implementation of our policies and everything is managed through JCP. It's still among the positive aspects, and it's a valuable feature."

"The most valuable aspect of the Cloud Pak, in general, is the flexibility that you have to use the product."

"Cloud Pak for Integration is definitely scalable. That is the most important criteria."

"Based on my experience, I would definitely recommend Kong Gateway Enterprise to other people."

"There are a few features that I like about Kong when it comes to authentication and authorization. Specifically, being able to use Kong for role-based access control (RBAC), and then further being able to integrate the RBAC mechanism with our enterprise directory, was very useful."

"Protocol transformation is the most valuable feature of Kong Enterprise."

"Kong enterprise has significantly enhanced our ability to manage and secure our Microservices. Its most valuable feature is monitoring."

"The most valuable features of Kong Enterprise are the out-of-the-box open source easy functionality."

"The route limiting feature is very valuable."

"Kong Gateway helped to improve performance. It's good enough for our users."

"Good at intercepting traffic and modeling APIs around that."

More Kong Gateway Enterprise pros

Cons

"Enterprise bots are needed to balance products like Kafka and Confluent."

"The initial setup is not easy."

"Its queuing and messaging features need improvement."

"The pricing can be improved."

"Setting up Cloud Pak for Integration is relatively complex. It's not as easy because it has not yet been fully integrated. You still have some products that are still not containerized, so you still have to run them on a dedicated VM."

"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."

"They could focus more on pricing."

"The main challenge, in my opinion, is the price. It's difficult to convince our management to approve the budget to purchase it from our vendor. There are no technical problems."

"The software version upgrade process should be improved."

"The OS upgrades are not as frequent as they should be and they are bulky."

"The tool needs to improve in areas like documentation and UI."

"Kong Enterprise has decided not to support the web portal feature anymore, but I think that feature should stay in the on-premises solution."

"We would like to see an automatic data API when we have a table in the database."

More Kong Gateway Enterprise cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"The solution's pricing model is very flexible."

"The product is reasonably priced because it goes by the SaaS model."

"It's expensive in Thailand (10 million baht, in Thai currency)."

"The licensing fees are paid yearly."

"There are many factors that influence the price of Kong Enterprise, such as scale, licenses, and usage."

"I don't have any information on licensing costs currently."

"Basically, my company uses the tool's open-source version."

"The price is really reasonable compared to that of alternative solutions."

"There is a need to pay towards the licensing charges...In some areas, the functionalities are available free of charge."

More Kong Gateway Enterprise pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

11%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Large Enterprise	19

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

The most preferable aspect would be the elimination of the command, which was a significant improvement. In the past, it was a challenge, but now we can proceed smoothly with the implementation of ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

Enterprise bots are needed to balance products like Kafka and Confluent.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

It manages APIs and integrates microservices at the enterprise level. It offers a range of capabilities for handling APIs, microservices, and various integration needs. The platform supports thousa...

See all answers

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 software, it is easy to install and upgrade. While there are different things that ...

See all answers

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 prioritize limiting API usage. This is crucial because we provide APIs to other...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Kong Enterprise?

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 ...

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM App Connect vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Compared 39% of the time

IBM API Connect vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Compared 13% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Compared 11% of the time

webMethods.io vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Compared 10% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Integration Competitors

WSO2 API Manager vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 12% of the time

Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 11% of the time

Apigee vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 11% of the time

Kong Konnect vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise

Compared 9% of the time

More Kong Gateway Enterprise Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

October 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Integration product report

Buyer's Guide

Kong Gateway Enterprise

September 2025

Download Kong Gateway Enterprise product report

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration gives you complete, flexible integration using capabilities you need to move at today's speed of business, including the tools to help you achieve your application modernization goals as part of your journey to the cloud.

IBM

Kong delivers a next generation API platform built for modern architectures. With a lightnight-fast, lightweight, and flexible core, Kong delivers sub-millisecond latency across all your services. Kong's is deployment-, vendor-, and pattern-agnostic, allowing you to run your services how you want, where you want, and with who you want - from baremetal to cloud, monolith to microservices, service mesh, and beyond.

Kong

Sample Customers

CVS Health Corporation

Cargill, Zillow, Ferrari, WeWork, Healthcare.gov, Yahoo! Japan, Giphy, SkyScanner

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise

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