Kong Konnect vs Layer7 API Management comparison

Kong and Broadcom are both solutions in the API Management category. Kong is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.0, while Broadcom is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.6. Kong holds a 0.8% mindshare in APIM, compared to Broadcom’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Kong users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Kong Konnect

Read 2 Kong Konnect reviews

346 Views
291 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Layer7 API Management

Read 112 Layer7 API Management reviews

4,175 Views
2,775 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Kong Konnect

Layer7 API Management

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Kong Konnect and Layer7 API Management based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two API Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Kong Konnect vs. Layer7 API Management Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Kong Konnect vs. Layer7 API Management

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 857,162 peers since 2012

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

Kong Konnect

Ranking in API Management

29th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Layer7 API Management

Ranking in API Management

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

112

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Kong Konnect is 0.8%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Layer7 API Management is 2.9%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management

Featured Reviews

Shahnawaz_Alam

Senior Software Engineer at Netenrich

Significant email security benefits combined with efficient spam filtering, yet cost hinders long-term use

The integration with our on-prem Exchange was very straightforward; the only thing we did was redirect all email traffic over Proofpoint, so Proofpoint did everything independently, and we were very happy. I am still receiving emails from Proofpoint's site. Not using it at the moment, but in the short term we will be tackling that portion of the product as well. We cannot provide feedback regarding Dynamics because we are not experienced enough at the moment; we have initiatives going on but did not get enough feedback from end users. Based on my overall experience with Proofpoint, considering the cost perspective, I would rate it a 7 out of 10.

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NikhilChaudhari

Senior Associate Software at Intelliswift Software

Valued for its drag-and-drop functionalities, the available policy options, and the excellent security features

I work as a PG developer, primarily dealing with Layer7 API Management and MuleSoft API management. My focus is mainly on VM management platforms such as Layer7 and Apigee Layer7 API Management is most valued for its drag-and-drop functionalities, the available policy options, and the excellent…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support from Proofpoint was absolutely excellent."

"The documentation is excellent, and it includes a developer portal, which helps create a common distribution channel for APIs within and outside the enterprise."

"There are a few assertions which are built-in for threat protection. I have used them for vulnerabilities, like for DDoS attacks, XML schema validation, IP restriction, and for cross-domain."

"API Management makes dealing with APIs easier. It'll help you to move ahead on your API application journey. The solution allows developers to create more advanced security policies"

"The solution's technical support is good."

"I appreciate Layer 7 API management for its comprehensive approach to the entire API lifecycle, including governance, management, and analytics."

"API Enhanced Portal 4.1 looks very promising. API Gateway policy manager for writing policies is excellent. It is the best in the industry for policy writing."

"The initial setup process is easy and flexible."

"The most valuable features of Layer7 API Management are integration, ease of use, building APIs easily, and portal straightforward."

"Almost all security features are available out-of-the-box and can be deployed rapidly."

More Layer7 API Management pros

Cons

"Kong Konnect's RBAC needs to evolve more, as they currently offer only one or two levels of RBAC in terms of organization and teams."

"Pricing was the issue as it becomes very expensive due to the nature of local circumstances."

"What is really important is that they offer the solution as a service, on a subscription or monthly basis, which will make it more attractive. That is where the market is headed. There are competitors within the industry that are doing that currently. I would encourage CA to do that."

"The product's initial setup phase is not very straightforward, making it an area where improvements are required."

"It would be nice if we could create APIs directly from Swagger files. We're doing that ourselves with a middle layer. But if you could integrate with open API Swagger specs, and then just create a Swagger and upload it to the gateway and it would create all my API template policy, and would apply the OAuth restrictions, the types of security restrictions I have on there, that would be pretty cool."

"feel like Apigee's API product is more interactive. You can drag and drop with those, but it's a little more difficult in Layer7. It's less user-friendly compared to that Apigee product."

"Layer7 API Management should give a clear roadmap of the product and where it is going, and they should not change the underlying layers."

"The initial setup was very complex."

"we cannot add gateways on the fly because there are a lot of moving parts; endpoint connectivity is one of them. If we add more nodes then the rate-limiting feature is affected. This kind of gateway always has the scalability issue. But, I think CA is coming up with its Microgateway, which is in Beta. If they stabilize their Microgateway platform, we could do very well in terms of scalability."

"They need a multifactor authentication solution for the API layer and the other layers, as well."

More Layer7 API Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It was very high at that time. We are a Broadcom CA partner, and we got it only for testing purposes. We didn't pay anything for it."

"The price of Layer7 API Management is reasonable compared to Apigee."

"Pricing for Layer7 API Management is excellent, so it's an eight out of ten. The product is less expensive than other solutions. Layer7 API Management charges you based on the number of transactions, so the enterprise-level pricing my company got was excellent."

"Be aware of additional licenses for your warm standby. Ensure you get plenty of non-production licenses."

"Keep in mind the non-product licensing, e.g., if you opt not to use the embedded SQL."

"We weren't comfortable with the pricing of licensing. It was slightly more expensive than its competitors."

"If you do a TCO of more than five years, then you will see a big jump in costs for some vendors."

"At the time we bought the product it was a perpetual users license and there has been no need for additional licensing fees."

More Layer7 API Management pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

26%

Computer Software Company

15%

Insurance Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kong Konnect?

While the pricing model isn't very clear on how usage is tracked, the initial cost and setup for using Kong Konnect are reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Kong Konnect?

Kong Konnect's RBAC needs to evolve more, as they currently offer only one or two levels of RBAC in terms of organization and teams. Additionally, the licensing model could be simplified, especiall...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Kong Konnect?

I use Kong Konnect ( /products/kong-konnect-reviews ) as an API Gateway or API management solution. I have several use cases, including securing internal APIs within Siemens network by deploying Ko...

See all answers

What do you like most about Layer7 API Management?

The solution's technical support is good.

See all answers

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 ), seeing other products makes the tool's pricing seem high.

See all answers

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 migration processes, especially with service dependencies. The migration path sometime...

See all answers

Comparisons

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Kong Konnect

Compared 100% of the time

More Kong Konnect Competitors

Apigee vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 30% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 14% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 13% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 9% of the time

More Layer7 API Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

May 2025

Download Kong Konnect product report

Buyer's Guide

Layer7 API Management

June 2025

Download Layer7 API Management product report

Also Known As

No data available

CA API Management, CA Live API Creator, Espresso Logic, CA API Gateway

Overview

Kong Konnect facilitates efficient management and integration of APIs, providing a streamlined experience for developers to manage their services with high scalability.

Kong Konnect is a comprehensive platform tailored for API development and management. It offers an intuitive interface that simplifies the process of connecting, managing, and securing APIs. Organizations benefit from its scalable architecture, ensuring it meets diverse operational demands and optimizes service delivery, supporting a robust API ecosystem that aligns with modern development practices.

What are the key features of Kong Konnect?

API Gateway: Efficiently handles routing, transformations, and more for effective API management.
Security Management: Includes authentication and traffic control to protect data.
Analytics and Monitoring: Provides insights into API usage and performance metrics.
Developer Portals: Offers customizable portals for developer engagement and onboarding.
Plugin Architecture: Extends functionality through a rich library of plugins.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces operational costs through streamlined API processes.
Scalability: Easily adapts to increased API traffic without performance losses.
Improved Security: Enhances data protection through advanced security features.
Enhanced Developer Productivity: Accelerates development timelines with easy-to-use tools.
Better User Engagement: Improves collaboration through robust developer support.

In tech industries, Kong Konnect is often implemented to advance cloud-native applications by enhancing API connectivity and security. Financial services utilize it to ensure compliance and secure data sharing. Telecommunications deploy it to handle high data throughput efficiently.

Kong

Layer7 API Management is a comprehensive solution that enables organizations to securely expose, manage, and monetize their APIs.

It provides features such as API gateway, developer portal, analytics, and security to ensure seamless integration and control over API traffic.

With Layer7 API Management, businesses can streamline their API operations and drive innovation.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Kong Konnect vs. Layer7 API Management

June 2025

Free Report: Kong Konnect vs. Layer7 API Management

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