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Kong Konnect vs Microsoft Azure 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Kong Konnect
Ranking in API Management
22nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
AI Observability (71st)
Microsoft Azure API Management
Ranking in API Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Kong Konnect is 1.0%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure API Management is 15.0%, down from 19.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure API Management15.0%
Kong Konnect1.0%
Other84.0%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

SA
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.
RJ
Database Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Facilitating seamless integration and robust security support
The integration process is very easy, which is crucial for our organization. Another valuable aspect is the support from Microsoft. Whenever support is required, it is readily available. Additionally, I appreciate the technical expertise Microsoft brings to the table. The security features are highly satisfactory, with various options providing flexibility to implement security measures based on specific compliance requirements.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Kong Konnect has positively impacted my organization by making our development easier and helping us push new routes to our current customers."
"Technical support from Proofpoint was absolutely excellent."
"Kong Konnect has positively impacted our organization by securing our APIs, which is one of the main concerns for us, and securing our APIs has benefited our organization by improving compliance and reducing incidents."
"Their tech support is excellent; when I raise an incident or a support ticket, it gets answered in four hours."
"The documentation is excellent, and it includes a developer portal, which helps create a common distribution channel for APIs within and outside the enterprise."
"What I like most about Microsoft Azure API Management is that it's flexible and user-friendly. The solution also has rich documentation and guides available, so users can configure and use it."
"We use this solution for API rate limiting and for its security features against DDoS."
"The simplicity to learn and apply using API Management is valuable."
"The API management is very good."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure API Management is monitoring. When compared with Apigee, I prefer Microsoft Azure API Management."
"The API management and the hosting of the API platform are great."
"It's really easy to use for simple passthrough APIs."
"Allows the possibility of VPN technology to connect your gateway directly with on-prem services"
 

Cons

"I wish Kong Konnect could improve by having a built-in notification system whenever any APIs get pinged so that we can receive alerts and send them to the developer."
"Pricing was the issue as it becomes very expensive due to the nature of local circumstances."
"When comparing documentation, Kong's documentation is not on par with Google, Amazon, or other cloud providers."
"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."
"Kong Konnect needs improvement in the UI."
"The API gateway can be very complex."
"The external policies are impossible to look at and configure."
"From my understanding, there are some constraints around governance and service-to-service intercommunication managing priorities and our own governance."
"Could use clearer configuration when it comes to API policies."
"The hybrid part could be improved because API Management is entirely cloud-based, but some of our resources are on-prem, so formatting is an issue. Our goal is dual implementation."
"Expansion to global regions is a point for improvement, as licensing is costly."
"The product's navigation feature needs enhancement."
"In the next release, Azure APIM should include deployment in various environments and CI/CD for deployment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Since everyone is isocentric here, it is reasonable for me."
"The solution is highly expensive. Our customers worry about the costs. The price should be a lot less."
"Azure's pricing is very competitive compared to platforms like Apigee and MuleSoft."
"The product pricing is reasonable."
"I rate the solution's pricing between three and four, as it could be more competitive."
"Because of our partner relationship, our pricing is pretty decent. But in general, if I compare pricing, I think the initial offer that we got from Microsoft until the relationship kicked in was more expensive than AWS. There were some unexpected expenses because we had to pause. This was due to our inexperience and because we were doing this significant public cloud migration for the first time. We were using SAP on a public cloud for the first time."
"There are no additional costs above the main license."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to others."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise53
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kong Konnect?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing indicates that licensing is a bit high in comparison.
What needs improvement with Kong Konnect?
I wish Kong Konnect could improve by having a built-in notification system whenever any APIs get pinged so that we can receive alerts and send them to the developer.
What is your primary use case for Kong Konnect?
I use Kong Konnect most often as a current gateway. A specific example of how I use Kong Konnect as a current gateway involves onboarding microservices into Kong Konnect where we pass the host map ...
How does Apigee differ from Azure API Management?
Apigee offers both cloud-based and on-prem options while Microsoft Azure API Management currently only offers a cloud-based solution. Both solutions are easy to use. Apigee allows for the ability...
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 services. For example, when you need versioning, establish a developer portal and ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure API Management?
Microsoft Azure API Management is a good, comprehensive solution for enterprise implementation.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure API Management, MS Azure API Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH, Opensistemas
Find out what your peers are saying about Kong Konnect vs. Microsoft Azure API Management and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.