Kong Enterprise OverviewUNIXBusinessApplication

Kong Enterprise is the #9 ranked solution in top API Management tools. PeerSpot users give Kong Enterprise an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. Kong Enterprise is most commonly compared to Microsoft Azure API Management: Kong Enterprise vs Microsoft Azure API Management. Kong Enterprise is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 74% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 22% of all views.
Buyer's Guide

Download the API Management Buyer's Guide including reviews and more. Updated: March 2023

What is Kong Enterprise?

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 Enterprise Customers
Cargill, Zillow, Ferrari, WeWork, Healthcare.gov, Yahoo! Japan, Giphy, SkyScanner
Kong Enterprise Video

Kong Enterprise Pricing Advice

What users are saying about Kong Enterprise pricing:
  • "I don't have any information on licensing costs currently."
  • "The licensing fees are paid yearly."
  • "There are many factors that influence the price of Kong Enterprise, such as scale, licenses, and usage."
  • "The price is really reasonable compared to that of alternative solutions."
  • Kong Enterprise Reviews

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    AmitKanodia - PeerSpot reviewer
    Director at Capgemini
    Real User
    Top 5
    Provides role-based access control and can be easily customized with Lua script
    Pros and Cons
    • "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."
    • "Kong is meant for north-south communications, so it will be interesting to see what solutions they can come up with in the realms of east-west communications, service-to-service communications, and Zero Trust architecture. I believe that if they can provide for these areas, then they will be able to solve the overall integration and security concerns for microservices architecture in general."

    What is our primary use case?

    I lead the integration practices in my organization and have been working in integration for the past 16 years, managing API integrations with various API manager tools such as Kong Enterprise.

    We are primarily using Kong for the API gateway functionality. For example, we've had a couple of mobile applications with outbound traffic where we would use the Kong Enterprise gateway to expose the API by applying authorization, authentication, and other security policies.

    We have also used Kong for role-based access control mechanism (RBAC) and integrated it with our enterprise directory in order provide it with this form of access control.

    There was another particular use case in which we performed some customization, as well. In that scenario, we wrote a Lua script on top of Kong to add an AppDynamics plugin to our web server, for observability and monitoring purposes. 

    Kong has been used over a large user base, not only because it's an enterprise application, but also because the mobile applications we worked with were B2C-based in the retail industry, so the number of users was quite high.

    What is most valuable?

    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.

    Another nice aspect of Kong Enterprise is the ability to customize it with Lua script, such as when we developed a way to provide observability for our web server with AppDynamics. 

    What needs improvement?

    Kong is meant for north-south communications, so it will be interesting to see what solutions they can come up with in the realms of east-west communications, service-to-service communications, and Zero Trust architecture. I believe that if they can provide for these areas, then they will be able to solve the overall integration and security concerns for microservices architecture in general.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used Kong Enterprise for a year and a half.

    Buyer's Guide
    API Management
    March 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Kong, Microsoft, WSO2 and others in API Management. Updated: March 2023.
    688,618 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I don't recall that we have faced any challenges in terms of stability. It has been a good, solid implementation.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is scalable in the sense that, as we started putting things onto the cloud, we added one application and then we scaled up the same instance with Kong for multiple applications, which was where we served everything. And since it was a mobile B2C application focused on the retail sector, the number of users was quite high.

    How are customer service and support?

    The tech support was good. We mainly used them when we needed help with our Lua plugin installation and they were responsive to our needs. The team we dealt with were based in Singapore.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously tried using Apigee, but for our needs, Kong was the right solution.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup wasn't that simple. There was definitely a learning curve because Lua as a language was new to us and so we had to learn about Lua script first. At the same time, we also faced some other challenges in the implementation where we had to ask for professional support from Kong Enterprise.

    The technical team working on our Kong deployment included three or four people on the infrastructure side and another two or three involved in development.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We also evaluated different options such as those provided by Mulesoft and others.

    What other advice do I have?

    Kong Enterprise is a good API gateway and API management product which is based on lightweight and high-performance software. However, there will likely be a learning curve for beginners because they are using Lua script, which is not that popular. Regardless, anybody coming from a core software and integration background should be okay.

    It's always good to keep in mind that you should use Kong for the purpose it is meant for, rather than overloading it or overburdening it with use cases that are not appropriate.

    I would rate Kong Enterprise a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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    PeerSpot user
    Non-Corporate Consultant at Absa Group Ltd
    Real User
    Top 10
    Easy implementation with good API management, but the scalability is challenging
    Pros and Cons
    • "The route limiting feature is very valuable."
    • "It becomes difficult if you try to scale it up to multiple clusters."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case for this solution is API management.

    What is most valuable?

    The route limiting feature is very valuable.

    What needs improvement?

    The product could be improved by making the scaling up process easier. For example, it becomes difficult if you try to scale it up to multiple clusters.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for approximately three years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The process of scaling up with this product is difficult. We have a small company, and about 20 people are working with this product, and approximately five people are maintaining it.

    How are customer service and support?

    We have had a good experience with customer service and support. Initially, we used to have challenges, but thanks to a third-party vendor who developed a plugin called Konger, a UI dashboard, we can interact easily with Kong. However, it is not an official plugin.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    The implementation process is easy because we have our own documented script, which automatically deploys it out of the box, depending on which environment we choose.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The product price is higher than similar products. Fortunately, a community version is available.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate this solution an eight out of ten. The solution is good, but the scaling up process could be improved. I recommend new users store Kong Enterprise on a Red Hat-certified operating system, so they don't have challenges managing the binaries. Additionally, I would advise them always to use Kong Enterprise alongside a proxy so they have more extensible integration in terms of routing. I enjoyed using the Mongo DB, the Cassandra DB offering, and the Postgres DB offering as the database of choice because it becomes highly scalable and writes fast. Hence, I found that deploying and choosing Cassandra DB made it much faster to run.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    API Management
    March 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Kong, Microsoft, WSO2 and others in API Management. Updated: March 2023.
    688,618 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Solutions Architect at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Open-source, has integrated plugins, simple to install, and has excellent support
    Pros and Cons
    • "Kong Enterprise has excellent plugin support."
    • "Because it is open-source, it should be less expensive than others."

    What is our primary use case?

    We have several microservices that are secure using Kong Enterprise. Our microservices are managed through Kong Enterprise API management.

    We have integrated with IDP to secure it. We use multiple plugins that are bundled with Kong Enterprise.

    What is most valuable?

    The features of Kong are plugin-based network services. It enables us to include our security policy when creating customers.

    Kong Enterprise has excellent plugin support. This is a feature that I was looking for.

    What needs improvement?

    The price could be lower.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Kong Enterprise for more than one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Kong Enterprise's stability has never been an issue for us.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Kong Enterprise scales easily.

    We have more than 300 people who use this solution.

    We have teams of 30 to 40 people running multiple products that are used with Kong Enterprise.

    How are customer service and support?

    We had a problem with the 1.2 EMT enablement, and they provided a solution. They've been very helpful. The technical team is always available to help us with our problems.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    In my previous company, I used an API.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation went well. It was good. This installation was completed by another team.

    When I have installed this solution, I found it to be easy. For me, the installation takes about 15 to 20 minutes on average.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Because it is open-source, it should be less expensive than others.

    The licensing fees are paid yearly.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I would rate Kong Enterprise an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Manager Information Systems at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    MSP
    Top 20
    Good support, easy functionality, and low maintenance
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable features of Kong Enterprise are the out-of-the-box open source easy functionality."
    • "Kong Enterprise can improve the customization to be able to do the integration properly."

    What is our primary use case?

    Kong Enterprise was used for standard API gateway use cases for Microarchitecture.

    What is most valuable?

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

    What needs improvement?

    Kong Enterprise can improve the customization to be able to do the integration properly.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Kong Enterprise for approximately two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability of Kong Enterprise could improve and the robustness around some of the modules.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Kong Enterprise can improve in scaling.

    How are customer service and support?

    The support from Kong Enterprise is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup of Kong Enterprise is straightforward. The installation was easy.

    What about the implementation team?

    There is not a lot of maintenance using Kong Enterprise.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

    What other advice do I have?

    Kong Enterprise is a good solution. However, you need to have the ability to properly use it. You need to have in-house skills to make the optimum usage of the solution. It's not a solution that you can expect to be providing everything off the shelves. You have to create your own hooks to properly benefit.

    I rate Kong Enterprise an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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    PeerSpot user
    Director Of Engineering at INtegralzone
    Real User
    Top 20
    Provides good performance but lacks isolated data plans for easy management of federated teams
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution provides good performance."
    • "The developer portal needs to be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We deploy this solution to our customers who are enterprise companies. We are partners with Kong and I'm the director of engineering. 

    What is most valuable?

    The solution provides good performance. 

    What needs improvement?

    They need to improve the developer portal. There are currently no isolated data plans for federated teams that I can manage easily, and that's something they should look at. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for one year. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable. We've deployed in numerous companies so there are likely many thousands of users. 

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support is good. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is reasonably easy, it takes about two to three weeks.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Licensing costs are reasonable compared to other products.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We have been evaluating other solutions and for now Kong comes out on top in terms of performance. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would advise to start with a POC to make sure all use cases are met.

    I rate this solution seven out of 10. 

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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    PeerSpot user
    ItielMaayan - PeerSpot reviewer
    Chief Architect at AT&T
    Real User
    Top 10
    Is reasonably priced and easy to install
    Pros and Cons
    • "I like everything about it. It provides the security we need."
    • "We would like to see an automatic data API when we have a table in the database."

    What is our primary use case?

    A central API gateway solution.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The concept of using central API gateway is the change, not the product. Kong was selected based on our CBA (choose between alternative) process.

    What is most valuable?

    Almost everything needed is there.

    What needs improvement?

    We would like to see an automatic data API - when we have a database table or a store procedure - we want to be able to select it and the data API will be created automatically for GET and CRUD operations in OData format. This feature already exists in other solution and it is a game changer - reducing efforts, risks, and reliability.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've used it for almost three or four years. I first implemented it eight or nine years ago.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup of Kong itself was very easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is reasonable compared to that of alternative solutions.

    Everyone should conduct a CBA based on his requirements in order to choose the right solution for his organization.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Yes.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate Kong Enterprise at nine on a scale from one to ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
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    Updated: March 2023
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