API gateways · November 2026 Edition
Kong Gateway vs Apache APISIX
Twelve of fourteen models named Kong Gateway first on the direct prompt; zero named Apache APISIX. Kong Gateway was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Apache APISIX by thirteen and Kong Gateway carries 79 labels and Apache APISIX 23, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in three categories this edition.
Named in four categories this edition.
First-choice share63%7%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate10%9%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#4A position in a field of 15; printed, not drawn.
Labels7923A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Kong Gateway reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Azure API Management was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. Kong Gateway vs Amazon API Gateway · Kong Gateway vs Tyk · Kong Gateway vs Azure API Management
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the API gateways page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Kong GatewayFirst choices, of fourteen modelsApache APISIX
Direct120
Paraphrase131
Comparative91
Budget-constrained1031 against Kong Gateway
Scale-constrained20
Negative107 against Kong Gateway · 2 against Apache APISIX
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Kong Gateway and Apache APISIX stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | | |
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | | ||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-6 Luna | | | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | | |
Kong Gateway Apache APISIX first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Kong Gateway on the left and Apache APISIX on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Kong Gateway and Apache APISIX stood in it.
Kong Gateway first, Apache APISIX an alternative
12 of 14 modelsApache APISIX was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Kong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Tyk, Zuplo
Gemini 3.5 FlashKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management, Gravitee, Tyk
Perplexity SonarKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management, Zuplo
Grok 4.20Kong Gateway, Tyk alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management
Mistral SmallKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management, Tyk
DeepSeek V4 FlashAzure API Management, Kong Gateway alternatives: Gravitee, Tyk
Llama 4 MaverickKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Apache APISIX, Azure API Management, NGINX
Qwen 3.7 FlashKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Apigee, Azure API Management
Kimi K2Kong Gateway alternatives: Azure API Management, Tyk
GLM 4.7 FlashXKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Apigee, Azure API Management, Tyk
MiniMax M2.5Kong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management, Gravitee, KrakenD, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform
Muse Glimmer 30BKong Gateway alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management, Zuplo
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniAmazon API Gateway, Azure API Management alternatives: Kong Gateway, Tyk
GPT-6 LunaTyk Cloud or Tyk Hybrid alternatives: Amazon API Gateway, Azure API Management, Kong Gateway
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Kong Gateway leads by twenty-seven points.
Kong Gateway29%#2 of 12Apache APISIX1%#– of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Kong Gateway leads by fifty-seven points.
Kong Gateway63%#1 of 15Apache APISIX7%#4 of 15Enterprise
Kong Gateway leads by twenty-five points.
Kong Gateway25%#2 of 11Apache APISIX0%#11 of 11What the models said about Kong Gateway
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“Kong without reviewing licensing and edition boundaries. Its plugin ecosystem is strong, but upgrades and custom plugins can add complexity” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Kong community edition for missing vault/encryption features and for the high number of publicly exposed misconfigured instances” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Most popular open-source gateway, extensive plugin ecosystem, mature community... Choose Kong Gateway (OSS) if: You need a proven, battle-tested solution” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“Kong is described as "the default self-hosted gateway, with an Apache-2.0 open-source core" and is positioned for cloud-native, Kubernetes environments.” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about Apache APISIX
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“Apache APISIX has several documented security concerns that warrant caution” MiniMax M2.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“APISIX for its default admin credentials and Lua execution model” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“My top pick for most budget-constrained companies: Kong Gateway (Open Source) or Apache APISIX” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Kong OSS or Apache APISIX are the most cited "best value" open-source gateways” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“Start with Kong or APISIX for flexible, high-scale open-source needs.” Grok 4.20 · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Kong Gateway vs Amazon API GatewayKong Gateway vs TykKong Gateway vs Azure API ManagementKong Gateway vs ZuploKong Gateway vs GraviteeKong Gateway vs Traefik HubAmazon API Gateway vs Apache APISIXTyk vs Apache APISIXApache APISIX vs Azure API ManagementApache APISIX vs ZuploApache APISIX vs GraviteeApache APISIX vs Traefik HubAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full API gateways standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.