Nine of fourteen models named Kong Gateway first on the direct prompt; zero named Amazon API Gateway. Both were named by all fourteen models and Kong Gateway carries 73 labels and Amazon API Gateway 54, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in three categories this edition.
Named in four categories this edition.
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 management page.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Kong Gateway and Amazon API Gateway were named in the same answer 347 times, of the 444 answers naming Kong Gateway and the 396 naming Amazon API Gateway. In those answers Amazon API Gateway took the first choice twenty-three times and Kong Gateway 116.
| 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 |
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.
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“Avoid AWS API Gateway, Kong, and Tyk—none include native monetisation.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Be cautious if you need strong multi-tenant isolation, a rich AI/analytics feature set, or very low-touch onboarding.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“My top recommendation: If you need a full managed API management platform on a tight budget, Kong Konnect at $25/month offers the best balance of features, reliability, and cost.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Kong (specifically its open-source version or Konnect free tier) is widely regarded as one of the best API management platforms for companies with limited budgets.” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · first choice
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“AWS Gateway and Azure API Mgmt create vendor lock-in—avoid if cloud portability needed.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Faces criticism for its per-call pricing model, which can become costly at scale.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid AWS API Gateway, Kong, and Tyk—none include native monetisation.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“If you're already in the AWS ecosystem, AWS API Gateway is the most cost-effective for production traffic.” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
“Best default for a budget-conscious company: Amazon API Gateway—if you already use AWS.” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · first choice
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.