Tyk vs Kong
Evaluating Kong? Here’s why you should stop
Kong doesn’t own its whole product stack. It doesn’t support all API types, and deployment options are limited.
Kong customers complain about hidden costs, lack of customer support, and reduced features.
The world’s biggest companies trust Tyk to deliver exceptional API experiences.
Choose Tyk: modern, collaborative, and customer-centric API management
When selecting an API management solution, the decision reaches beyond just technical capabilities—it encompasses the philosophy, support, and the value a platform brings to your enterprise. Here’s why Tyk is your best choice:
Best-in-class with exceptional support
Tyk leads in API management with top ratings on G2 and Gartner Peer Insights. We prioritise exceptional support, enhancing user experiences, and exceeding expectations to advance your success beyond just solving problems.
User-friendly and secure solutions
Tyk simplifies API management with its intuitive, straightforward setup – no extras needed.
Security is at the core of our platform, ensuring robust and reliable protection at every layer.
Flexible and cost-effective
Tyk offers cost-effective, cloud-native API management, adaptable to your servers, the public cloud, or as multi-cloud SaaS. Our pricing plans grow with you, ensuring you only pay for what you need. Tailored to fit any business size, our flexible solutions adapt as you grow.
Choose Tyk for a partnership that grows with you, backed by a community and a team committed to your technological and business success. Experience the Tyk difference—a modern, open, and user-focused platform that truly values its customers.
Tyk and Kong compared
Features
Benefit
Tyk
Kong
REST, GraphQL, gRPC, Async APIs
Why leading enterprises choose Tyk over Kong
Tyk delivers complete API management out-of-the-box while Kong requires extensive plugin management, additional licensing, and complex integrations. Enterprises choose Tyk for predictable costs, superior on-premise capabilities, and enterprise-grade functionality without the complexity.
Superior on-premise deployment
Tyk excels in enterprise on-premise environments with air-gapped support, multi-organization capabilities, and hybrid cloud connectivity. Kong's cloud-first approach struggles with offline scenarios and compliance requirements like GDPR and HIPAA.
True multi-organization management
Native multi-org architecture with isolated environments and centralized governance. Kong requires multiple instances or complex RBAC configurations to achieve what Tyk provides out-of-the-box.
Complete platform, zero plugin complexity
Everything included: Dashboard, Gateway, Analytics, Developer Portal. Kong requires managing dozens of plugins with compatibility issues and unpredictable licensing costs that spiral as you scale.
Security built-in, not bolted-on
Enterprise security features like mutual TLS, certificate pinning, and OWASP protection are core platform capabilities. Kong's plugin-dependent security creates compatibility issues and management overhead.
Tyk vs Kong – Gartner reviews
Based on verified reviews from real users in the API management market, Kong has a rating on Gartner of 4.5 stars with 164 reviews. Tyk has a rating of 4.8 stars with 77 reviews. Have a look at the Gartner Peer Insights comparison page for more about Kong vs Tyk.
Tyk compared
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FAQ
What is Kong?
Kong provides a range of API management tools, including a software as a service (SaaS) API management platform, enterprise-grade API management solution, API gateway, service mesh and ingress controller for Kubernetes. There’s also a development platform for building and testing APIs, along with various plugins for extending Kong’s functionality.
Users can manage their APIs centrally using Kong, across different clouds, gateways, protocols, teams and architectures, while enjoying real-time visibility through a single control plane.
What should you consider most when choosing an API gateway?
Choosing the right API gateway is crucial. We’ve looked at this in depth in relation to choosing an API management layer, examining critical factors and why they are so important. In headline terms, four considerations are key to choosing an API gateway. These are:
- Security – your gateway should deliver robust security that keeps your APIs and data safe against the latest threats.
- Reliability – whether you’re using APIs internally, externally or both, reliable performance is a must.
- Scalability – business growth often comes in sudden spurts, meaning you need an API gateway that can handle rapid scaling with ease.
- Integrations – your API gateway needs to play nicely with existing systems and microservices, as well as those you’ll be implementing in future, all without creating headaches for your hard-working IT people.
These factors mean you can manage your APIs seamlessly while keeping everyone from regulators to customers using your API products happy. Of course, outstanding customer support is important too – there’s plenty of peace of mind in knowing a dedicated team of experts has your back.
By choosing an API gateway that is secure, reliable, scalable and easy to integrate, you’re laying the foundations for successful API management. And by doing that, you’re positioning your business for future growth.