Higress
7.7#2 in api gateway softwareFree planFree planWebAPILinuxmacOS
VisitHigress vs Kong Gateway
Kong Gateway
6.7#6 in api gateway softwareFree planFree planWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted
VisitWhat both publish
| Fact | Higress | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | A Docker all-in-one deployment exposes the console on port 8001, HTTP gateway on 8080 and HTTPS gateway on 8443. | Kong says the gateway can run on premises, in cloud, Kubernetes, or serverless environments, with or without a database and in hybrid or cloud-hosted modes. |
| Security controls | Official capabilities include WAF protection and key, HMAC, JWT, Basic and OIDC authentication or authorization strategies. | Kong's product page lists security and authentication plugins, while its pricing page lists RBAC and identifies SSO and audit logs as Enterprise features. |
| Support | The community edition includes community support and documentation; the dedicated commercial edition lists ticket, DingTalk group, and offline support. | Konnect Plus includes email support with a two-business-day SLA; Enterprise lists dedicated customer success and technical account managers and higher SLAs. |
Higress plans
- Alibaba Cloud AI Gateway Serverless StandardPriced on request
- Higress CommunityFree
- Higress Community EditionFree
- Alibaba Cloud AI Gateway Serverless EnterprisePriced on request
- Feitian Exclusive EditionPriced on request
Kong Gateway plans
- Free trialFree
- PlusPriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
- Kong Gateway Open SourceFree
- Konnect Free trialFree
- Konnect EnterprisePriced on request
Pick Higress if…
Higress suits teams that need a self-hosted gateway for AI services and cloud-native traffic. It may also fit those needing MCP, Kubernetes gateway, or API lifecycle capabilities.
Pick Kong Gateway if…
Kong Gateway suits teams managing APIs for microservices or distributed systems across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It may also fit Kubernetes users who want to configure gateway behavior with Kubernetes-native resources.