> /v1/alternatives/kong
Open source alternatives to Kong[005]
Kong is an API gateway and management platform handling routing, authentication, rate limiting and plugins for backend services. Below are 5 self-hostable open source alternatives, ranked by GitHub popularity.
Tyk
Tyk Open Source API Gateway written in Go, supporting REST, GraphQL, TCP and gRPC protocols
★ STARS
10.7k
⑂ FORKS
1.2k
UnKey
The Developer Platform for Modern APIs
★ STARS
5.3k
⑂ FORKS
620
Krakend
KrakenD Community Edition: High-performance, stateless, declarative, API Gateway written in Go.
★ STARS
2.6k
⑂ FORKS
494
Gravitee
Gravitee.io - OpenSource API Management
★ STARS
414
⑂ FORKS
112
Orbital
Orbital automates integration between data sources (APIs, Databases, Queues and Functions). BFF's, API Composition and ETL pipelines that adapt as your specs change.
★ STARS
355
⑂ FORKS
11
// EDITOR'S TAKE
Tyk is the nearest equivalent because it ships the whole package Kong sells, gateway plus developer portal, analytics and policy management, rather than just a proxy. Krakend is dramatically faster and simpler to reason about since it is stateless and configured from a single file, but it has no admin API or plugin marketplace, and Gravitee is the one to look at if you need event and async APIs governed alongside REST.
// FREQUENTLY ASKED
What is the best open source Kong alternative?
Tyk is the most popular open source Kong alternative by GitHub stars (10,713 stars). The other 4 options are ranked above.
Are these Kong alternatives self-hostable?
Yes — every project listed here is open source and runs on your own infrastructure. Click into a project to see its license, stars, language, and current health status.
Are they free?
All projects shown are free and open source. Check each project's license page for the terms — most are MIT, Apache 2.0, or AGPL.