Kong vs Cilium

Struggling to choose between Kong and Cilium? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Kong is a Development solution with tags like api, microservices, gateway.

It boasts features such as API Gateway, Service Mesh, Traffic routing, Security, Monitoring, Load balancing, Authentication, Rate limiting, Transformations, Caching, Logging and pros including Open source, Scalable, Extensible via plugins, Supports multiple protocols, Easy integration, Active community.

On the other hand, Cilium is a Network & Admin product tagged with networking, containers, kubernetes, ebpf, xdp.

Its standout features include eBPF-based networking, Identity-based security policies, Transparent encryption, Load balancing, Direct server return, Bandwidth manager, Observability and analytics, and it shines with pros like High performance networking, Simple to operate, Native Kubernetes integration, Flexible security policies, Scalability.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Kong

Kong

Kong is an open-source API gateway and service mesh designed for managing APIs and microservices. It provides functionality like traffic routing, security, monitoring and more to help developers manage complex architectures.

Categories:
Development Api Management
api microservices gateway

Kong Features

  1. API Gateway
  2. Service Mesh
  3. Traffic routing
  4. Security
  5. Monitoring
  6. Load balancing
  7. Authentication
  8. Rate limiting
  9. Transformations
  10. Caching
  11. Logging

Pricing

  • Open Source
  • Commercial License

Pros

Open source

Scalable

Extensible via plugins

Supports multiple protocols

Easy integration

Active community

Cons

Steep learning curve

Complex configurations

No GUI

Limited documentation

Upgrades can be difficult

Cilium

Cilium

Cilium is an open source software for providing and securing network connectivity between application services deployed using Linux container management platforms like Kubernetes. It uses eBPF/XDP for high performance container networking.

Categories:
Network & Admin Container Networking
networking containers kubernetes ebpf xdp

Cilium Features

  1. eBPF-based networking
  2. Identity-based security policies
  3. Transparent encryption
  4. Load balancing
  5. Direct server return
  6. Bandwidth manager
  7. Observability and analytics

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

High performance networking

Simple to operate

Native Kubernetes integration

Flexible security policies

Scalability

Cons

Complex architecture

Steep learning curve

Limited supported platforms

Immature technology