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Our pick · kong
Our pick is Kong for most teams: its open-source gateway is Apache-2.0 licensed, can run without a database in DB-less mode, and has a free web UI in Kong Manager OSS. Tyk is the better fit for a single Go gateway with broad protocol support out of the box, including GraphQL, gRPC and TCP, if running Redis is acceptable. Tyk's Dashboard GUI is part of its commercial platform.
Tyk is an open-core API and AI Gateway supporting various protocols including REST, GraphQL, TCP, gRPC, and MCP.
Best for: Teams that require broad protocol support, especially for GraphQL and gRPC, and are considering a potential future upgrade to a comprehensive API management solution.
What's good
Provides broad protocol support, including GraphQL, gRPC, and TCP, making it versatile for diverse microservice communication.
Built in Go, which contributes to good performance and results in a lightweight, single executable.
Offers flexible deployment options, suitable for both on-premises infrastructure and Kubernetes environments.
Its open-core model provides a path for future feature upgrades within the same ecosystem.
Watch out for
Many advanced features and tools, such as the developer portal and analytics, are exclusively available in the commercial product.
The community might be less active or extensive compared to some larger open-source projects.
Configuring complex policies and integrations can be intricate, requiring careful attention.
"Dormant" means no commit pushed to the default branch in the last 12 months. "Archived" means the maintainers have marked the repository read-only on GitHub. "Deprecated" means the project's README says it is deprecated or no longer maintained. Stars, licence, commit and release dates come from the GitHub API (GitLab for projects developed there) and are cached for up to 24 hours. On licences: a custom licence is a licence file that isn't a single standard licence; open-core means the core is open-source and the enterprise code is licensed separately. Check the linked licence file before use. The written analysis is AI-assisted and checked against that data.
Licences
Kong Gateway's open-source edition is licensed Apache-2.0. Tyk's gateway is MPL-2.0, except for the code in its ee folder, which is under a separate commercial licence.
Kong runs with PostgreSQL, or without a database in DB-less mode, where routes and plugins are defined in a declarative YAML or JSON file. Tyk's open-source gateway needs Redis, which it uses for distributed rate limiting and token storage.
Kong is extended with plugins built on its Plugin Development Kit (PDK). Tyk supports custom plugins written in Go or JavaScript, as well as what it calls rich plugins.
Kong Manager OSS is a free, open-source web UI for Kong. Tyk's Dashboard GUI ships with the commercial Tyk Self-Managed platform, so Tyk's open-source gateway has no bundled GUI.
Kong suits teams that want a free GUI and the option of running without a database. Tyk suits teams that want one Go gateway that handles REST, GraphQL, gRPC and TCP, and are comfortable running Redis alongside it.
Tyk's gateway is open source under MPL-2.0, apart from its ee folder, which is under a separate commercial licence. The Dashboard GUI and developer portal are part of the commercial Tyk Self-Managed platform.
Kong and Tyk are active: each has had a commit in the last 12 months (most recent: Kong on 19 Oct 2026, Tyk on 23 Oct 2026). Status is checked against GitHub daily.
What licences do Kong and Tyk use?
Kong: Apache-2.0; Tyk: MPL-2.0 core + commercial ee/ (open-core). Check each project's licence file before use.
