AgentScout / Best lists / Kong Gateway alternatives
Kong Gateway alternatives (2026)
Kong Gateway is a agent infra tool: Cloud-native API, LLM and MCP gateway that adds routing, auth, multi-LLM support, semantic security and MCP traffic analytics through plugins. Pricing, as the maker states it: Open source + cloud. Its GitHub repo has 44,278 stars. We found 30 tools in the directory that do overlapping work (connecting tools with MCP, building MCP servers, agent security and safety); 22 of them are open source and 5 list a free or freemium plan. Below are the 10 closest, ranked by how many tasks and sub-tasks they share with Kong Gateway, then by GitHub stars.
Updated
Quick comparison Top 10 of 11 listed below. Pricing as the maker states it; blank means we don't have it.
| Tool | Pricing | Best for | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|
 Casdoor | Open source | Connect tools via MCP | Yes |
 Tyk Gateway | Open source + cloud | Connect tools via MCP | Yes |
 Open Connector | Open source | Build an agent | Yes |
 Vectoree | Usage-based | Write code | |
 LiteLLM | Open source + cloud | Build an agent | Yes |
 Arcade | Open source + cloud | Build an agent | Yes |
 OmniRoute | Open source | Connect tools via MCP | Yes |
 Portkey AI Gateway | Freemium | ||
 Nango | Freemium | ||
 Bindu | Open source | Voice & phone calls | Yes |
- Casdoor (Open source): Agent-first identity and access management with an MCP and agent gateway. Consider it because it does the same job with a different approach (open source).
- Tyk Gateway (Open source + cloud): Cloud-native API and AI gateway supporting REST, GraphQL, gRPC and MCP, with rate limiting, auth and analytics. Consider it because it does the same job with a different approach (open source + cloud).
- Open Connector (Open source): Open-source auth gateway connecting SaaS apps to AI agents via SDK, CLI and MCP. Consider it because it also covers agent frameworks and SDKs and terminal and CLI agents.
- Vectoree (Usage-based): Vectoree gives coding agents a backend behind one project key: an OpenAI-compatible model gateway across providers, an MCP tool hub, auth, Postgres and storage, driven by a skill and CLI, pay-as-you-go with no monthly fee. Consider it because it is a managed commercial product, if you'd rather not run it yourself; it also covers SQL and databases and RAG and documents.
- LiteLLM (Open source + cloud): Open-source AI gateway and Python SDK that calls 100+ LLM providers in the OpenAI format, with cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing and logging. Consider it because it also covers token usage and cost tracking and voice and phone agents; it has more GitHub stars (61,465 vs 44,278).
- Arcade (Open source + cloud): Actions runtime for enterprise agents with thousands of prebuilt authenticated tools, plus an open-source framework for building your own MCP servers. Consider it because it also covers MCP servers and agent frameworks and SDKs.
- OmniRoute (Open source): Self-hosted AI gateway that puts hundreds of model providers behind one endpoint for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and others, with quota-aware fallback and MCP/A2A support. Consider it because it also covers local and self-hosted; it has more GitHub stars (77,863 vs 44,278).
- Portkey AI Gateway (Freemium): Fast open-source AI gateway that routes requests to hundreds of LLMs through one API with fallbacks, load balancing and built-in guardrails. Consider it because it also covers guardrails and policies.
- Nango (Freemium): Integration platform that connects products and AI agents to 1,000+ APIs with managed auth, syncs and tool calls. Consider it because it also covers voice and phone agents.
- Bindu (Open source): Identity, communication and payments layer that lets AI agents talk to and pay each other. Consider it because it also covers agent payments.
Kong Gateway vs alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Open source / licence | GitHub stars | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kong Gateway | Open source + cloud | Apache License 2.0 | 44,278 | connecting tools with MCP, building MCP servers |
| Casdoor | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 14,592 | connecting tools with MCP, agent security and safety |
| Tyk Gateway | Open source + cloud | Mozilla Public License 2.0 (except the ee folder) | 10,863 | connecting tools with MCP, agent identity and logins |
| Open Connector | Open source | Apache License 2.0 | 6,031 | coding in the terminal, automating workflows |
| Vectoree | Usage-based | No | — | writing code, coding in the terminal |
| LiteLLM | Open source + cloud | MIT | 61,465 | building AI agents, building voice agents |
| Arcade | Open source + cloud | Yes | 1,054 | building AI agents, running business operations |
| OmniRoute | Open source | MIT | 77,863 | connecting tools with MCP |
| Portkey AI Gateway | Freemium | MIT | 13,214 | agent security and safety |
| Nango | Freemium | Elastic License 2.0 (source-available) | 12,807 | running business operations, agent identity and logins |
| Bindu | Open source | Apache-2.0 | 10,056 | building voice agents, agent payments |
More: Kong Gateway listing · All agent infra tools · All alternatives pages
Alternatives are picked from directory data only: same category plus shared tasks and sub-tasks. Pricing is as each maker states it; GitHub stars as recorded on each listing.