Kong vs Traefik
| Feature | Kong | Traefik |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dev Tools | DNS & Networking |
| Sub-category | API Gateway | Reverse Proxy |
| Maturity | stable | stable |
| Complexity | beginner | beginner |
| Performance tier | medium | medium |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| License type | permissive | permissive |
| Pricing | fully free | fully free |
| GitHub stars | 40.0K | 53.0K |
| Contributors | 0 | 0 |
| Commit frequency | weekly | weekly |
| Plugin ecosystem | none | none |
| Docs quality | good | good |
| Backing org | Kong Inc | Traefik Labs |
| Funding model | vc_backed | vc_backed |
| Min RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Min CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Scaling pattern | single_node | single_node |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| K8s native | No | No |
| Offline capable | No | No |
| Vendor lock-in | none | none |
| Languages | Lua, Go | Go |
| API type | REST | REST |
| Protocols | HTTP | HTTP |
| Deployment | binary | docker, binary |
| SDK languages | — | — |
| Team size fit | solo, small, medium, enterprise | solo, small, medium, enterprise |
| First release | 2020 | 2020 |
| Latest version | — | — |
When to use Kong
- ✓ Primary: api-gateway
- ✓ Primary: rate-limiting
- ✓ Primary: authentication
When to use Traefik
- ✓ Primary: dynamic-reverse-proxy
- ✓ Primary: kubernetes-ingress
- ✓ Primary: automatic-ssl