Kong vs NGINX
Kong vs NGINX, compared side by side on 22 data points: what each one does, how big it is, what it has raised, the tech running each site, and what users report. We score both out of 100 on traction, team and visibility: Kong is on 50/100 and NGINX on 60/100.
Where each one leads
Kong
- funding raised: $511M against $56.0M
NGINX
- our overall score: 60/100 against 50/100
- domain rating: 93/100 against 79/100
At a glance
| Measure | Kong | NGINX |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | API gateway and management platform for microservices and cloud-native applications. | NGINX is a web server that can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, mail proxy and HTTP cache. |
| Category | API Management, Service Mesh, Cloud Native, Microservices | Software, Cloud Computing, Networking, Web Infrastructure |
| Sells toBusiness model | B2B | B2B |
| Offering | Platform | Software |
| Founded | 2015 | 2004 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | San Francisco, USA |
| Status | Active | Active |
Size, funding and growth
| Measure | Kong | NGINX |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | 987 | Not published |
| Total funding | $511M | $56.0M |
| Latest round | Series F | Series C |
| Valuation | $2.0B | $1.1B |
| LinkedIn followers | 76,804 | Not published |
StartupHub scores
Our own 0-100 ratings. They measure company strength and site quality, not which product suits you.
| Measure | Kong | NGINX |
|---|---|---|
| StartupHub scoreOur 0-100 rating | 50/100 | 60/100 |
| Traction | 60/100 | 39/100 |
| Team | 70/100 | 60/100 |
| Community | 15/100 | Not published |
| Search visibility | 31/100 | 17/100 |
| Quality | 45/100 | 78/100 |
| Agent readinessHow well an AI agent can read and act on the site | D (41/100) | D (41/100) |
| Domain ratingLink authority, 0-100 | 79/100 | 93/100 |
Technology
Detected on each public site, so it reflects the marketing stack as well as the product.
| Measure | Kong | NGINX |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | AWS | Vercel |
| CDN | CloudFront | Vercel |
| Frameworks | Next.js | Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap |
| Analytics | Google Tag Manager | Not detected |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
Kong vs NGINX: common questions
Which is better, Kong or NGINX?
On our 0-100 score NGINX rates higher (60/100 against 50/100). The score weights traction, team, visibility and profile completeness, so it reflects company strength rather than which product suits you. We compare the two on 22 data points above: read the rows that match what you are buying for.
How do Kong and NGINX compare on the numbers?
Kong leads on funding raised ($511M against $56.0M). NGINX leads on our overall score (60/100 against 50/100), domain rating (93/100 against 79/100).
Read the full Kong review and pricing or the NGINX review and pricing. You can also browse other Kong alternatives we track.