Kong AI Gateway costs $25/mo.
These cost $0.
6 free alternatives to Kong AI Gateway, checked for license, recent activity and real adoption. Each one tells you the catch, so you can switch with your eyes open.
The top-rated free, open-source replacement for Kong AI Gateway is LiteLLM (Open Source Open Source). Across this category, 2 self-hostable tools are available (including LiteLLM and LLM Gateway). Switching a 5-person team saves up to $1,500/year compared to Kong AI Gateway's $25/mo subscription.
The catch: Requires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Kong AI Gateway.
Kong AI Gateway vs Free Alternatives
Quick side-by-side comparison · $0/mo vs $25/mo
| Alternative | Type | License | Where It Runs | Stars | Head-to-Head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiteLLM | open source | Open Source | Self-host | ★ 62.9k | Kong AI Gateway vs LiteLLM → |
| Portkey AI Gateway | open source | Open Source | Local | ★ 13.3k | Kong AI Gateway vs Portkey AI Gateway → |
| Bifrost | open source | Open Source | Local | ★ 9.4k | Kong AI Gateway vs Bifrost → |
| Envoy AI Gateway | open source | Open Source | Local | ★ 2.4k | Kong AI Gateway vs Envoy AI Gateway → |
| LLM Gateway | open source | Open Source | Self-host | ★ 1.7k | Kong AI Gateway vs LLM Gateway → |
| Grepture | open source | Open Source | Local | ★ 12 | Kong AI Gateway vs Grepture → |
The picks
6 open source · ranked by fit
- 01
LiteLLM
open sourceOpen SourceSelf-host62.9knov 2026Acts as a unified proxy across 100+ LLMs, normalizing them to the OpenAI format while handling virtual keys, budgets, rate limits, fallbacks, and cost tracking.
The catch vs Kong AI GatewayRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Kong AI Gateway.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/berriai/litellm or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 02
Portkey AI Gateway
open sourceOpen SourceLocal13.3knov 2026Comprehensive AI platform with gateway, observability, guardrails, and prompt management. Access 1,600+ LLMs via unified API with enterprise-grade security.
The catch vs Kong AI GatewayCommunity-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- desktopcross-platformone-click install
- install
- Clone https://github.com/portkey-ai/gateway or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- your data
- All application data lives locally on your own machine.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 03
Bifrost
open sourceOpen SourceLocal9.4knov 2026Open-source AI gateway delivering 50x faster performance than alternatives. Access 1000+ models from 8+ providers with built-in governance, fallback, and observability.
The catch vs Kong AI GatewayCommunity-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- desktopcross-platformone-click install
- install
- Clone https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- your data
- All application data lives locally on your own machine.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 04
Envoy AI Gateway
open sourceOpen SourceLocal2.4knov 2026Open source gateway built on Envoy for routing application traffic to GenAI services. Supports 16+ LLM providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock.
The catch vs Kong AI GatewayCommunity-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- desktopcross-platformone-click install
- install
- Clone https://github.com/envoyproxy/ai-gateway or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- your data
- All application data lives locally on your own machine.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 05
LLM Gateway
open sourceOpen SourceSelf-host1.7knov 2026Route, manage, and analyze LLM requests across multiple providers with one API. Compatible with OpenAI format, includes usage analytics and performance monitoring.
The catch vs Kong AI GatewayRequires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Kong AI Gateway.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Clone https://github.com/theopenco/llmgateway or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Deploy via Docker or binary release from GitHub and configure environment variables.
- your data
- All application data and configuration live on your own server or local database.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
- 06
Grepture
open sourceOpen SourceLocal12nov 2026An AI gateway that sits on the request path to handle PII redaction, prompt injection blocking, tracing, evals, and cost tracking for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini.
The catch vs Kong AI GatewayCommunity-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- desktopcross-platformone-click install
- install
- Clone https://github.com/grepture/proxy or deploy with Docker Compose
- setup
- Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- your data
- All application data lives locally on your own machine.
- checked
- 2026-11-07
Kong AI Gateway Head-to-Head Comparisons (2027)
Side-by-side trade-off breakdowns · 6 free alternatives
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers · Kong AI Gateway open-source replacements
What is the best free alternative to Kong AI Gateway?+
The top free alternative to Kong AI Gateway is LiteLLM (open source, Open Source). Acts as a unified proxy across 100+ LLMs, normalizing them to the OpenAI format while handling virtual keys, budgets, rate limits, fallbacks, and cost tracking. Other popular Kong AI Gateway replacements include Portkey AI Gateway, Bifrost, Envoy AI Gateway.
Can I self-host a free replacement for Kong AI Gateway?+
Yes. Of the 6 free alternatives to Kong AI Gateway, 2 can be self-hosted on your own server or local machine: LiteLLM (Open Source), LLM Gateway (Open Source).
How much does switching from Kong AI Gateway to a free alternative save?+
Kong AI Gateway starts at $25/month per seat ($300/year). Switching a 5-person team to a free alternative like LiteLLM saves $1,500 per year in software subscription fees.
Should I vibe-code or build my own Kong AI Gateway clone from scratch?+
Our build verdict for Kong AI Gateway is NO (use a free alternative, save the tokens). Instead of paying recurring SaaS fees for Kong AI Gateway or rebuilding it from scratch, deploy one of the 6 battle-tested open-source alternatives like LiteLLM.
What is the catch when switching from Kong AI Gateway to LiteLLM?+
Requires self-hosting setup, updates, and server maintenance compared to managed Kong AI Gateway.
