{"id":2624,"date":"2026-10-12T15:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T15:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imesh.ai\/blog\/?p=2624"},"modified":"2026-10-12T16:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T16:12:18","slug":"top-5-considerations-while-moving-from-kong-to-oss-envoy-gateway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imesh.ai\/blog\/top-5-considerations-while-moving-from-kong-to-oss-envoy-gateway\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Considerations While Moving From Kong to OSS Envoy Gateway"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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It started with a simple question in a leadership meeting: \u201cWhy are we spending so much on our API gateway?\u201d<\/em><\/p>

The platform engineering team had a reliable API infrastructure built on Kong. But as traffic grew, licensing costs increased, customization became expensive, and even small feature requests started requiring significant investment.<\/p>

For engineering leaders, this is more than a budget problem. It is a question of scalability, flexibility, and long-term control.<\/p>

Open-source Envoy Gateway (OSS EG)<\/strong> offers another path: a modern, high-performance API gateway built on Envoy Proxy, without traditional enterprise gateway licensing fees.<\/p>

But moving from Kong to Envoy Gateway requires more than replacing one technology with another. Here are five considerations engineering leaders should evaluate before making the switch.<\/p>

1. Why move now?<\/span><\/h2>

Paying millions to Kong eh!!<\/span><\/h3>

Enterprise API gateway costs can become substantial as infrastructure scales. Licensing, support contracts, premium features, and customization can add up to a significant annual expense.<\/p>

For organizations paying hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars annually, the question is simple: Are we paying for capabilities we could operate more cost-effectively ourselves?<\/p>

OSS Envoy Gateway eliminates proprietary gateway licensing fees, allowing teams to redirect that budget toward engineering, security, and innovation.<\/p>

Comparison table between Kong and OSS EG:<\/span><\/h3>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>

The right choice depends on workload requirements, existing configurations, required enterprise features, and the total cost of ownership not licensing alone.<\/p>

GenAI helps to create features fast.<\/span><\/h3>

Need a custom integration or a new traffic policy? GenAI-assisted development can help engineering teams prototype configurations, generate code, write tests, and accelerate plugin development.<\/p>

Combined with Envoy Gateway’s extensible architecture, this can reduce the time and cost associated with implementing specialized requirements. Production adoption still requires security reviews, testing, and performance validation.<\/p>

OSS Envoy has fantastic support from IMESH: We have helped Fortune 500 companies to move from Kong to EG and save more than $1M USD<\/strong><\/p>

Open source does not have to mean going it alone.<\/p>

IMESH provides enterprise-grade support for Envoy Gateway, helping organizations plan migrations, troubleshoot production issues, implement custom requirements, and operate their infrastructure with confidence.<\/p>

IMESH has helped Fortune 500 companies migrate from Kong to Envoy Gateway, achieving savings exceeding $1 million USD in reported engagements.
\"Comparing<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0<\/h2>

2. Compatibility Before Cost Savings<\/span><\/b><\/h2>

Migrating gateways is not simply a matter of changing configurations. Existing routes, authentication policies, rate limits, plugins, traffic transformations, and integrations may behave differently across platforms.<\/p>

Before moving, engineering teams should inventory their current Kong setup and classify each capability:<\/p>