Kong is an API and AI connectivity platform built around the open-source Kong Gateway plus the paid Kong Konnect cloud platform, Kong AI Gateway for managing…
Best for Kong: Organizations managing API and AI/LLM traffic at scale, including large enterprises like United Airlines, HSBC, BMW, Wayfair, and PayPal per the vendor, that need gateway, service mesh, and AI traffic management (token budgeting, semantic caching) under one product family.
Best for SQD: Developers and teams building blockchain-data-dependent applications, such as crypto analytics, indexing, or on-chain data dashboards, who need real-time or historical data across 225+ networks, starting with a free public API.
At a Glance
Kong
SQD
Primary category
API Tools
API Tools
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
open-source
Starting price
Free (open source); paid plans custom-priced
Free (open-source SDK; Cloud usage-based pricing)
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Free trial
Yes
Not documented
Platforms
Not documented
Not documented
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Key Differences
Product Category
Kong: Kong is an API gateway and AI connectivity platform for managing, securing, and routing traffic between services.
SQD: SQD is a blockchain data provider delivering real-time and historical data across 225+ networks.
One is infrastructure tooling for traffic management, the other is a data source — they're not substitutes for each other.
Pricing Transparency
Kong: Kong Konnect offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, then Konnect Plus is priced per gateway/month plus $200/month per additional 1M requests, with custom annual Enterprise pricing.
SQD: SQD's starting price is not documented, though its FAQ confirms a free public API exists alongside dedicated enterprise data portals for larger deployments.
Kong publishes more granular pricing mechanics than SQD, which only confirms a free tier exists without detailing paid tier costs.
AI/LLM-Specific Capability
Kong: Kong AI Gateway is purpose-built for managing AI/LLM traffic and agent orchestration, including token budgeting, semantic caching, and context window management.
SQD: SQD has no documented AI-specific capability — it is focused on blockchain data delivery.
Teams building AI agents that call external APIs need traffic-management tooling like Kong AI Gateway, which SQD doesn't provide.
Company Track Record
Kong: Kong was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, making it one of the longest-established open-source API gateways per its documented pros.
SQD: SQD's founding year and headquarters are not documented.
Kong's documented 15+ year history and named enterprise customers offer more due-diligence signal than SQD's undocumented company details.
Scope of Product Family
Kong: Kong spans multiple products (Gateway, Konnect, AI Gateway, Event Gateway, Mesh, and the separately-priced Insomnia API testing tool), per its documented cons, meaning the full feature set is spread across several products rather than one bundle.
SQD: SQD's documented scope is narrower and singular: blockchain data access via API and data portals.
Kong's broader product family may require piecing together multiple products for a complete solution, while SQD's scope is simpler to evaluate.
Feature-by-Feature
Core Purpose
Feature
Kong
SQD
API gateway / traffic management
Available
Unavailable
Blockchain data access
Unavailable
Available
AI/LLM traffic management
Available
Unavailable
Service mesh
Available
Unavailable
Pricing & Plans
Feature
Kong
SQD
Free tier/trial
Available
Available
Published entry paid price
Available
Not documented
Enterprise/custom tier
Available
Available
Company Profile
Feature
Kong
SQD
Founding year documented
Available
Not documented
Headquarters documented
Available
Not documented
Named enterprise customers
Available
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Kong
Kong Gateway (Open Source) — Free N/A
Konnect Free Trial — $0 for 30 days 30-day trial
Konnect Plus — Custom, billed per gateway monthly Monthly
Open-source Kong Gateway is free, production-ready and widely adopted
Unified platform for both traditional API traffic and AI/LLM traffic governance
Large plugin ecosystem covers most authentication, security and transformation needs
30-day free trial of Konnect gives full enterprise functionality before committing
Backed by significant funding and a mature enterprise support organization
Cons
Konnect's per-gateway pricing can become expensive as API programs scale
Plugin development and Lua-based customization require specialized expertise
Enterprise pricing is not publicly listed and requires a sales conversation
Feature set can be more complex to configure than lighter, purpose-built gateways
Some advanced governance features are gated behind the Enterprise tier only
SQD
Pros
Core SDKs and data access are free and open source
Very low latency and high data correctness for on-chain queries
Single API covers 225-plus networks instead of separate integrations
Self-hosting option available for teams wanting full control
Used in production by well-known DeFi protocols managing billions in TVL
Cons
Cloud pricing is usage-based and less predictable than flat subscription tools
Recent acquisition by Rezolve Ai introduces uncertainty about product direction
Primarily targeted at Web3 and blockchain developers, not a general-purpose tool
Requires technical setup and indexing knowledge to get full value
Company size and support structure post-acquisition are not publicly detailed
Use Cases
Choose Kong: Organizations managing API and AI/LLM traffic at scale, including large enterprises like United Airlines, HSBC, BMW, Wayfair, and PayPal per the vendor, that need gateway, service mesh, and AI traffic management (token budgeting, semantic caching) under one product family.
Choose SQD: Developers and teams building blockchain-data-dependent applications, such as crypto analytics, indexing, or on-chain data dashboards, who need real-time or historical data across 225+ networks, starting with a free public API.
Need both: A blockchain data application could use Kong (or Kong AI Gateway) to manage, secure, and rate-limit API traffic to its own backend services, while sourcing the underlying blockchain data itself from SQD's public API or enterprise data portals — a realistic pairing where Kong sits in front of an app that consumes SQD's data.
Kong
Enterprise API management — Platform teams use Kong Gateway and Konnect to manage authentication, rate limiting and analytics across hundreds of internal and external APIs.
AI traffic governance — Teams route LLM calls through Kong's AI Gateway to enforce token quotas, prompt governance and cost control.
Microservices connectivity — Organizations use Kong Mesh alongside Kong Gateway to manage service-to-service traffic in Kubernetes environments.
SQD
DeFi protocol data indexing — Protocols index on-chain events like swaps, deposits, and liquidations in real time to power dashboards and risk systems.
Blockchain analytics platforms — Analytics products query historical and real-time on-chain data across many networks through a single API instead of managing separate RPC integrations.
AI agents needing on-chain data — AI agents use validated, low-latency on-chain data feeds to make trustworthy decisions involving blockchain state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Kong and SQD compete with each other?
No — Kong is an API gateway and AI traffic management platform, while SQD is a blockchain data provider. They operate at different layers and could plausibly be used together, with Kong managing API traffic to an app that consumes SQD's data.
Is Kong free to use?
Kong Gateway (the open-source core) is free and self-hostable. Kong Konnect, the managed cloud platform, is a separate paid product with a 30-day free trial and no credit card required.
Is SQD's blockchain data free?
Yes, SQD offers a free public API, alongside dedicated enterprise data portals for larger deployments, per its documented FAQ.
Does Kong handle AI/LLM traffic specifically?
Yes, Kong AI Gateway is purpose-built for managing AI/LLM traffic and agent orchestration, including token budgeting, semantic caching, and context window management. SQD has no documented AI-specific traffic management capability.
How many blockchain networks does SQD cover?
More than 225 networks, with both real-time and historical data.
Which company has a longer documented track record?
Kong, founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, is documented as one of the longest-established open-source API gateways. SQD's founding year and headquarters are not publicly documented.