This comparison is part of our MCP comparisons, within The MCP Guide. Facts are checked against each vendor's own documentation and pricing pages on the date shown.
Pick Kong if your company already runs APIs through Kong and wants MCP traffic under the same gateway, rules and billing. Pick Docker if your main worry is running MCP servers safely, each in its own container, on laptops or inside your own cloud.
The two products solve different halves of the problem. Kong governs traffic between AI agents and APIs. Docker packages and runs the MCP servers themselves, then puts a gateway in front of them.
Checked against: Kong's AI Gateway docs and Docker's MCP Gateway docs on 28 October 2026. eSEOspace did not test either product.
Key Takeaways
- Kong's docs say you can "define a single endpoint for any traffic type: LLM, MCP, or A2A," so MCP shares one gateway with model and agent traffic.
- Kong can turn existing REST APIs into MCP tools; Docker focuses on running MCP servers in isolated containers.
- Docker's MCP Gateway is open source under the MIT license, and it powers the MCP Toolkit in Docker Desktop.
- Kong's AI Management Plus plan starts "from $25/month" plus usage; Docker's MCP Enterprise Gateway shows no price and routes you to sales.
- Docker's Enterprise Gateway adds identity-provider sign-in, per-tool policy and SIEM audit events; Kong offers OAuth2 scoping and OpenTelemetry metrics.
At a glance
| Item | Kong AI Gateway | Docker MCP Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | One gateway for LLM, MCP and A2A traffic | Run and route MCP servers in containers |
| Turns REST APIs into MCP tools | Yes, per Kong's docs | Not documented |
| Runs MCP servers for you | Not its focus | Yes, starts each server as a container on demand |
| Open source | Not covered on the pages checked | Yes, MIT license (open-source gateway) |
| Private MCP registry | MCP Registry in Konnect Catalog, tech preview | Custom catalogs and profiles |
| Identity and policy | OAuth2 scoping for tool calls | Enterprise Gateway: IdP sign-in, allow/deny by server, tool and call |
| Observability | OpenTelemetry metrics for AI, MCP and A2A | Logging and call tracing; Enterprise SIEM streaming |
| Price | From $25/month plus usage | Gateway free; Enterprise Gateway via sales |
Where Kong is stronger
MCP as part of an API program
Kong is an API management company, and its AI Gateway treats MCP as one more traffic type. The AI Gateway docs say you can configure these entities once and govern them from one control plane. If your platform team already manages rate limits, keys and logs in Kong, MCP lands in a familiar place.
Existing APIs become tools
Kong's docs say you can "turn existing APIs into tools an AI agent can discover and call over Model Context Protocol." A guide covers mapping a RESTful API to MCP tools, and another covers aggregating tools from several AI MCP Server entities. That can save you from building a separate MCP server for each internal API. Our build vs buy guide helps you judge when that shortcut is enough.
Read and write scoping
The docs say you can "scope agent tool calls with OAuth2, so write actions can require tighter access than read actions." That maps well to least-privilege rules, where an agent can read freely but needs more to change data.
A company-wide MCP registry
Kong's MCP Registry docs describe "a centralized publishing and discovery endpoint for MCP servers within your organization." It is in tech preview as of October 2026, and you must contact Kong to enable it.
Where Docker is stronger
Isolation by default
Docker's MCP Gateway docs say it "runs MCP servers in isolated Docker containers with restricted privileges, network access, and resource usage." If a server is not running, the gateway starts it as a container. A badly written or malicious server has less room to reach your files or network. Our guide to sandboxing local MCP servers explains why that matters.
Developer laptops
The gateway runs automatically when you turn on the MCP Toolkit in Docker Desktop. The Toolkit docs say each tool runs in its own container, capped at 1 CPU and 2 GB of memory. Servers get no host file access unless you grant it, and the Toolkit handles OAuth sign-in for you.
Open source and portable
The mcp-gateway repository is MIT licensed. It ships as a docker mcp CLI plugin that also runs on Docker Engine without Desktop. Profiles group servers, set tool allowlists and can be pushed to OCI registries, so teams can share a vetted setup.
Enterprise policy at the tool level
Docker's MCP Enterprise Gateway page says it can "allow and deny by server, tool, transport, and call, evaluated before anything runs." It adds that "unvetted servers are denied by default." Credentials are read at call time from your secret store, not copied into client config files.
Pricing
Kong's pricing page listed AI Management on 28 October 2026:
| Kong plan | Price | Requests |
|---|---|---|
| Plus | From $25/month plus usage; 30-day free trial | 1 million a month included, $200 per extra million, up to 10 million |
| Enterprise | Custom, billed annually | Customizable, with volume discounts |
Kong's Plus plan lists a "Unified AI Gateway for LLM, MCP, and A2A traffic." There is no MCP-only price. Control planes add cost, for example $25 a month per serverless AI gateway or $500 a month per dedicated cloud gateway.
Docker's open-source MCP Gateway is free. Docker's pricing page listed Desktop subscriptions from $0 (Personal) to $24 per user a month (Business), but no plan lists MCP features. The MCP Enterprise Gateway page shows no price and offers "Talk to sales."
Security and admin controls
| Control | Kong | Docker |
|---|---|---|
| User sign-in | OAuth2 scoping via AI Auth Strategies | Enterprise: sign in through your identity provider; policy follows your groups |
| Tool-level rules | Read vs write scoping; general ACLs | Enterprise: allow and deny per server, tool, transport and call |
| Secrets | Not detailed on the MCP pages checked | Injected at call time; Toolkit blocks requests and responses containing secrets |
| Audit | OpenTelemetry metrics and spans | Gateway logging and call tracing; Enterprise streams events to your SIEM |
| Deployment | Serverless, hybrid or dedicated cloud control planes | Open-source gateway anywhere Docker runs; Enterprise in your cloud or air-gapped |
| Registry | MCP Registry, tech preview, token-protected | Custom catalogs and profiles |
Docker's docs add that "MCP Gateway as part of Docker AI Governance is an invite-only feature." The Enterprise Gateway's Docker-managed cloud option is marked "Coming soon." Neither MCP page we checked lists compliance certifications, so ask each vendor for current reports. Our MCP governance guide lists what a gateway should log.
Which to choose
Pick Kong if:
- Your company already runs Kong Gateway or Konnect for APIs.
- You want to expose internal REST APIs as MCP tools without writing new servers.
- You want LLM, MCP and agent traffic metered and billed in one place.
Pick Docker if:
- Developers run local MCP servers on laptops and you want each one sandboxed.
- You prefer an open-source gateway you can run yourself.
- Security needs default-deny policy per tool, identity-provider sign-in and SIEM events, and you are willing to talk to sales.
Consider both if you have internal APIs and also third-party servers. Kong can front your APIs while Docker runs packaged servers in containers. For other options, see our list of MCP gateways, the Kong spotlight, the Docker spotlight and our other MCP comparisons.
Next step
List the APIs and MCP servers your staff want to reach, and mark which ones you build and which you install. That split usually decides between an API gateway and a container gateway. If you want help scoping it, our MCP development team can plan the rollout with you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docker's MCP Gateway free?
Yes. The open-source MCP Gateway is MIT licensed and runs through the docker mcp CLI plugin. The separate MCP Enterprise Gateway is sold through Docker's sales team, and its page shows no price.
Does Kong charge separately for MCP?
No separate MCP price appears on Kong's pricing page. MCP calls count as gateway requests under AI Management. Plus starts from $25 a month plus usage, with 1 million requests included.
Can Docker turn my REST API into MCP tools?
Docker's gateway docs do not describe REST-to-MCP conversion. Docker runs existing MCP servers in containers. Kong's AI Gateway documents mapping a RESTful API to MCP tools.
Which one works with Claude and Cursor?
Both sit between clients and servers, so any MCP client that can reach the gateway can use it. Docker's repository names VS Code, Cursor and Claude Desktop, and its docs show Claude Code. Kong's AI Gateway page does not list specific clients.
