Enterprise API gateway with AI plugins vs single-binary LLM proxy. Different scale, different tradeoffs.
| Feature | Stockyard | Kong AI Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Single Go binary, ~25MB | Nginx/OpenResty + Postgres + Admin API |
| External database | None (embedded SQLite) | Postgres required |
| Install time | ~60 seconds | ~30 minutes (Docker Compose) |
| LLM providers | 40+ built-in | Via AI proxy plugin |
| OpenAI-compatible | ✓ Native | ✓ Via plugin |
| Request tracing | ✓ Built-in (Lookout) | Via separate plugins |
| Cost tracking | ✓ Per-request | Not built-in |
| Middleware modules | 76 toggleable | Plugin-based (install separately) |
| Audit trail | ✓ Hash-chained | Logging plugins |
| API gateway features | LLM-focused only | ✓ Full API gateway (rate limiting, auth, transforms) |
| License | Apache 2.0 (proxy) / BSL 1.1 (platform) | Apache 2.0 (OSS) / Proprietary (Enterprise) |
| Target user | Teams adding LLM proxy to existing stack | Teams needing full API gateway with AI features |
Based on publicly available documentation as of March 2026.
Kong is an enterprise API gateway that added AI capabilities through plugins. Stockyard is purpose-built as an LLM proxy. The overlap is in routing LLM requests, but the approach is fundamentally different.
Kong gives you a full API gateway with rate limiting, authentication, request transforms, and service mesh capabilities. If you already run Kong for your API infrastructure, adding the AI proxy plugin makes sense. You get LLM routing integrated into your existing gateway.
Stockyard gives you a focused LLM proxy with 76 middleware modules, built-in tracing, cost tracking, and an audit trail. If you need a dedicated LLM layer without the overhead of a general-purpose API gateway, Stockyard is simpler to deploy and operate.
Kong requires Postgres for its configuration store and typically runs as a Docker Compose stack with multiple services. Stockyard is a single binary with embedded SQLite. No external database, no container orchestration.
For teams that already run Kong, adding AI features to it avoids a new service. For teams that do not have Kong, deploying it just for LLM routing adds significant operational overhead compared to running Stockyard.
Choose Kong if you already run Kong for API management, need a general-purpose API gateway, or require enterprise support and compliance features. The AI plugins add LLM routing to your existing infrastructure.
Choose Stockyard if you want a dedicated self-hosted LLM proxy with zero dependencies, built-in observability, and proxy-only mode that lets you start routing in under 60 seconds.