--- title: "Migrate from Kong Community to Zuplo — Step-by-Step Guide" description: "Migrate from Kong Community to Zuplo in days — preserve existing routes, map Lua plugins to TypeScript, and deploy to 300+ edge locations with no downtime." canonicalUrl: "https://zuplo.com/migrate/kong-community" pageType: "migration" fromGateway: "Kong Community" docsGuide: "https://zuplo.com/docs/articles/migrate-from-kong" --- # Kong Community Edition is a dead end. Move to Zuplo. > Kong stopped publishing prebuilt OSS Docker images with version 3.10, eliminated free mode, and shifted all investment to paid Konnect enterprise. If you're running Kong Community Edition, you're on borrowed time. Migrate to Zuplo — a modern, fully managed API gateway with 300+ edge locations, TypeScript policies, and GitOps-native deployment. ## Timeline - **Mar 2025** — Kong 3.10 released without prebuilt OSS Docker images. Free mode eliminated. OSS users must build from source. _(Past)_ - **2025** — Kong OSS frozen at 3.9.1 with no new community releases. Security patches and bug fixes limited to Enterprise. _(Past)_ - **2026+** — Continued divergence between Enterprise and abandoned OSS. Growing security and compatibility risk for community users. _(Imminent)_ ## Kong Community Edition is being left behind Kong Inc. raised $175M at a $2B valuation in 2024 and shifted all investment to Kong Konnect, their enterprise SaaS platform. The open-source Community Edition has been quietly deprioritized. Starting with 3.10, there are no prebuilt Docker images, no free mode, and no roadmap for OSS users. - No prebuilt Docker images since Kong 3.10 — you must build from source - Free mode removed — running without a license gives expired Enterprise behavior - Last OSS release was 3.9.1 — no new features or community releases - Security patches and bug fixes are Enterprise-only going forward - Complex self-hosted infrastructure (Postgres/Cassandra, Kubernetes) - Lua plugin ecosystem with a tiny developer community - No official support or SLA for community users ## Don't fight for a dying platform — move to something modern You chose Kong Community Edition to avoid vendor lock-in and enterprise pricing. But now you're maintaining your own Docker builds, patching security vulnerabilities yourself, and writing Lua plugins nobody else understands. Zuplo gives you everything Kong promised, actually delivered: - Fully managed — no servers, databases, or Docker builds to maintain - 300+ global edge locations with zero infrastructure management - TypeScript policies instead of Lua — use the language your team knows - GitOps-native with GitHub integration and preview environments - Auto-generated developer portal with self-serve API key management - Free tier available — transparent pricing, no enterprise sales calls ## Migration Steps ### 1. Export your Kong configuration Use `kong config db_export` or export your declarative YAML config. If you're using DB-less mode, you already have your configuration as YAML files. ### 2. Import your OpenAPI specs into Zuplo Import your API definitions to create routes automatically. If you don't have OpenAPI specs, create them from your Kong route and service definitions. ### 3. Replace Lua plugins with TypeScript policies Swap Kong's Lua plugins for Zuplo's built-in policy equivalents. Rate limiting, authentication, request transforms, and CORS work out of the box — no custom code needed for common patterns. ### 4. Set up your developer portal Zuplo auto-generates a developer portal from your OpenAPI spec with interactive docs and self-serve API key management. No separate portal deployment required. ### 5. Deploy and cut over Push to Git, get a preview environment, validate everything works. Update DNS to route traffic through Zuplo's edge network. No Kubernetes clusters to manage. ## Policy Mapping | Kong Community | Zuplo | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | rate-limiting (plugin) | Rate Limiting | Sliding window, globally distributed across 300+ PoPs | | key-auth (plugin) | API Key Authentication | Managed key service with automatic replication | | jwt (plugin) | JWT Authentication | Auth0, Cognito, Clerk, Firebase, Supabase, or any OIDC provider | | basic-auth (plugin) | Basic Auth | Built-in policy, no plugin configuration required | | request-transformer (plugin) | Set Headers / Set Body | Or custom TypeScript for complex transforms | | ip-restriction (plugin) | IP Restriction | Plus geo-location filtering at the edge | | cors (plugin) | Built-in CORS | Configuration-based, no plugin management | | response-ratelimiting (plugin) | Quota | Per-user, per-key, or custom quotas | | proxy-cache (plugin) | Caching Policy | Edge-cached responses across all PoPs | | Custom Lua plugin | Custom Code Policy | Standard TypeScript with full npm ecosystem — no Lua required | ## Teams that migrated from Kong Community - **[AccuWeather](/customers/accuweather)** — AccuWeather powers weather data for over 1 billion users worldwide. They chose Zuplo for API management, monetization, and developer portal. - **[Blockdaemon](/customers/blockdaemon)** — Blockdaemon reduced hardware nodes by 90% after migrating their blockchain infrastructure APIs to Zuplo's edge-native gateway. - **[Spot AI](/customers/spotai)** — Spot AI achieved 10x developer productivity after moving their video intelligence API platform to Zuplo. ## FAQ **Is Kong Community Edition actually dead?** While Kong hasn't formally announced end-of-life for the Community Edition, the practical reality is clear. Starting with version 3.10 in March 2025, Kong stopped publishing prebuilt Docker images for OSS and removed free mode. The last OSS release was 3.9.1. All investment is going into Kong Konnect, their paid enterprise platform. The community has widely recognized this as an effective abandonment of the open-source edition. **Can I still use Kong Community Edition 3.9.1?** Technically yes, but you'll be running increasingly outdated software with no security patches, no bug fixes, and no new features. You also won't receive any official support. As vulnerabilities are discovered and your upstream dependencies evolve, the risk of running 3.9.1 will grow. **Why not just upgrade to Kong Enterprise or Konnect?** You can, but you'll be paying for the same complex infrastructure you were trying to avoid. Kong Konnect starts at ~$105/month per service with additional per-request and plugin fees, and Enterprise contracts require sales calls. Zuplo offers a free tier, transparent pricing, and is fully managed — no Kubernetes, databases, or Docker builds required. **How long does migration from Kong to Zuplo take?** Most teams complete a migration in days, not months. If you have OpenAPI specs, you can import them directly. Common Kong plugins map to built-in Zuplo policies. Custom Lua plugins can be rewritten in TypeScript, which most developers find faster and easier to maintain. **Do I need to learn a new programming language?** Kong's plugin architecture relies on Lua, a language few developers know. Zuplo uses TypeScript, one of the most popular languages in the world. If your team writes JavaScript or TypeScript, you can start extending Zuplo immediately with no learning curve. **What about my existing Kong declarative configuration?** Your Kong declarative YAML defines routes, services, and plugins. Zuplo uses OpenAPI-based route configuration with policies. The concepts map directly — routes become Zuplo routes, plugins become policies, and upstreams become your route handlers. The structure is different but the migration is straightforward. ## Stop maintaining a dying gateway. Start your Kong Community Edition migration today with a free Zuplo account. [Migration guide in the docs](https://zuplo.com/docs/articles/migrate-from-kong)