middleBrick vs Kong

middleBrick is a black-box API security scanner that submits requests to a reachable endpoint and analyzes responses. It does not require access to source code, containers, or runtime environments. The tool supports any language, framework, or cloud target and completes a scan in under a minute using read-only methods plus text-only POST for LLM probes. Kong Inspector operates as a gateway-centric analysis tool that inspects traffic passing through its runtime. It relies on plugins and runtime hooks to observe requests and responses. Because it is tied to the gateway deployment, its coverage is limited to traffic that passes through Kong and is influenced by plugin configuration and route matching rules.

middleBrick detects 12 categories aligned to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), including authentication bypass, BOLA, BFLA, property authorization, input validation, rate limiting, data exposure, encryption, SSRF, inventory management, unsafe consumption, and LLM/AI security. The tool maps findings to OWASP API Top 10, PCI-DSS 4.0, and SOC 2 Type II. Kong Inspector supports security-relevant observations such as policy violations and anomaly detection when configured with appropriate plugins. These observations can help you prepare for SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS 4.0 by surfacing findings relevant to controls described in those frameworks, though the tool does not certify compliance.

middleBrick supports authenticated scans at the Starter tier and above using Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies. A domain verification gate, such as a DNS TXT record or an HTTP well-known file, ensures that only the domain owner can scan with credentials. Header forwarding is limited to Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-* headers. Kong Inspector can leverage mutual TLS and plugin-level authentication to validate traffic within the gateway. It can apply policies to authenticated requests based on consumer credentials and route contexts. Setup for authenticated scanning in middleBrick requires providing credentials and completing domain ownership verification. In Kong, authenticated evaluations depend on existing consumer definitions, plugin configurations, and route settings, which may require administrative effort to align with test scenarios.

middleBrick is a standalone scanner with no agents, SDKs, or code instrumentation. It integrates via web dashboard, CLI, GitHub Action, MCP Server, and a programmable API. The CLI supports commands such as middlebrick scan <url> with JSON or text output. The GitHub Action can fail builds when the score drops below a configured threshold. Integration footprint is minimal because no runtime components are installed on target infrastructure. Kong Inspector operates inside the gateway data plane via plugins. This introduces runtime dependencies and requires managing plugin lifecycle, configuration propagation, and performance overhead. Operational impact is higher because changes to routes, plugins, or consumer groups can alter inspection behavior and must be synchronized with deployment workflows.

middleBrick offers a free tier with 3 scans per month and CLI access. The Starter tier at 99 dollars per month supports 15 APIs, monthly scans, dashboard, email alerts, and MCP Server. The Pro tier at 499 dollars per month adds 100 APIs, continuous monitoring, GitHub Action gates, CI/CD integration, Slack or Teams alerts, compliance reports, and signed webhooks. The Enterprise tier at 2000 dollars per month provides unlimited APIs, custom rules, SSO, audit logs, SLA, and dedicated support. Continuous monitoring in Pro and Enterprise tiers performs scheduled rescans, tracks diffs across scans, and sends rate-limited email alerts. Kong Inspector pricing and monitoring features depend on the Kong edition and plugin subscriptions; details are not specified here. middleBrick does not fix, patch, block, or remediate. It detects and reports with remediation guidance. Any required fixes must be implemented through changes to your API implementation, gateway policies, or operational procedures.