Kong Gateway can be deployed in four popular ways depending on the specific use case: DB-less mode, Traditional mode, Hybrid mode, and Kong Konnect. DB-less mode offers a quick and lightweight setup using a declarative configuration file, ideal for running the Kong Ingress Controller, although configuration changes require resubmission to the Kong API. Traditional mode requires a database to scale deployments and make incremental configuration changes via the Kong Admin API, but could lead to extensive database maintenance efforts. Hybrid mode addresses the challenge of excessive database calls by separating the data plane, which handles user traffic, from the control plane, which manages configurations and communicates with the database. Kong Konnect is suited for organizations with numerous APIs across diverse environments by providing a cloud-managed control plane with built-in analytics, a Service Hub for service management, and support for GitOps and APIOps configurations. Users can quickly begin with Kong Gateway in DB-less, traditional, or hybrid modes, or opt for a trial of Kong Konnect for a cloud-based solution.