CLI2APIvsKong Gateway
Two self-hosted API Gateway projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| CLI2API | Kong Gateway | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 45/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #25 of 39 in API Gateway | #1 of 39 in API Gateway |
| GitHub stars | 283 | 44 314 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +128 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.7.20 · 28 Oct 2026 | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Lua |
Which one should you pick?
Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 45/100 for CLI2API, so it is the safer default.
CLI2API ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.
Kong Gateway is growing faster right now (+128 stars in 30 days).
CLI2API details →Kong Gateway details →All API Gateway projects →