# Gitness vs Kong

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Gitness | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 81/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 14 in Code Hosting | #1 of 19 in API Management |
| GitHub stars | 38 746 | 44 314 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +319 ✓ | +128 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v2.28.2 · 20 Apr 2026 | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Lua |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong scores 81/100 against 80/100 for Gitness, so it is the safer default.

Gitness ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong.

If you want the quickest setup, Gitness is easier to run; Kong needs more configuration.

Gitness is growing faster right now (+319 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Gitness](https://selfhost.directory/project/gitness) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/gitness.md)
- [Kong](https://selfhost.directory/project/kong) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/kong.md)

## Related comparisons

- [Kong vs Traefik](https://selfhost.directory/compare/kong-vs-traefik)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/gitness-vs-kong