# Kavita vs Kong Gateway

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

| | Kavita | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Comics | #1 of 39 in API Gateway |
| GitHub stars | 11 968 | 44 321 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +232 ✓ | +131 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 8 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.9.1.4 · 2 Sept 2026 | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C# | Lua |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 73/100 for Kavita, so it is the safer default.

Kavita ships more often: 8 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

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

## Details

- [Kavita](https://selfhost.directory/project/kavita) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/kavita.md)
- [Kong Gateway](https://selfhost.directory/project/kong-gateway) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/kong-gateway.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/kavita-vs-kong-gateway