# Kong Gateway vs Mailu

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

| | Kong Gateway | Mailu |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 69/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #8 of 106 in Email |
| GitHub stars | 44 321 ✓ | 7 591 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 ✓ | +69 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 22 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | 2024.06.67 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Lua | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 69/100 for Mailu, so it is the safer default.

Mailu ships more often: 22 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

## Details

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

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