# Kong Gateway vs MeiliSearch

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

| | Kong Gateway | MeiliSearch |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #3 of 41 in Search Engines |
| GitHub stars | 44 320 | 59 701 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +130 | +297 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 33 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v1.56.0 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Lua | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway and MeiliSearch score the same (82/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

MeiliSearch ships more often: 33 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

MeiliSearch is growing faster right now (+297 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [MeiliSearch vs Typesense](https://selfhost.directory/compare/meilisearch-vs-typesense)

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