# Kong Gateway vs MeshCentral

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

| | Kong Gateway | MeshCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #2 of 23 in Remote Access |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 ✓ | 7 528 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +250 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 16 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | 1.3.1 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Lua | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 74/100 for MeshCentral, so it is the safer default.

MeshCentral ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

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

## Details

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

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