Kong GatewayvsNeko
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong Gateway | Neko | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 78/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #3 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 | 22 563 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +188 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 4 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v3.2.0 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Lua | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 78/100 for Neko, so it is the safer default.
Neko ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.
If you want the quickest setup, Kong Gateway is easier to run; Neko needs more configuration.
Kong Gateway details →Neko details →