# Kong Gateway vs netbird

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

| | Kong Gateway | netbird |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 81/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #2 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 44 321 ✓ | 30 315 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | +812 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 40 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Lua | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 81/100 for netbird, so it is the safer default.

netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

netbird is growing faster right now (+812 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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