# Kong Gateway vs openclaw

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

| | Kong Gateway | openclaw |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 93/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #1 of 125 in AI |
| GitHub stars | 44 317 | 393 295 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | +2 947 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 37 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v2026.10.8 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Lua | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

openclaw scores 93/100 against 82/100 for Kong Gateway, so it is the safer default.

openclaw ships more often: 37 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

openclaw is growing faster right now (+2 947 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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