# Kong Gateway vs openvpn

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

| | Kong Gateway | openvpn |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #4 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 ✓ | 14 737 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +137 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 14 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ | v2.7.8 · 6 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Lua | C |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 76/100 for openvpn, so it is the safer default.

openvpn ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

## Details

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

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