# Kong Gateway vs paperclip

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

| | Kong Gateway | paperclip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 88/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #4 of 125 in AI |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 | 108 237 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +26 873 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 10 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v2026.1012.0 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Lua | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

paperclip scores 88/100 against 82/100 for Kong Gateway, so it is the safer default.

paperclip ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

paperclip is growing faster right now (+26 873 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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