Kong GatewayvsPostal
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong Gateway | Postal | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 72/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #3 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 44 320 | 16 899 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +130 | +72 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 3 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | 3.3.7 · 3 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Lua | Ruby |
Which one should you pick?
Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 72/100 for Postal, so it is the safer default.
If you want the quickest setup, Kong Gateway is easier to run; Postal needs more configuration.
Kong Gateway details →Postal details →