# Kong Gateway vs pwnflow

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

| | Kong Gateway | pwnflow |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 44/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #56 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 44 317 ✓ | 281 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Lua | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 44/100 for pwnflow, so it is the safer default.

Kong Gateway ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for pwnflow.

Kong Gateway is growing faster right now (+131 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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