# Kong Gateway vs SearXNG

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

| | Kong Gateway | SearXNG |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 86/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #1 of 41 in Search Engines |
| GitHub stars | 44 316 ✓ | 38 962 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +130 | +1 396 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Lua | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

SearXNG scores 86/100 against 82/100 for Kong Gateway, so it is the safer default.

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

SearXNG is growing faster right now (+1 396 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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