Kong GatewayvsStalwart Mail Server
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong Gateway | Stalwart Mail Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 78/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #2 of 16 in Mail Server |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 | 15 454 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +670 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 30 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v1.0.0 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-only AND LicenseRef-SEL |
| Main language | Lua | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 78/100 for Stalwart Mail Server, so it is the safer default.
Stalwart Mail Server ships more often: 30 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.
Stalwart Mail Server is growing faster right now (+670 stars in 30 days).
Kong Gateway details →Stalwart Mail Server details →