Kong GatewayvsStirling-PDF
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong Gateway | Stirling-PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 87/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #1 of 46 in Document Management |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 | 95 252 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +2 339 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 25 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v3.2.2 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Lua | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Stirling-PDF scores 87/100 against 82/100 for Kong Gateway, so it is the safer default.
Stirling-PDF ships more often: 25 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.
Stirling-PDF is growing faster right now (+2 339 stars in 30 days).
Kong Gateway details →Stirling-PDF details →