# Kong Gateway vs Syslog-ng

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

| | Kong Gateway | Syslog-ng |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 66/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #3 of 8 in Logging |
| GitHub stars | 44 316 ✓ | 2 386 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +130 ✓ | +10 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 ✓ | 2 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 ✓ | syslog-ng-4.12.0 · 16 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Lua | C |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 66/100 for Syslog-ng, so it is the safer default.

Kong Gateway ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for Syslog-ng.

Kong Gateway is growing faster right now (+130 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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