# Kong Gateway vs UUSEC WAF

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

| | Kong Gateway | UUSEC WAF |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 59/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #2 of 3 in Web Application Firewall |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 ✓ | 1 718 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 ✓ | +6 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 9 ✓ |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v7.2.6 · 12 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Main language | Lua | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 59/100 for UUSEC WAF, so it is the safer default.

UUSEC WAF ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.

Kong Gateway is growing faster right now (+128 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Kong Gateway](https://selfhost.directory/project/kong-gateway) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/kong-gateway.md)
- [UUSEC WAF](https://selfhost.directory/project/uusec-waf) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/uusec-waf.md)

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