Kong GatewayvsWBO
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong Gateway | WBO | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 61/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #2 of 9 in Whiteboarding |
| GitHub stars | 44 316 | 2 675 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +130 | +17 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 4 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v2.18.26 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Lua | JavaScript |
Which one should you pick?
Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 61/100 for WBO, so it is the safer default.
WBO ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.
If you want the quickest setup, WBO is easier to run; Kong Gateway needs more configuration.
Kong Gateway is growing faster right now (+130 stars in 30 days).
Kong Gateway details →WBO details →