Kong GatewayvsZed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong Gateway | Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 39 in API Gateway | #4 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 44 314 | 16 059 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +128 | +244 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 31 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | w2026-10-23 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Lua | Java |
Which one should you pick?
Kong Gateway scores 82/100 against 80/100 for Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), so it is the safer default.
Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Kong Gateway.
If you want the quickest setup, Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is easier to run; Kong Gateway needs more configuration.
Kong Gateway details →Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) details →