KongvsUnison
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kong | Unison | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 19 in API Management | #2 of 15 in File Sync |
| GitHub stars | 44 322 | 5 560 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +131 | +66 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 2 |
| Latest release | 3.9.4 · 12 Oct 2026 | v2.54.0 · 1 May 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Lua | OCaml |
Which one should you pick?
Kong scores 81/100 against 65/100 for Unison, so it is the safer default.
Kong ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for Unison.
If you want the quickest setup, Unison is easier to run; Kong needs more configuration.
Kong details →Unison details →
Swap a project
Keep Kong, compare it with
Keep Unison, compare it with