GitHub stats
- GitHub stars
- 44,242
- Forks
- 5,225
- Open issues
- 89
- Commits, last 12 months
- 27
- Last commit
- Oct 2, 2026
- Latest release
- 3.9.3Jun 17, 2026
- Created
- Nov 17, 2014
Data from the GitHub API, refreshed daily.
About Kong
Microservice API Gateway and Platform. Kong is open source under the Apache-2.0 license and written mainly in Lua, so you can read the code, run it on your own hardware and keep full control of your data.
The project has 44,242 stars and 5,225 forks on GitHub, with 27 commits over the last year. It ships a Docker image, which makes it a good fit for a small VPS or a home server running Docker Compose.
Topics
- api-gateway
- microservices
- api-management
- serverless
- apis
- reverse-proxy
- cloud-native
- microservice
- devops
- kubernetes
Open-source alternative to
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What is Kong?
Kong is a free, open-source app you can host on your own server, listed in our API Management category. Microservice API Gateway and Platform. The source code lives at github.com/Kong/kong, where it has 44,242 stars.
Is Kong free and open source?
Yes. Kong is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I run Kong with Docker?
Yes. Kong provides a Docker image, so you can run it on any Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed. The project README lists the image name and the environment variables to set.
What are the best alternatives to Kong?
Popular open-source alternatives to Kong include Hoppscotch Community Edition, Bruno and Hasura. Kong itself is a self-hosted alternative to Postman.
Is Kong actively maintained?
The most recent commit to Kong was on Oct 2, 2026 with 27 commits in the past twelve months. The latest release is 3.9.3, published Jun 17, 2026. Check the open issues on GitHub to gauge how quickly maintainers respond.