Adguard Home Sync vs Kong Gateway
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Adguard Home Sync
Synchronize AdGuard Home config to replicas
VS
Kong Gateway
Cloud-native, fast, scalable API gateway
| Feature | Adguard Home Sync | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | free | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Lua |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,762 | ★ 43,947 |
| First released | 2023 | 2015 |
| Replaces | — | AWS API Gateway, Apigee |
Why pick each one
Choose Adguard Home Sync if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
Choose Kong Gateway if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 43.9k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Adguard Home Sync or Kong Gateway better?
Neither is universally better. Kong Gateway has the larger community, while Adguard Home Sync is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Adguard Home Sync and Kong Gateway free and open-source?
Yes. Adguard Home Sync is licensed under free and Kong Gateway under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Adguard Home Sync and Kong Gateway with Docker?
Adguard Home Sync: yes. Kong Gateway: yes.