Blocky 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?
Blocky
Fast DNS proxy and ad-blocker for local networks
VS
Kong Gateway
Cloud-native, fast, scalable API gateway
| Feature | Blocky | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Lua |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,844 | ★ 43,947 |
| First released | 2019 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Pi-hole, AdGuard Home | AWS API Gateway, Apigee |
Why pick each one
Choose Blocky if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k 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 Blocky or Kong Gateway better?
Neither is universally better. Kong Gateway has the larger community, while Blocky is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Blocky and Kong Gateway free and open-source?
Yes. Blocky is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kong Gateway under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blocky and Kong Gateway with Docker?
Blocky: yes. Kong Gateway: yes.