Chromium 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?
| Feature | Chromium | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | free | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dockerfile | Lua |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 384 | ★ 43,947 |
| First released | 2022 | 2015 |
| Replaces | — | AWS API Gateway, Apigee |
Why pick each one
Choose Chromium if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Dockerfile
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 Chromium or Kong Gateway better?
Neither is universally better. Kong Gateway has the larger community, while Chromium is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Chromium and Kong Gateway free and open-source?
Yes. Chromium is licensed under free and Kong Gateway under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chromium and Kong Gateway with Docker?
Chromium: yes. Kong Gateway: yes.