head to head · open source
Docker vs mcp-gateway
Docker has 72,240 GitHub stars, 19,301 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mcp-gateway has 907 stars, 94 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Docker leads on adoption by 7,865% (72,240 vs 907 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; mcp-gateway is written in C# under MIT. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, mcp-gateway 10%. Docker was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (docker), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Docker | mcp-gateway | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 907 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 94 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docker if
- You weight community size — 72K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mcp-gateway if
- You want the mcp-gateway feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and mcp-gateway fits your workflow better
About Docker
The Moby Project ================ Moby is an open source project created by Docker to enable and accelerate software containerization. It provides a "Lego set" of toolkit components, the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, and a place for all container enthusiasts and professionals to experiment and exchange ideas. Components include container build tools, a container registry, orchestration tools, a runtime and more, and these can be used as building blocks in conjunction with other tools and projects. Principles Moby is an open project guided by strong principles, aiming to be…
read the full Docker overview →
About mcp-gateway
MCP Gateway MCP Gateway is a reverse proxy and management layer for Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, enabling scalable, session aware routing, authorization and lifecycle management of MCP servers in Kubernetes environments. Table of Contents Overview Key Concepts Architecture Features Getting Started – Local Deployment Getting Started – 1 Click Deploy to Azure Overview This project provides: A data gateway for routing traffic to MCP servers with session affinity. A control plane for managing the MCP server lifecycle (deploy, update, delete). Enterprise ready integration points including telemetry, access…
read the full mcp-gateway overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or mcp-gateway more popular?
Docker has 72,240 GitHub stars and mcp-gateway has 907. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and mcp-gateway free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mcp-gateway under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and mcp-gateway?
Docker is written in Go and mcp-gateway in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docker or mcp-gateway?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,240 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mcp-gateway if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.