head to head · open source
Insomnia vs Apache APISIX
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars, 2,388 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Apache APISIX has 17,289 stars, 2,989 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Insomnia leads on adoption by 132% (40,111 vs 17,289 stars). Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Apache APISIX is written in Lua under Apache-2.0. Insomnia has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Apache APISIX 17%. Insomnia was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (api), 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
| Insomnia | Apache APISIX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 17K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 3.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Insomnia if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Apache APISIX if
- You want the Apache APISIX feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and Apache APISIX fits your workflow better
About Insomnia
Insomnia API Client Insomnia is an open source, cross platform API client for GraphQL, REST, WebSockets, Server Sent Events (SSE), gRPC and any other HTTP compatible protocol. With Insomnia you can: Debug APIs using the most popular protocols and formats. Design APIs using the native OpenAPI editor and visual preview. Test APIs using native test suites and collection runner. Mock APIs using a cloud or self hosted mocking server. Build CI/CD pipelines using the native Insomnia CLI for linting and testing. Collaborate with others using the many collaboration features. And more including the ability to use 3rd…
read the full Insomnia overview →
About Apache APISIX
Apache APISIX API Gateway ｜ AI Gateway Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real time, high performance API Gateway. APISIX API Gateway provides rich traffic management features such as load balancing, dynamic upstream, canary release, circuit breaking, authentication, observability, and more. You can use it to handle traditional north south traffic, as well as east west traffic between services. It can also be used as a Kubernetes ingress controller. Table of Contents Why APISIX AI Gateway Get Started Features Benchmark Community User Stories Who Uses APISIX API Gateway? Logos Acknowledgments License Why APISIX APISIX…
read the full Apache APISIX overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Insomnia or Apache APISIX more popular?
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars and Apache APISIX has 17,289. Insomnia has the larger community by that measure.
Are Insomnia and Apache APISIX free?
Both are open source. Insomnia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Apache APISIX under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Insomnia and Apache APISIX?
Insomnia is written in TypeScript and Apache APISIX in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Insomnia or Apache APISIX?
Choose Insomnia if you want the larger community (40,111 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Apache APISIX if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.