head to head · open source
one-api vs Apache APISIX
one-api has 36,932 GitHub stars, 6,867 forks, 1,036 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. Apache APISIX has 17,135 stars, 2,946 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. one-api leads on adoption by 116% (36,932 vs 17,135 stars). one-api is written in JavaScript under MIT; Apache APISIX is written in Lua under Apache-2.0. one-api has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, Apache APISIX 17%. Apache APISIX was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (api, api-gateway), 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
| one-api | Apache APISIX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-01-09 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick one-api if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 one-api
One API is a self hosted LLM API management and key redistribution system that exposes many model providers through the standard OpenAI API format, aimed at developers, teams and operators who want a single endpoint, a single key model and a single quota surface across providers.
read the full one-api overview →
About Apache APISIX
Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real time, high performance API gateway and AI gateway built on NGINX and etcd. It provides rich traffic management features, such as load balancing, dynamic upstream, canary release, circuit breaking, authentication, and observability. The project lives in the Lua and LuaJIT ecosystem, and it uses the Apache 2.0 license.
read the full Apache APISIX overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is one-api or Apache APISIX more popular?
one-api has 36,932 GitHub stars and Apache APISIX has 17,135. one-api has the larger community by that measure.
Are one-api and Apache APISIX free?
Both are open source. one-api is licensed under MIT and Apache APISIX under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between one-api and Apache APISIX?
one-api is written in JavaScript 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, one-api or Apache APISIX?
Choose one-api if you want the larger community (36,932 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Apache APISIX if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.