head to head · open source
Cube vs API
Cube has 20,857 GitHub stars, 2,138 forks, 1,185 open issues and last shipped yesterday. API has 2,503 stars, 622 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. Cube leads on adoption by 733% (20,857 vs 2,503 stars). Cube is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence; API is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. Cube has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, API 25%. Cube was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Cube | API | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-02-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 622 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Cube if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick API if
- You want the API feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and API fits your workflow better
About Cube
Cube Core is an open source semantic layer for AI, BI, and embedded analytics. It lives in the data analytics and data engineering ecosystem for SQL warehouses, BI tools, applications, and AI agents. It lets teams define metrics, dimensions, joins, and access rules once in code, then expose them through SQL, REST, and GraphQL APIs. It is headless and ships no user interface.
About API
API is an open source JavaScript service for disease statistics under GPL 3.0. It lives in the JavaScript data API ecosystem and publishes information about COVID 19, Influenza, and related disease tracking topics. The project gives users one API for global case overviews, city or region mobility data, and official government data for some countries.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Cube or API more popular?
Cube has 20,857 GitHub stars and API has 2,503. Cube has the larger community by that measure.
Are Cube and API free?
Both are open source. Cube has no licence declared in this registry, and API is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Cube and API?
Cube is written in Rust and API in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Cube or API?
Choose Cube if you want the larger community (20,857 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose API if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.