head to head · open source
fastapi vs api-gateway
fastapi has 104,566 GitHub stars, 10,179 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. api-gateway has 656 stars, 186 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. fastapi leads on adoption by 15,840% (104,566 vs 656 stars). fastapi is written in Python under MIT; api-gateway is written in Java under Apache-2.0. fastapi has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, api-gateway 28%. api-gateway was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (api, openapi), 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
| fastapi | api-gateway | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 105K | ★ 656 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 186 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick fastapi if
- You weight community size — 105K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick api-gateway if
- You want the api-gateway feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and api-gateway fits your workflow better
About fastapi
FastAPI framework, high performance, easy to learn, fast to code, ready for production Documentation : Source Code : FastAPI is a modern, fast (high performance), web framework for building APIs with Python based on standard Python type hints. The key features are: Fast : Very high performance, on par with NodeJS and Go (thanks to Starlette and Pydantic). One of the fastest Python frameworks available. Fast to code : Increase the speed to develop features by about 200% to 300%. Fewer bugs : Reduce about 40% of human (developer) induced errors. Intuitive : Great editor support. Completion everywhere. Less time…
read the full fastapi overview →
About api-gateway
Membrane API Gateway for REST, OpenAPI, and GraphQL with first class Legacy Support for XML, SOAP, and WSDL Built on the Java platform , Membrane bridges legacy and modern APIs. It supports XML to JSON transformation, WSDL to OpenAPI conversion,SOAP to REST integration, and validation against OpenAPI and WSDL . For modern APIs, Membrane supports technologies such as OAuth 2, JWT, and AI, along with a broad range of transformation, and observability features. It is easy to set up and deploy, either as a container or as a Java application. Try Membrane in 5 Minutes Start the API Gateway Run Membrane as a container…
read the full api-gateway overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is fastapi or api-gateway more popular?
fastapi has 104,566 GitHub stars and api-gateway has 656. fastapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are fastapi and api-gateway free?
Both are open source. fastapi is licensed under MIT and api-gateway under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fastapi and api-gateway?
fastapi is written in Python and api-gateway in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, fastapi or api-gateway?
Choose fastapi if you want the larger community (104,566 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose api-gateway if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.