head to head · open source
fastapi vs dreamfactory
fastapi has 104,566 GitHub stars, 10,179 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. dreamfactory has 1,787 stars, 355 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. fastapi leads on adoption by 5,751% (104,566 vs 1,787 stars). fastapi is written in Python under MIT; dreamfactory is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. fastapi has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, dreamfactory 20%. fastapi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (api, framework, 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 | dreamfactory | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 105K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 355 |
| 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 dreamfactory if
- You want the dreamfactory feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and dreamfactory 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 dreamfactory
DreamFactory is a self hosted platform providing governed API access to any data source for enterprise apps and local LLMs. Documentation ∙ Getting Started Guide ∙ Contribute ∙ Community Support Table of Contents What is DreamFactory? How It Works Key Features Supported Data Sources MCP Server for AI and LLM Integration Installation Documentation Community and Support Commercial Licenses FAQ Feedback and Contributions What is DreamFactory? DreamFactory is a secure, self hosted enterprise data access platform that provides governed API access to any data source, connecting enterprise applications and on prem LLMs…
read the full dreamfactory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is fastapi or dreamfactory more popular?
fastapi has 104,566 GitHub stars and dreamfactory has 1,787. fastapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are fastapi and dreamfactory free?
Both are open source. fastapi is licensed under MIT and dreamfactory under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fastapi and dreamfactory?
fastapi is written in Python and dreamfactory in Shell. 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 dreamfactory?
Choose fastapi if you want the larger community (104,566 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose dreamfactory if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.