head to head · open source
fastapi vs Krakend
fastapi has 104,542 GitHub stars, 10,173 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Krakend has 2,701 stars, 504 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. fastapi leads on adoption by 3,770% (104,542 vs 2,701 stars). fastapi is written in Python under MIT; Krakend is written in Go under Apache-2.0. fastapi has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Krakend 19%. fastapi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (async), 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 | Krakend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 105K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 504 |
| 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 Krakend if
- You want the Krakend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Krakend 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 Krakend
KrakenD KrakenD is an extensible, ultra high performance API Gateway that helps you effortlessly adopt microservices and secure communications. KrakenD is easy to operate and run and scales out without a single point of failure. KrakenD Community Edition (or KrakenD CE ) is the open source distribution of the KrakenD API Gateway. KrakenD Site Documentation Blog Twitter Downloads Benefits Easy integration of an ultra high performance gateway. Effortlessly transition to microservices and Backend For Frontend implementations. True linear scalability : Thanks to its stateless design , every KrakenD node can operate…
read the full Krakend overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is fastapi or Krakend more popular?
fastapi has 104,542 GitHub stars and Krakend has 2,701. fastapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are fastapi and Krakend free?
Both are open source. fastapi is licensed under MIT and Krakend under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fastapi and Krakend?
fastapi is written in Python and Krakend in Go. 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 Krakend?
Choose fastapi if you want the larger community (104,542 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Krakend if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.