head to head · open source
fastapi vs openapi-generator-cli
fastapi has 102,409 GitHub stars, 9,906 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. openapi-generator-cli has 1,977 stars, 208 forks, 71 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. fastapi leads on adoption by 5,080% (102,409 vs 1,977 stars). fastapi is written in Python under MIT; openapi-generator-cli is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. fastapi has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, openapi-generator-cli 11%. openapi-generator-cli was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (openapi, openapi3), 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.
← all 13541 open source comparisons
Side by side
| fastapi | openapi-generator-cli | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 102K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.9K | ⑂ 208 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick fastapi if
- You weight community size — 102K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick openapi-generator-cli if
- You want the openapi-generator-cli feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and openapi-generator-cli fits your workflow better
About fastapi
FastAPI is an MIT licensed, high performance Python web framework for building APIs with standard Python type hints, aimed at Python developers and teams that need production ready HTTP services with automatic OpenAPI documentation.
read the full fastapi overview →
About openapi-generator-cli
@openapitools/openapi generator cli is a Node package that wraps the Java based OpenAPI Generator, letting JavaScript and TypeScript developers generate API client libraries, server stubs, and documentation from OpenAPI 2.0 and 3.0 specifications without invoking the upstream Java toolchain by hand.
read the full openapi-generator-cli overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More API Development & Testing projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the API Development & Testing field.
Frequently asked questions
Is fastapi or openapi-generator-cli more popular?
fastapi has 102,409 GitHub stars and openapi-generator-cli has 1,977. fastapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are fastapi and openapi-generator-cli free?
Both are open source. fastapi is licensed under MIT and openapi-generator-cli under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fastapi and openapi-generator-cli?
fastapi is written in Python and openapi-generator-cli in TypeScript. 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 openapi-generator-cli?
Choose fastapi if you want the larger community (102,409 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose openapi-generator-cli if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.