head to head · open source
fastapi vs Zappa
fastapi has 104,566 GitHub stars, 10,179 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zappa has 3,701 stars, 394 forks, 22 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. fastapi leads on adoption by 2,725% (104,566 vs 3,701 stars). fastapi is written in Python under MIT; Zappa is written in Python under MIT. fastapi has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Zappa 11%. fastapi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (python), 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 | Zappa | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 105K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 394 |
| 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 Zappa if
- You want the Zappa feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Zappa 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 Zappa
Zappa Serverless Python About Quick Reference Minimal Configs CLI Commands Limitations and Constraints Installation and Configuration Running the Initial Setup / Settings Alternative: Generating Settings via CLI Nested JSON Configurations Basic Usage Initial Deployments Updates Docker Workflows Settings that should NOT be used with Docker deployments Rollback Scheduling Advanced Scheduling Multiple Expressions Disabled Event EventBridge Rule Naming Undeploy Package How Zappa Makes Packages Template Status Tailing Logs Remote Function Invocation Django Management Commands SSL Certification Deploying to a Domain…
read the full Zappa overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is fastapi or Zappa more popular?
fastapi has 104,566 GitHub stars and Zappa has 3,701. fastapi has the larger community by that measure.
Are fastapi and Zappa free?
Both are open source. fastapi is licensed under MIT and Zappa under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fastapi and Zappa?
fastapi is written in Python and Zappa in Python. 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 Zappa?
Choose fastapi if you want the larger community (104,566 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Zappa if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.