head to head · open source
Hoppscotch vs hey-api
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars, 6,225 forks, 820 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. hey-api has 5,551 stars, 453 forks, 630 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Hoppscotch leads on adoption by 1,354% (80,724 vs 5,551 stars). Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript under MIT; hey-api is written in TypeScript under MIT. Hoppscotch has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, hey-api 8%. hey-api was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (api-client, developer-tools), 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
| Hoppscotch | hey-api | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 5.6K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 453 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hoppscotch if
- You weight community size — 81K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick hey-api if
- You want the hey-api feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and hey-api fits your workflow better
About Hoppscotch
Hoppscotch Open Source API Development Ecosystem Built with ❤︎ by contributors We highly recommend you take a look at the Hoppscotch Documentation to learn more about the app. Support Features ❤️ Lightweight: Crafted with minimalistic UI design. ⚡️ Fast: Send requests and get responses in real time. 🗄️ HTTP Methods: Request methods define the type of action you are requesting to be performed. GET Requests retrieve resource information POST The server creates a new entry in a database PUT Updates an existing resource PATCH Very similar to PUT but makes a partial update on a resource DELETE Deletes resource or…
read the full Hoppscotch overview →
About hey-api
Hey API "OpenAPI codegen that just works." — Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel Manual • Issues • Contribute About Hey API is an ecosystem for turning API specifications into production ready code. It's trusted by thousands of companies – from YC startups to Fortune 500 enterprises – and powers products used by millions worldwide. This is the monorepo containing all open source Hey API packages. For package specific documentation and quick start guides, see the individual repositories below. Packages Package Description openapi ts TypeScript code generator with 20+ plugins for SDKs, Zod schemas, TanStack Query…
read the full hey-api overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hoppscotch or hey-api more popular?
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars and hey-api has 5,551. Hoppscotch has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hoppscotch and hey-api free?
Both are open source. Hoppscotch is licensed under MIT and hey-api under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hoppscotch and hey-api?
Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript and hey-api 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, Hoppscotch or hey-api?
Choose Hoppscotch if you want the larger community (80,724 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose hey-api if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.