head to head · open source
Hoppscotch vs spectral
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars, 6,225 forks, 820 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. spectral has 3,247 stars, 305 forks, 222 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Hoppscotch leads on adoption by 2,386% (80,724 vs 3,247 stars). Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript under MIT; spectral is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Hoppscotch has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, spectral 9%. Hoppscotch was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | spectral | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 305 |
| 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 spectral if
- You want the spectral 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 spectral 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 spectral
[ ][stoplight forest] Custom Rulesets : Create custom rules to lint JSON or YAML objects Ready to use Rulesets : Validate and lint OpenAPI v2, v3.0, v3.1 & v3.2 , AsyncAPI , and Arazzo v1 Documents API Style Guides : Automated API Style Guides using rulesets improve consistency across all your APIs Ready to use Functions : Built in set of functions to help create custom rules. Functions include pattern checks, parameter checks, alphabetical ordering, a specified number of characters, provided keys are present in an object, etc. Custom Functions : Create custom functions for advanced use cases Overview 🧰…
read the full spectral overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hoppscotch or spectral more popular?
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars and spectral has 3,247. Hoppscotch has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hoppscotch and spectral free?
Both are open source. Hoppscotch is licensed under MIT and spectral under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hoppscotch and spectral?
Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript and spectral 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 spectral?
Choose Hoppscotch if you want the larger community (80,724 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose spectral if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.