head to head · open source
Hoppscotch vs zato
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars, 6,225 forks, 820 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. zato has 1,017 stars, 250 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hoppscotch leads on adoption by 7,837% (80,724 vs 1,017 stars). Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript under MIT; zato is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Hoppscotch has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, zato 25%. zato was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (api), 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 | zato | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 1.0K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 250 |
| 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 zato if
- You want the zato feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and zato 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 zato
Zato /zɑːtəʊ/ ESB, SOA, API and Cloud Integrations in Python. Zato is a Python based, open source platform that lets you automate, integrate and orchestrate business systems, APIs, workflows as well as hardware assets in industries such as airports, defense, health care, telecommunications, financial services, government and more. What does it look like in practice? Learn more Visit for the details, including: Downloads Screenshots Programming examples
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hoppscotch or zato more popular?
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars and zato has 1,017. Hoppscotch has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hoppscotch and zato free?
Both are open source. Hoppscotch is licensed under MIT and zato under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hoppscotch and zato?
Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript and zato 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, Hoppscotch or zato?
Choose Hoppscotch if you want the larger community (80,724 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose zato if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.