head to head · open source
Insomnia vs apisix-docker
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars, 2,388 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. apisix-docker has 871 stars, 498 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Insomnia leads on adoption by 4,505% (40,111 vs 871 stars). Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; apisix-docker is written in Dockerfile under Apache-2.0. Insomnia has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, apisix-docker 57%. Insomnia 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
| Insomnia | apisix-docker | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 871 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Dockerfile |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 498 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Insomnia if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick apisix-docker if
- You want the apisix-docker feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dockerfile
- You evaluated both and apisix-docker fits your workflow better
About Insomnia
Insomnia API Client Insomnia is an open source, cross platform API client for GraphQL, REST, WebSockets, Server Sent Events (SSE), gRPC and any other HTTP compatible protocol. With Insomnia you can: Debug APIs using the most popular protocols and formats. Design APIs using the native OpenAPI editor and visual preview. Test APIs using native test suites and collection runner. Mock APIs using a cloud or self hosted mocking server. Build CI/CD pipelines using the native Insomnia CLI for linting and testing. Collaborate with others using the many collaboration features. And more including the ability to use 3rd…
read the full Insomnia overview →
About apisix-docker
Roadmap Refer to ⚡️ Apache APISIX Projects Roadmap What is Apache APISIX API Gateway Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real time, high performance API Gateway. APISIX API Gateway provides rich traffic management features such as load balancing, dynamic upstream, canary release, circuit breaking, authentication, observability, and more. You can use APISIX API Gateway to handle traditional north south traffic, as well as east west traffic between services. At present, APISIX has been used in various industries, including NASA, Tencent Cloud, EU Digital Factory, Airbus, Airwallex, iQIYI, etc. How to run Apache APISIX…
read the full apisix-docker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Insomnia or apisix-docker more popular?
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars and apisix-docker has 871. Insomnia has the larger community by that measure.
Are Insomnia and apisix-docker free?
Both are open source. Insomnia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and apisix-docker under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Insomnia and apisix-docker?
Insomnia is written in TypeScript and apisix-docker in Dockerfile. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Insomnia or apisix-docker?
Choose Insomnia if you want the larger community (40,111 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose apisix-docker if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.