head to head · open source
OpenAPI-Specification vs Apache APISIX
OpenAPI-Specification has 31,291 GitHub stars, 9,145 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Apache APISIX has 17,289 stars, 2,989 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenAPI-Specification leads on adoption by 81% (31,291 vs 17,289 stars). OpenAPI-Specification is written in Markdown under Apache-2.0; Apache APISIX is written in Lua under Apache-2.0. OpenAPI-Specification has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, Apache APISIX 17%. Apache APISIX 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
| OpenAPI-Specification | Apache APISIX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 17K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Markdown | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-10-22 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 3.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenAPI-Specification if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Markdown
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Apache APISIX if
- You want the Apache APISIX feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and Apache APISIX fits your workflow better
About OpenAPI-Specification
The OpenAPI Specification The OpenAPI Specification is a community driven open specification within the OpenAPI Initiative, a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project. The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) defines a standard, programming language agnostic interface description for HTTP APIs. This allows both humans and computers to discover and understand the capabilities of a service without requiring access to source code, additional documentation, or inspection of network traffic. When properly defined via OpenAPI, a consumer can understand and interact with the remote service with a minimal amount of implementation…
read the full OpenAPI-Specification overview →
About Apache APISIX
Apache APISIX API Gateway ｜ AI 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 it to handle traditional north south traffic, as well as east west traffic between services. It can also be used as a Kubernetes ingress controller. Table of Contents Why APISIX AI Gateway Get Started Features Benchmark Community User Stories Who Uses APISIX API Gateway? Logos Acknowledgments License Why APISIX APISIX…
read the full Apache APISIX overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenAPI-Specification or Apache APISIX more popular?
OpenAPI-Specification has 31,291 GitHub stars and Apache APISIX has 17,289. OpenAPI-Specification has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenAPI-Specification and Apache APISIX free?
Both are open source. OpenAPI-Specification is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Apache APISIX under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenAPI-Specification and Apache APISIX?
OpenAPI-Specification is written in Markdown and Apache APISIX in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenAPI-Specification or Apache APISIX?
Choose OpenAPI-Specification if you want the larger community (31,291 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Apache APISIX if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.