head to head · open source
Yaak vs Apache APISIX
Yaak has 19,399 GitHub stars, 840 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Apache APISIX has 17,289 stars, 2,989 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Yaak leads on adoption by 12% (19,399 vs 17,289 stars). Yaak is written in TypeScript under MIT; Apache APISIX is written in Lua under Apache-2.0. Yaak has attracted 4% 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
| Yaak | Apache APISIX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 840 | ⑂ 3.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Yaak if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Yaak
💫 Yaak ➟ Desktop API Client 💫 A fast, privacy first API client for REST, GraphQL, SSE, WebSocket, and gRPC – built with Tauri, Rust, and React. Development is funded by community purchased licenses . You can also become a sponsor to have your logo appear below. 💖 Features Yaak is an offline first API client designed to stay out of your way while giving you everything you need when you need it. Built with Tauri, Rust, and React, it’s fast, lightweight, and private. No telemetry, no VC funding, and no cloud lock in. 🌐 Work with any API Import collections from Postman, Insomnia, OpenAPI, Swagger, or Curl. Send…
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 Yaak or Apache APISIX more popular?
Yaak has 19,399 GitHub stars and Apache APISIX has 17,289. Yaak has the larger community by that measure.
Are Yaak and Apache APISIX free?
Both are open source. Yaak is licensed under MIT and Apache APISIX under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Yaak and Apache APISIX?
Yaak is written in TypeScript 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, Yaak or Apache APISIX?
Choose Yaak if you want the larger community (19,399 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Apache APISIX if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.