axum vs hyper
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A Rust library for routing HTTP requests and writing request handlers, built on Tokio.
Open source · MIT
A low-level HTTP library for Rust, used to build HTTP clients and servers.
The short answer
Choose axum if you need…
- Rust developers building HTTP APIs or web services
- Teams already using the Tokio async runtime
- Developers who want modular, composable request handling
Choose hyper if you need…
- Rust developers who need fine control over HTTP client or server behavior
- Authors of libraries or frameworks that need an HTTP layer
- Teams building services that need HTTP/1 and HTTP/2 support in Rust
Side-by-side
| axum | hyper | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 27.7k | 16.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Advanced |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Rust | Rust |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 6 days ago |
What each one is
axum
axum is a Rust library for building web servers and APIs. You define routes that map URLs to handler functions, and axum handles extracting data from requests and turning return values into responses. The project emphasizes ergonomics and modularity, according to its description. The README provided here is truncated, so this summary relies mainly on the repository description and topics.
hyper
hyper is an HTTP library written in Rust that supports HTTP/1 and HTTP/2, with both client and server APIs. It is asynchronous and is meant to be a building block that other libraries and applications are built on, rather than a finished tool you use directly. The README points to reqwest for a more convenient client and to axum or warp for servers, both of which are built on top of hyper.
Best for
axum
- Rust developers building HTTP APIs or web services
- Teams already using the Tokio async runtime
- Developers who want modular, composable request handling
hyper
- Rust developers who need fine control over HTTP client or server behavior
- Authors of libraries or frameworks that need an HTTP layer
- Teams building services that need HTTP/1 and HTTP/2 support in Rust
Strengths
axum
- Described as focused on ergonomics and modularity
- Actively maintained, with a recent push and a tagged release (axum-v0.8.9)
- Permissively licensed under MIT and widely starred on GitHub
hyper
- Supports both HTTP/1 and HTTP/2 with client and server APIs
- Asynchronous design suited to concurrent network programs
- Has extensive production use and an MIT license, according to the README
Not ideal for
axum
- People who are not writing Rust code, since it is a library rather than a ready-made application
- Beginners new to Rust, who may find its type-driven handler model hard to learn at first
- Projects needing a full-featured framework with built-in admin, ORM, or templating, since the README excerpt does not show these
hyper
- Beginners who want a simple, convenient HTTP client, since the README recommends reqwest for that (hyper is low-level)
- People who just want a ready-made web server without writing code, since the README suggests axum or warp for choosing a server
- Non-Rust projects, since this is a Rust library
Trade-offs
axum
- The README excerpt is truncated, so detailed capabilities and setup steps could not be verified here
- Requires familiarity with Rust and async programming
- Release listed without binaries, so it is used as a dependency rather than downloaded
hyper
- Low-level, so it requires more code than convenience libraries such as reqwest
- Documentation is pointed to via guides and docs.rs; the truncated README does not show detailed API examples
Getting started
axum
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/tokio-rs/axumFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between axum and hyper?
axum: A Rust library for routing HTTP requests and writing request handlers, built on Tokio. hyper: A low-level HTTP library for Rust, used to build HTTP clients and servers. axum suits rust developers building http apis or web services, while hyper suits rust developers who need fine control over http client or server behavior.
Are axum and hyper free?
axum: Free and open source. hyper: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, axum or hyper?
axum is easier to get started with (rated intermediate); hyper is rated advanced and usually needs more setup.
Is axum or hyper more popular?
axum has more GitHub stars (27.7k) than hyper (16.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to axum and hyper?
Other options people compare them with include warp, TanStack Router, UI-Router.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.