fasthttp vs Fiber
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 Go HTTP library tuned for speed, aimed at high-volume servers and clients.
Open source · MIT
An Express-style web framework for building fast HTTP servers and APIs in Go.
The short answer
Choose fasthttp if you need…
- Go developers whose server must handle thousands of small-to-medium requests per second
- Teams that have measured net/http and found HTTP handling to be a real bottleneck
- Projects with very high numbers of keep-alive connections, as in the VertaMedia example in the README
- Developers comfortable adapting code to a non-standard API
Choose Fiber if you need…
- Go developers building REST APIs or web backends
- Developers coming from Node.js and Express who want a familiar style in Go
- Projects that need routing, middleware, static files, or WebSocket and SSE support
Side-by-side
| fasthttp | Fiber | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 23.5k | 40.2k |
| Setup difficulty | Advanced | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Go | Go |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
fasthttp
fasthttp is an HTTP server and client package for the Go programming language, built to be faster than Go's standard net/http package. It reduces memory allocations in its hot paths, which the README says gives higher throughput. The README itself warns that it is designed for specific high-performance cases and that net/http is easier to use and suits most projects.
Fiber
Fiber is a web framework for the Go programming language. It lets you define routes and handlers so your program can respond to web requests, and its API is modeled on Express, the popular Node.js framework. It is built on the Fasthttp HTTP engine, and the README emphasizes speed and low memory use.
Best for
fasthttp
- Go developers whose server must handle thousands of small-to-medium requests per second
- Teams that have measured net/http and found HTTP handling to be a real bottleneck
- Projects with very high numbers of keep-alive connections, as in the VertaMedia example in the README
- Developers comfortable adapting code to a non-standard API
Fiber
- Go developers building REST APIs or web backends
- Developers coming from Node.js and Express who want a familiar style in Go
- Projects that need routing, middleware, static files, or WebSocket and SSE support
Strengths
fasthttp
- The README includes benchmark tables comparing it with net/http, with zero allocations reported for its server GET benchmarks
- Actively maintained, with a v1.77.0 release and a recent push date
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Fiber
- The Express-inspired API is designed to ease the move from Node.js to Go
- The README reports strong performance and low memory footprint, with benchmark results linked
- Includes a wide set of built-in features and middleware, such as routing, rate limiting, and WebSockets
Not ideal for
fasthttp
- Most typical Go web services, because the README says net/http is much better for most cases and easier to use
- Projects that need broad compatibility with net/http handlers and middleware, since the README notes net/http can handle more cases
- Beginners learning Go web development, since the API differs from the standard library
Fiber
- People who are not writing Go; it is a Go library, not a standalone product
- Teams that need strict standard-library net/http compatibility, since it is built on Fasthttp instead
- Projects that cannot use Go 1.26 or higher, which the README lists as the requirement
Trade-offs
fasthttp
- The README explicitly says it is not for most use cases and net/http is usually the better choice
- Benchmark figures come from a single Intel Xeon test setup and may not match your workload
- The latest release has no prebuilt binaries, since it is a library rather than an application
Fiber
- Handlers reuse context values across requests, so developers must not keep references to them after returning, which adds a subtle rule to learn
- Requires Go 1.26 or higher, a recent version requirement
- Built on Fasthttp rather than the standard library, which can matter for some ecosystem integrations
Getting started
fasthttp
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/valyala/fasthttpFiber
Install Fiber into a Go module project
go get -u github.com/gofiber/fiber/v3Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fasthttp and Fiber?
fasthttp: A Go HTTP library tuned for speed, aimed at high-volume servers and clients. Fiber: An Express-style web framework for building fast HTTP servers and APIs in Go. fasthttp suits go developers whose server must handle thousands of small-to-medium requests per second, while Fiber suits go developers building rest apis or web backends.
Are fasthttp and Fiber free?
fasthttp: Free and open source. Fiber: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, fasthttp or Fiber?
Fiber is easier to get started with (rated intermediate); fasthttp is rated advanced and usually needs more setup.
Is fasthttp or Fiber more popular?
Fiber has more GitHub stars (40.2k) than fasthttp (23.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to fasthttp and Fiber?
Other options people compare them with include Gin, Echo, chi, react-three-fiber, pino.
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.