undici vs axios

Side-by-side — pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and fit.

undici

High performance HTTP client with zero dependencies.

axios

Promise based HTTP client for browser and node.js

At a glance

Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From $0
Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From $0

Overview

One-liner

High performance HTTP client with zero dependencies.

One-liner

Promise based HTTP client for browser and node.js

Maturity

Established

Maturity

Established

Open source

✓ Yes

Open source

✓ Yes

Pricing

Free tier

✓ Available

Open source — free to use

Free tier

✓ Available

Open source — free to use

Starts at

$0

Starts at

$0

Model

Flat rate

Model

Flat rate

Enterprise

✕ None

Enterprise

✕ None

Best for

✓ Best for

Node.js developers who need a high-performance, dependency-free HTTP client.
Projects requiring optimized HTTP request handling to improve application speed and reliability.

✓ Best for

Developers building single-page applications (SPAs) who need a lightweight, promise-based HTTP client
Teams working on both front-end and back-end JavaScript projects requiring consistent API handling

Not ideal for

✕ Not for

Developers looking for a full-featured web framework with built-in HTTP capabilities.
Applications that require extensive customization of the HTTP client beyond what Undici offers.

✕ Not for

Projects that require real-time data streaming capabilities
Applications needing extensive support for non-HTTP protocols like WebSockets or gRPC

Strengths

↑ Strengths

Zero dependencies for improved performance and reliability.
Built from scratch to optimize HTTP requests in Node.js environments.
Enhanced security features compared to the default HTTP module.

↑ Strengths

Promise-based API for making HTTP requests
Automatic JSON data transformation
Client-side and server-side support
Interceptors to modify requests and responses

Weaknesses

↓ Weaknesses

Limited documentation and examples
Community support is relatively small compared to established HTTP clients
Potential compatibility issues with older Node.js versions

↓ Weaknesses

Limited built-in support for complex request configurations
Performance overhead compared to native fetch API
Lack of official browser polyfills for older environments
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