Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apache Thrift VS Requestly

Compare Apache Thrift VS Requestly and see what are their differences

Apache Thrift logo Apache Thrift

An interface definition language and communication protocol for creating cross-language services.

Requestly logo Requestly

A Powerfulย API Mockingย andย Testingย Tool
  • Apache Thrift Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-07-12
  • Requestly Requestly
    Requestly //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly Rest Client
    Rest Client //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly HTTP Interceptor
    HTTP Interceptor //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly API Mocking
    API Mocking //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly Requestly
    Requestly //
    2025-02-12

Requestly is a modern and powerful companion for API Development and Testing. It is an open-source tool purpose-built to speed up and simplify API development workflow for developers and QAs. It is a combination of API Client and HTTP Interceptor that helps create and share API Contracts, testing APIs, and easily mock and integrate them into web and mobile apps.

Requestly

$ Details
freemium
Platforms
Google Chrome Firefox Edge Safari Brave Opera Vivaldi Android Windows Linux Mac OSX MacOS
Release Date
2021 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Sachin Jain, Sagar Soni, Sahil Gupta
Employees
20 - 49

Apache Thrift features and specs

  • Cross-Language Support
    Apache Thrift supports numerous programming languages including Java, Python, C++, Ruby, and more, enabling seamless communication between services written in different languages.
  • Efficient Serialization
    Thrift offers efficient binary serialization which helps in reducing the payload size and improves the communication speed between services.
  • Service Definition Flexibility
    Thrift provides a robust interface definition language (IDL) for defining and generating code for services with strict type checking, fostering strong contract interfaces.
  • Scalability
    Due to its lightweight and efficient serialization mechanisms, Apache Thrift can handle a large number of simultaneous client connections, making it suitable for scalable distributed systems.
  • Versioning Support
    Thrift supports service versioning which helps in evolving APIs without disrupting existing services or clients.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Thrift

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For new users, especially those not familiar with RPC frameworks, learning and understanding Thriftโ€™s IDL and operations can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Documentation and Community Support
    Compared to some alternative technologies, Apache Thrift's documentation and community support can be less robust, which might pose challenges in troubleshooting or seeking guidance.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Thrift does not support some advanced features like streaming or multiplexing out of the box, which could limit its use in complex systems requiring these functionalities.
  • Infrastructure Overhead
    Integrating Thrift into an existing system might introduce infrastructure overhead both in initial setup and ongoing maintenance, especially when dealing with multiple languages.
  • Protocol Limitations
    While Thrift is highly efficient, its protocol limitations might require additional workarounds for certain data structures or transport mechanisms, complicating development.

Requestly features and specs

  • Redirect URL
  • Block Network Requests
  • Modify Request & Response Header
  • Modify Response
  • Supercharge Selenium
  • Session Replay
  • Modify Query Params
  • Team Workspace
  • API Client
  • API Mocks
  • GraphQL Support
  • Zero Setup
  • Auto Capture Sessions
  • Network Logs
  • Console Logs

Analysis of Apache Thrift

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Apache Thrift is considered to be a good option for projects needing cross-language communication and efficient serialization. Its efficiency and wide adoption have proven it to be a reliable framework in many production environments.

Why this product is good

  • Apache Thrift is a widely used framework for scalable cross-language services development. It allows for seamless communication between programs written in different languages by providing code generation and serialization capabilities for a variety of languages. Thrift supports an efficient binary protocol and is highly customizable, making it a robust choice for services that require performance and flexibility. Additionally, it's an open-source project under the Apache Software Foundation, which ensures it has a strong community and ongoing updates.

Recommended for

  • Organizations that require cross-language service communication
  • Projects that need high-performance and low-latency data transmission
  • Developers looking for a framework with support for multiple programming languages
  • Teams looking for a customizable serialization protocol

Analysis of Requestly

Overall verdict

  • Requestly is generally regarded as a good tool due to its comprehensive functionalities and ease of use. Its ability to seamlessly manage network requests makes it suitable for both beginners and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • Requestly is widely considered a valuable tool because it offers robust and flexible features for intercepting and modifying network requests. Developers and QA testers appreciate it for its ability to simulate and debug API calls efficiently. It is particularly useful for testing changes without altering the codebase and for working with web applications in development and production environments.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking to debug and test API endpoints.
  • Quality Assurance (QA) teams that require reliable testing tools for web applications.
  • Technical professionals who manage network traffic and need to modify or redirect requests effortlessly.
  • Anyone involved in web development who needs to simulate network conditions or test application behavior under different scenarios.

Apache Thrift videos

Apache Thrift

Requestly videos

Get Started with Requestly

More videos:

  • Demo - Session Replays by Requestly
  • Tutorial - Modify API Response using Requestly Chrome Extension
  • Tutorial - How to load local JS file in production sites for faster debugging (Map Local Tool)
  • Tutorial - Report Quality Bugs with Video, Network logs, Console logs & Environment details

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Thrift and Requestly)
Web Servers
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Web And Application Servers
Testing
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Apache Thrift and Requestly.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Requestly's answer:

  • Verizon
  • AT&T
  • Adobe
  • Salesforce
  • Telegraph
  • Intuit
  • Verizon

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Requestly's answer:

Front-end developers, QAs, PMs, Digital Marketers

What makes your product unique?

Requestly's answer:

Requestly is an open-source API development and testing tool that combines the capabilities of an API Client and HTTP Interceptor, making it a better alternative to Postman + Charles Proxy. It simplifies API mocking, request modification, and debugging with an intuitive no-code interface, enabling developers and QAs to test APIs efficiently.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Thrift and Requestly

Apache Thrift Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Thrift yet.
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Requestly Reviews

Comparing Charles Proxy, Fiddler, Wireshark, and Requestly
On the pricing front, Requestly strikes a balance between affordability and functionality. It is an open-source tool, offering freemium to individual developers and affordable pricing plans for team collaboration. We have also clearly differentiated how Requestly differs from Wireshark and other web debugging tools like Proxyman, Modheader, and HTTP ToolKit separately.
Source: dev.to

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Requestly should be more popular than Apache Thrift. It has been mentiond 35 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Thrift mentions (13)

  • Show HN: TypeSchema โ€“ A JSON specification to describe data models
    I once read a paper about Apache/Meta Thrift [1,2]. It allows you to define data types/interfaces in a definition file and generate code for many programming languages. It was specifically designed for RPCs and microservices. [1]: https://thrift.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Delving Deeper: Enriching Microservices with Golang with CloudWeGo
    While gRPC and Apache Thrift have served the microservice architecture well, CloudWeGo's advanced features and performance metrics set it apart as a promising open source solution for the future. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Reddit System Design/Architecture
    Services in general communicate via Thrift (and in some cases HTTP). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Universal type language!
    Protocol Buffers is the most popular one, but there are many others such as Apache Thrift and my own Typical. Source: over 3 years ago
  • You worked on it? Why is it slow then?
    RPC is not strictly OO, but you can think of RPC calls like method calls. In general it will reflect your interface design and doesn't have to be top-down, although a good project usually will look that way. A good contrast to REST where you use POST/PUT/GET/DELETE pattern on resources where as a procedure call could be a lot more flexible and potentially lighter weight. Think of it like defining methods in code... Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Requestly mentions (35)

  • Why You Need a Local-First API Client (With Hands-On Example)
    If you want to try a local-first workflow, you can start using Requestly here: https://requestly.com. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • How to use Cursor to Generate API Testcases in Requestly
    Thatโ€™s where automation changes the game. By pairing Cursor, an AI-powered coding assistant, with Requestly's local-first API testing and mocking platform, you can offload the grunt work of writing tests to AI while keeping execution secure and reproducible on your own system. In this article, weโ€™ll walk through how to set up Cursor with Requestly, generate test cases automatically, and run them end-to-end so that... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • These 20 Awesome API Clients Will Change How You Work with APIs
    Requestly is a versatile browser extension and web client used to intercept, mock, and debug APIs in real-timeโ€”perfect for frontend developers. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Best Tools for GraphQL Development in 2025
    Requestly is a powerful tool for modifying GraphQL responses, intercepting requests, and debugging API interactions. It allows developers to tweak request bodies, capture GraphQL traffic, and share sessions for easier debugging and collaboration. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • How Not to Use AI in Software Development
    Learn more at https://requestly.com/. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Thrift and Requestly, you can also consider the following products

Docker Hub - Docker Hub is a cloud-based registry service

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Apache ZooKeeper - Apache ZooKeeper is an effort to develop and maintain an open-source server which enables highly reliable distributed coordination.

Proxyman.io - Proxyman is a high-performance macOS app, which enables developers to view HTTP/HTTPS requests from apps and domains.

Eureka - Eureka is a contact center and enterprise performance through speech analytics that immediately reveals insights from automated analysis of communications including calls, chat, email, texts, social media, surveys and more.

Hoppscotch - Open source API development ecosystem