Crates / Compare / reqwest vs hyper
Rust crates side by side · data Oct 24, 2026
reqwest vs hyper
Short answerreqwest is built on hyper. Apps use reqwest; libraries and servers sit on hyper. By steady daily use, hyper is bigger: 2,783,528 real downloads a day against 2,544,741 for reqwest (1.1x). 31,677 crates depend on reqwest and 5,861 on hyper. reqwest last shipped 46 days ago, hyper 18 days ago.
reqwest
FoundationalFoundational and steady.
31,677 crates depend on it; downloads don't spike on releases.
higher level HTTP client library
hyper
Widely usedWidely used and steady.
5,861 crates depend on it; small bumps on release days (1.18x the baseline).
A protective and efficient HTTP library for all.
reqwesthyper · 100% = that crate's normal quiet day, so a spike to 300% is triple its usual traffic
How they relate
- reqwest is built on hyper: its latest version lists hyper as a dependency, so every reqwest build also downloads hyper. Part of hyper's count is reqwest's.
- Often used together: 1 tracked crate depend on both (axum). They are not always either/or.
Every number, side by side
| Same window, same method | reqwest | hyper |
|---|---|---|
| Real downloads a day | 2,544,741 | 2,783,528 |
| Crates that depend on it | 31,677 | 5,861 |
| Last release | 0.13.5, 46 days ago | 1.12.0, 18 days ago |
| Trend vs the field | +3% | -4% |
| Release-window share | 2.5% | 4.8% |
| Downloads in the window | 230,910,557 | 249,067,739 |
| All-time downloads | 832,745,728 | 1,042,353,402 |
| Versions published | 126 | 253 |
| License | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| MSRV | 1.85.0 | 1.63 |
| First published | Oct 16, 2016 | Nov 22, 2014 |
Which to pick
- Pick reqwest if you want an HTTP client: JSON, redirects, cookies, TLS, proxies, timeouts with one call.
- Pick hyper if you are building a server, a framework or a client that needs low-level control of HTTP/1 and HTTP/2.
- Bottom line: reqwest is built on hyper. Apps use reqwest; libraries and servers sit on hyper. (checked against each project's docs, Oct 24, 2026)
- Downloads tell you what is common, not what fits. Each crate's own description above says what it is for; when the jobs differ, pick by the job.
- When both fit, prefer the one more crates depend on (reqwest, 31,677 dependents): more eyes, more answered questions, and you may already have it in your tree.
- Check the release dates against your own pace: reqwest 46 days ago, hyper 18 days ago.
Also in this space
Method
Real downloads = the median day with no release that day or the day before, from the crates.io API (Jul 27, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026). Raw crates.io counts include CI and bots and run high (why); the method is from our 90-day study. People search for this pair: Google suggests "reqwest vs hyper".