axios vs superagent
axios is a promise-based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js, and superagent is an HTTP request library for the browser and Node.js, with the same API in both.
HTTP request library for the browser and Node.js, with the same API in both.
$ npm install superagent| Metric | axios | superagent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly downloads | 85,399,829 | 16,110,103 | axios 5.3x higher |
| 12-month download growth | +47% | +43% | axios +4 pts |
| Gzip size | - | - | - |
| Minified size | - | - | - |
| Dependencies | 4 | 9 | superagent 5 more |
| Unpacked size | 1.9 MB | 592 kB | superagent 3.3x smaller |
| Latest release | 1.20.0, 26 Aug 2026 | 10.4.1, 23 Sept 2026 | superagent 28 days more recent |
| Releases, last 12 months | 25 | 3 | axios 22 more |
| First published | 29 Aug 2014 | 22 Aug 2011 | superagent 3.0 years earlier |
| GitHub stars | 109,212 | 16,636 | axios 6.6x higher |
| Open issues | 48 | 0 | axios 48 more |
| Open pull requests | 47 | 0 | axios 47 more |
| Contributors | 665 | - | - |
| Commits, last 52 weeks | 466 | 31 | axios 15.0x higher |
| TypeScript types | Bundled | None | Differs |
| Module format | ESM + CommonJS | CommonJS | Differs |
| Runtimes | Browser, Node.js, Deno, Bun | Browser, Node.js | Only axios: Deno, Bun |
| License | MIT | MIT | Same |
Green marks the smaller size or the more recent release. Bold marks the higher count, with no judgement implied. Sizes are for the whole package per Bundlephobia. Growth compares the average of the last 4 weeks with the first 4 weeks of the 52-week series.
axios
- 0.1.029 Aug 2014
- 1.0.04 Oct 2022
- 0.34.016 Sept 2026
- 1.20.026 Aug 2026
- 1.19.029 Jul 2026
- 1.18.122 Jun 2026
- 1.18.014 Jun 2026
superagent
- 0.1.122 Aug 2011
- 1.0.011 Mar 2015
- 2.0.029 May 2016
- 3.0.019 Nov 2016
- 4.0.017 Nov 2018
- 5.0.228 Mar 2019
- 6.0.08 Aug 2020
- 7.0.07 Jan 2022
- 8.0.024 Jun 2022
- 9.0.023 Apr 2024
- 10.0.05 Aug 2024
- 10.4.123 Sept 2026
- 10.4.022 Sept 2026
- 10.3.06 Jan 2026
- 10.2.322 Jul 2025
- 10.2.27 Jul 2025
Promise-based, configurable instances with request and response interceptors
Chainable request builder, callback (.end) or promise (.then / await)
- Uses XMLHttpRequest in the browser and the Node.js http module on the server.
- Has a fetch adapter since v1.7.0, used by default when the xhr and http adapters are unavailable.
- Request and response interceptors can modify or transform data before it is sent or handled.
- The README gives install commands for npm, Bun and Deno.
- Requests are built by chaining methods such as .send() and .set(), then sent with .end() or awaited.
- Supports both callbacks and promises.
- Has a plugin system. Browser builds are published in the package's dist folder and on CDNs.
- Need both ESM and CommonJS entry pointsaxios (axios: ESM + CommonJS; superagent: CommonJS)
- Need to load it with require()Both
- Need TypeScript types in the package itselfaxios (axios: Bundled; superagent: None)
- Need to run in Denoaxios (as listed in its README)
- Need to run in Bunaxios (as listed in its README)
- Node.js version requirementaxios: none declared; superagent: >=14.18.0 (engines field in package.json)
- Need the more recent releasesuperagent (10.4.1 on 23 Sept 2026 vs 1.20.0 on 26 Aug 2026)
- Higher weekly npm downloadsaxios (85.4m vs 16.1m)
Each line is generated from the data above.
- node-fetch vs axios30 searches/mo
- axios vs got20 searches/mo
- got vs superagentNo search data
Indexability: Indexed: 20 US searches/month across both orderings ("axios vs superagent", "superagent vs axios").