Keploy vs Prism Mock
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Keploy | Prism Mock |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,479 | ★ 5,035 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Postman | Postman, Stoplight |
What are Keploy and Prism Mock?
Keploy
Keploy is an open-source testing toolkit that records API calls and database interactions to automatically generate test cases and data mocks. It is self-hosted as a CLI and server for backend testing.
- Tests from real traffic
- Auto-generated mocks
- CI integration
- No code changes needed
Prism Mock
Prism is an open-source HTTP mock server and validation proxy that turns OpenAPI documents into working mock APIs. It can also validate live traffic against a specification for contract testing.
- OpenAPI-driven mocking
- Contract validation proxy
- Dynamic example responses
- CLI and Docker
Keploy vs Prism Mock: key differences
Keploy is written in Go, while Prism Mock is built with TypeScript. Prism Mock is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Keploy. Prism Mock is the more established project (first released 2017), while Keploy arrived in 2022. Keploy has the considerably larger community, at 18,479 GitHub stars versus 5,035.
Why pick each one
Choose Keploy if…
- Tests from real traffic
- Automatic mock generation
- CI-friendly CLI
Watch out for
- Linux-centric capture
- Setup varies per stack
Choose Prism Mock if…
- Spec stays the source of truth
- Good for contract testing
Watch out for
- Requires an OpenAPI doc
- Mock realism is limited
Frequently asked questions
Is Keploy or Prism Mock better?
Neither is universally better. Keploy has the larger community, while Prism Mock is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Keploy and Prism Mock free and open-source?
Yes. Keploy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Prism Mock under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keploy and Prism Mock with Docker?
Keploy: yes. Prism Mock: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Keploy or Prism Mock?
Prism Mock has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Keploy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.