node-fetch vs redaxios

node-fetch is downloaded 767.3× more often than redaxios (596,360,386 vs 777,241 per month), so it has the larger community and more answered questions online. node-fetch has been updated more recently, a sign of more active maintenance.

Metricnode-fetchredaxios
Weekly downloads141,594,834✓179,269
Monthly downloads596,360,386✓777,241
GitHub stars8,857✓4,876
Minified size—2.0 kB
Minified + gzipped—1016 B
Dependencies—0
Open issues24734✓
Last commit2026-05-12✓2023-08-15
Latest version3.3.20.5.1
LicenseMITApache-2.0

When to choose which

node-fetch

A fetch() polyfill for older Node.js.

Choose it when: Legacy Node before v18. On Node 18+ fetch is global, so you usually no longer need this.

  • + Familiar fetch API
  • + Lightweight
  • - Redundant on Node 18+
  • - Manual JSON parsing
  • - No interceptors

redaxios

The axios API in ~1 kB, powered by fetch.

Choose it when: Browser apps that want axios's familiar API at a fraction of the size and don't need every axios feature.

  • + ~1 kB
  • + axios-compatible API
  • + fetch-based
  • - Subset of axios features
  • - Browser-focused

Feature comparison

Featurenode-fetchredaxios
RuntimeNode onlyBrowser
Built onfetch polyfillfetch
Interceptors / hooks✗ NoPartial
Automatic JSON✗ No✓ Yes
Built-in retries✗ No✗ No

node-fetch

A light-weight module that brings Fetch API to node.js

DetailsGitHubnpm

redaxios

The API from Axios, as a tiny abstraction over Fetch.

DetailsGitHubnpm

Related comparisons

axios vs node-fetchaxios vs redaxiosky vs node-fetchky vs redaxiosgot vs node-fetchgot vs redaxiosnode-fetch vs superagentnode-fetch vs wretch

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node-fetch vs redaxios downloads
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Data from npm, Bundlephobia and GitHub. Last updated 2026-06-02.