What is DreamFactory and what are its top alternatives?
DreamFactory is an open-source REST API platform that enables developers to connect any SQL or NoSQL database to an API and provide secure, intelligent API endpoints with built-in support for user management, security, caching, and more. Its key features include API automation, role-based access control, data transformations, and live API docs generation. However, some limitations of DreamFactory include a complex set-up process and a relatively small community for support.
- Postman: Postman is a collaboration platform for API development that offers tools for designing, testing, and documenting APIs. Key features include automated testing, mock servers, and integration with popular tools like GitHub. Pros include a user-friendly interface and wide community support, but cons include limited capabilities for complex data transformations compared to DreamFactory.
- Tyk: Tyk is a highly customizable API management platform that offers features such as rate limiting, authentication, and analytics. Pros include scalability and flexibility in configuration, while cons include a steeper learning curve for beginners.
- Apigee: Apigee is a comprehensive API management platform acquired by Google Cloud that provides features like API design, security, and analytics. Pros include seamless integration with Google Cloud services, but cons include higher costs compared to DreamFactory for smaller projects.
- Kong: Kong is an open-source API gateway and management platform with features like load balancing, caching, and authentication. Pros include a vibrant community and plugins ecosystem, while cons include a more manual setup compared to DreamFactory's automated features.
- MuleSoft Anypoint Platform: MuleSoft offers an integration platform with capabilities for API design, management, and monitoring. Pros include a visual interface for designing APIs, but cons include a higher learning curve for complex integrations compared to DreamFactory.
- Swagger: Swagger is a powerful tool for designing, building, and documenting APIs with tools like the OpenAPI Specification. Pros include robust documentation capabilities, but cons include a lack of built-in data transformation features compared to DreamFactory.
- AWS API Gateway: Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring, and securing APIs at any scale. Pros include seamless integration with other AWS services, but cons include higher costs for heavy usage compared to DreamFactory's open-source model.
- Wso2 API Manager: Wso2 API Manager is an open-source API management platform that offers features like API design, security, and analytics. Pros include a strong focus on security and compliance, but cons include a more complex setup process compared to DreamFactory.
- 3scale: 3scale is a API management platform that offers features like API publishing, access control, and analytics. Pros include a user-friendly developer portal, but cons include limited support for complex data transformations compared to DreamFactory.
- AWS Amplify: AWS Amplify is a set of tools and services for building secure, scalable full-stack applications. Pros include seamless integration with other AWS services for API development, but cons include a more limited focus on API management compared to DreamFactory.
Top Alternatives to DreamFactory
ParseWith Parse, you can add a scalable and powerful backend in minutes and launch a full-featured app in record time without ever worrying about server management. We offer push notifications, social integration, data storage, and the ability to add rich custom logic to your app’s backend with Cloud Code. ...
DeploydDeployd is the simplest way to build realtime APIs for web and mobile apps. Ready-made, configurable Resources add common functionality to a Deployd backend, which can be further customized with JavaScript Events. ...
LoopBackA highly-extensible, open-source Node.js framework that enables you to create dynamic end-to-end REST APIs with little or no coding. Connect to multiple data sources, write business logic in Node.js, glue on top of your existing services and data, connect using JS, iOS & Android SDKs. ...
FirebaseFirebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds. ...
ApigeeAPI management, design, analytics, and security are at the heart of modern digital architecture. The Apigee intelligent API platform is a complete solution for moving business to the digital world. ...
StrongLoopIt is an American company working with Node.js to create and support StrongLoop Suite, a Mobile API Tier. StrongLoop employs two members of the Node.js Technical Steering Committee. IBM & StrongLoop contribute to and support Open-Source options for the API developer community, such as LoopBack, API Microgateway, and Open API Spec. ...
KongKong is a scalable, open source API Layer (also known as an API Gateway, or API Middleware). Kong controls layer 4 and 7 traffic and is extended through Plugins, which provide extra functionality and services beyond the core platform. ...
WSO2It delivers the only complete open source middleware platform. With its revolutionary componentized design, it is also the only open source platform-as-a-service for private and public clouds available today. With it, seamless migration and integration between servers, private clouds, and public clouds is now a reality. ...
DreamFactory alternatives & related posts
- Easy setup118
- Free hosting78
- Well-documented62
- Cheap52
- Use push notifications in 3 lines of code47
- Fast41
- Cloud code39
- Good for prototypes32
- Cloud modules31
- Backed by facebook27
- Parse Push7
- Cross Platform7
- Parse Analytics6
- Multiplatform6
- Parse Core6
- Quick chat and profile capabilities5
- Free Tier5
- Cloud Based5
- Nice security concept4
- Free4
- About to Die3
- Local Datastore3
- Backend as a service3
- Backbone Models3
- Geopoints3
- Anonymous Users2
- Easy to use2
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- Its simple to use to make a demo for customer and show2
- Very simple to use. Love the real time features2
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- Easy Database Migration9
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- GraphQL2
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- Backward compatibility1
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We undertook the task of building a manufacturing ERP for small branded manufacturers. We needed to build a lot, fast with a small team, and have clear focus on product delivery. We chose JavaScript / Node.js ( React + LoopBack full stack) , Heroku and Heroku Postgres (also Heroku Redis ) . This decision has guided us to picking other key technologies. It has granted us high pace of product delivery and service availability while operating with a small team.
We have an existing (Apis only) Rails backend, that by default follows the MVC pattern, (at peaks of 700 requests a second). I am tasked with making the same (read-heavy) application in any JavaScript framework. I was advised to follow the MVC structure. So I am considering these 3 ( Sails.js, LoopBack, NestJS). I get that sails is closest to rails, but that's not particularly a priority.
- Realtime backend made easy371
- Fast and responsive270
- Easy setup242
- Real-time215
- JSON191
- Free134
- Backed by google128
- Angular adaptor83
- Reliable68
- Great customer support36
- Great documentation32
- Real-time synchronization25
- Mobile friendly21
- Rapid prototyping19
- Great security14
- Automatic scaling12
- Freakingly awesome11
- Super fast development8
- Angularfire is an amazing addition!8
- Chat8
- Firebase hosting6
- Built in user auth/oauth6
- Awesome next-gen backend6
- Ios adaptor6
- Speed of light4
- Very easy to use4
- Great3
- It's made development super fast3
- Brilliant for startups3
- Free hosting2
- Cloud functions2
- JS Offline and Sync suport2
- Low battery consumption2
- .net2
- The concurrent updates create a great experience2
- Push notification2
- I can quickly create static web apps with no backend2
- Great all-round functionality2
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- Easy Reactjs integration1
- Google's support1
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- Large1
- Faster workflow1
- Serverless1
- Good Free Limits1
- Simple and easy1
- Can become expensive31
- No open source, you depend on external company16
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- Very unstable server3
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Hi Otensia! I'd definitely recommend using the skills you've already got and building with JavaScript is a smart way to go these days. Most platform services have JavaScript/Node SDKs or NPM packages, many serverless platforms support Node in case you need to write any backend logic, and JavaScript is incredibly popular - meaning it will be easy to hire for, should you ever need to.
My advice would be "don't reinvent the wheel". If you already have a skill set that will work well to solve the problem at hand, and you don't need it for any other projects, don't spend the time jumping into a new language. If you're looking for an excuse to learn something new, it would be better to invest that time in learning a new platform/tool that compliments your knowledge of JavaScript. For this project, I might recommend using Netlify, Vercel, or Google Firebase to quickly and easily deploy your web app. If you need to add user authentication, there are great examples out there for Firebase Authentication, Auth0, or even Magic (a newcomer on the Auth scene, but very user friendly). All of these services work very well with a JavaScript-based application.
For inboxkitten.com, an opensource disposable email service;
We migrated our serverless workload from Cloud Functions for Firebase to CloudFlare workers, taking advantage of the lower cost and faster-performing edge computing of Cloudflare network. Made possible due to our extremely low CPU and RAM overhead of our serverless functions.
If I were to summarize the limitation of Cloudflare (as oppose to firebase/gcp functions), it would be ...
- <5ms CPU time limit
- Incompatible with express.js
- one script limitation per domain
Limitations our workload is able to conform with (YMMV)
For hosting of static files, we migrated from Firebase to CommonsHost
More details on the trade-off in between both serverless providers is in the article
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- Good documentation6
- Quick jumpstart6
- Fast and adjustable caching3
- Easy to use3
- Expensive11
- Doesn't support hybrid natively1
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Amazon API Gateway vs Apigee. How do they compare as an API Gateway? What is the equivalent functionality, similarities, and differences moving from Apigee API GW to AWS API GW?
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- Easy to install32
- Flexible26
- Great performance21
- Api blueprint7
- Custom Plugins4
- Kubernetes-native3
- Security2
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- Load balancing1
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We needed a lightweight and completely customizable #microservices #gateway to be able to generate #JWT and introspect #OAuth2 tokens as well. The #gateway was going to front all #APIs for our single page web app as well as externalized #APIs for our partners.
ContendersWe looked at Tyk Cloud and Kong. Kong's plugins are all Lua based and its core is NGINX and OpenResty. Although it's open source, it's not the greatest platform to be able to customize. On top of that enterprise features are paid and expensive. Tyk is Go and the nomenclature used within Tyk like "sessions" was bizarre, and again enterprise features were paid.
DecisionWe ultimately decided to roll our own using ExpressJS into Express Gateway because the use case for using ExpressJS as an #API #gateway was tried and true, in fact - all the enterprise features that the other two charge for #OAuth2 introspection etc were freely available within ExpressJS middleware.
OutcomeWe opened source Express Gateway with a core set of plugins and the community started writing their own and could quickly do so by rolling lots of ExpressJS middleware into Express Gateway