# curl vs urllib3

**Leader by Vioscale score:** curl

| Attribute | curl | urllib3 |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 70.8 (50% (medium)) | 63.1 (57% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 12 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 3,409 | 422,295 |
| adoption.github_stars | 42,687 | 4,051 |
| content.faq | - | `[{"answer":"urllib3 is a Python HTTP client library that enables applications to make HTTP requests with built-in support for connection pooling, SSL/TLS verification, proxy support, automatic retries, and response compression. It handles the complexities of HTTP communication while simplifying integration into Python projects.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"What is urllib3?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"urllib3 provides thread-safe connection pooling to reuse HTTP connections, client-side TLS/SSL certificate verification for secure connections, built-in proxy support, automatic retry logic for failed requests, and transparent compression handling. These features reduce overhead and improve reliability for HTTP communication.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"What are the main technical features of urllib3?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Yes, urllib3 is free and open source software with no licensing costs. Optional professional support is available through a Tidelift Subscription for organizations that need dedicated assistance.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"Is urllib3 free to use?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"urllib3 is designed for Python developers and organizations building Python applications that require HTTP client functionality. It's particularly useful for teams needing reliable connection management, security verification, and automated retry handling in their HTTP interactions.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"Who should consider using urllib3?","confidence":0.85},{"answer":"urllib3 is a self-hosted library that you integrate directly into your Python application; there are no external services to manage. It runs within your application's Python environment as a dependency.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"How is urllib3 deployed?","confidence":0.9},{"answer":"Yes, urllib3 includes REST client capabilities, making it suitable for applications that need to consume HTTP APIs and build client applications that communicate with remote services.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"Can urllib3 be used to build REST API clients?","confidence":0.85},{"answer":"urllib3 provides comprehensive API documentation for developers. The documentation is accessible at the project website and covers library features, usage patterns, and integration guidance.","source":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","question":"Is documentation available for urllib3?","confidence":0.85}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source solution available as both a command-line tool and embedded library, enabling network data transmission across billions of devices and applications worldwide. | urllib3 is an HTTP client library for Python that adds essential features not available in the standard library, particularly client-side TLS/SSL certificate verification and robust connection management. |
| features.capabilities | `{"api_docs":true,"rest_client":true,"ci_integration":true,"automated_testing":true}` | `{"api_docs":true,"rest_client":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 2 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Requests"},{"name":"pip"}]` |
| language.primary | C | Python |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | - |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://curl.se/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:35:51.639Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://urllib3.readthedocs.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T11:08:00.574Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 49 | 26 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_21_0","date":"2026-06-24T06:03:04Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_21_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_20_0","date":"2026-04-29T06:31:23Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_20_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_19_0","date":"2026-03-11T06:52:50Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_19_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_18_0","date":"2026-01-07T07:03:41Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_18_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_17_0","date":"2025-11-05T07:18:19Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_17_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_16_0","date":"2025-09-10T05:48:58Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_16_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_15_0","date":"2025-07-16T06:30:51Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_15_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_14_1","date":"2025-06-04T05:58:45Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_14_1"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_14_0","date":"2025-05-28T05:47:27Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_14_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_13_0","date":"2025-04-02T05:56:33Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_13_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_12_1","date":"2025-02-13T07:22:05Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_12_1"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_12_0","date":"2025-02-05T08:18:37Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_12_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_11_1","date":"2024-12-11T07:17:04Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_11_1"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_11_0","date":"2024-11-06T07:18:25Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_11_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_10_1","date":"2024-09-18T06:08:13Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_10_1"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_10_0","date":"2024-09-11T05:53:05Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_10_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_9_1","date":"2024-07-31T07:08:30Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_9_1"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_9_0","date":"2024-07-24T06:37:51Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_9_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_8_0","date":"2024-05-22T06:02:33Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_8_0"},{"url":"https://github.com/curl/curl/releases/tag/curl-8_7_1","date":"2024-03-27T08:17:03Z","type":"stable","version":"curl-8_7_1"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.7.0","date":"2026-05-07T16:32:49Z","type":"stable","version":"2.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.6.3","date":"2026-01-07T16:30:23Z","type":"stable","version":"2.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.6.2","date":"2025-12-11T15:59:07Z","type":"stable","version":"2.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.6.1","date":"2025-12-08T15:27:19Z","type":"stable","version":"2.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.6.0","date":"2025-12-05T15:18:06Z","type":"stable","version":"2.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.5.0","date":"2025-06-18T14:19:56Z","type":"stable","version":"2.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.4.0","date":"2025-04-10T15:22:59Z","type":"stable","version":"2.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.3.0","date":"2024-12-22T07:44:15Z","type":"stable","version":"2.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.2.3","date":"2024-09-12T10:50:28Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/1.26.20","date":"2024-08-29T15:41:42Z","type":"stable","version":"1.26.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.2.2","date":"2024-06-17T08:19:23Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/1.26.19","date":"2024-06-17T17:19:36Z","type":"stable","version":"1.26.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.2.1","date":"2024-02-18T03:55:18Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.2.0","date":"2024-01-30T15:17:27Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.1.0","date":"2023-11-13T12:29:03Z","type":"stable","version":"2.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.0.7","date":"2023-10-17T17:46:02Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/1.26.18","date":"2023-10-17T17:46:31Z","type":"stable","version":"1.26.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.0.6","date":"2023-10-02T17:21:44Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/1.26.17","date":"2023-10-02T17:21:47Z","type":"stable","version":"1.26.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/v2.0.5","date":"2023-09-20T07:29:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.5"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.9 | 8.6 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=conda&package_name=ca-certificates&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":19,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=urllib3&per_page=100","last_12m":5,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (API Development Tools)

| Capability | curl | urllib3 |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| REST client | ✓ | ✓ |
| GraphQL support | - | - |
| gRPC support | - | - |
| **Design** |  |  |
| Mock servers | - | - |
| **Testing** |  |  |
| Automated / contract testing | ✓ | - |
| **Collaboration** |  |  |
| Team collaboration & sharing | - | - |
| **Docs** |  |  |
| Doc generation | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OpenAPI / spec import | - | - |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| CI integration / CLI | ✓ | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:16:12.441Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*