curl
Command line tool and library for transferring data with URLs
- Also known as
- curl
What is curl?
curl is a command-line tool and library used to transfer data over network protocols. libcurl is embedded in over twenty billion installations across cars, televisions, routers, printers, mobile devices, medical equipment, and countless software applications.
curl pricing
We don't have curl's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
Free and open source. Commercial support available.
What curl does
The capabilities that matter for api development tools, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- REST client
- ✓
- GraphQL support
- -
- gRPC support
- -
- Mock servers
- -
- Automated / contract testing
- -
- Team collaboration & sharing
- -
- Doc generation
- ✓
- OpenAPI / spec import
- -
- CI integration / CLI
- ✓
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
curl alternatives
Other api development tools we track, ranked by the same independent score.
The Vioscale score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for curl, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Github Activity | 63 | 18.00 | 1135.8 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 58 | 16.00 | 925.0 | ✓ |
| Release Cadence | 69 | 10.00 | 694.4 | ✓ |
| Pricing Transparency | 80 | 8.00 | 640.0 | ✓ |
| Price Level | 100 | 6.00 | 600.0 | ✓ |
| Github Stars | 87 | 5.00 | 436.6 | ✓ |
| Reliability | 0 | 8.00 | 0.0 | - |
| Integrations | 0 | 8.00 | 0.0 | - |
| Security Posture | 5 | 13.00 | 0.0 | - |
| Package Downloads | 0 | 26.00 | 0.0 | - |
| Stackoverflow Activity | 0 | 12.00 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 100 | mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 65% |
Adoption
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Github stars | 42,518 | highsource · 2026-08-03 · 90% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | {"api_docs":true,"rest_client":true,"ci_integration":true} | mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | C | highsource · 2026-08-03 · 90% |
Pricing
Release
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence days | 55 | mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 70% |
Security
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure policy | Yes | mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60% |