Dart HTTP Client Libraries
HTTP client libraries for Dart are specialized for Flutter application development. The http package provides standard implementation, Dio offers interceptors and FormData support, and Chopper delivers type safety through code generation. Future/Stream-based asynchronous processing maintains UI responsiveness.
GitHub Star Comparison
| No | Name | GitHub Stars | Description | Trend | License | Type | Official Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dio | - | Powerful HTTP client library for Dart/Flutter. Provides interceptors, global configuration, FormData, request cancellation, file downloading, and timeout capabilities. Widely adopted in Flutter development due to rich features and excellent documentation. | Established position as top choice for Flutter HTTP client in 2025. Strongly supported by Flutter developers due to rich feature set, excellent documentation, and active community support. Plays particularly important role in Enterprise Flutter development. | MIT | Full-featured | Official |
| 2 | HTTP | - | Official HTTP client package for Dart. Provides basic HTTP request/response processing through simple and lightweight design. Foundation for networking code in Flutter apps including JSON fetching, server response processing, and file downloading. | Continues to play important role as fundamental HTTP client in Dart/Flutter development in 2025. Adopted for learning purposes, lightweight applications, and simple API communication. Also functions as foundation for many third-party libraries, serving as important component of ecosystem. | BSD-3-Clause | Official/Basic | Official |
| 3 | Retrofit | - | Type-safe HTTP client generation library for Dart. Dio-based, automatically generates HTTP client implementation from interface definitions using source_gen. Achieves declarative and maintainable API communication through API design inspired by Android Retrofit. | Increasing adoption in projects emphasizing type safety and development efficiency in large-scale Flutter development in 2025. Particularly demonstrates value in complex JSON processing, model class conversion, and enterprise application development. Supported for maintainability improvement through code generation. | MIT | Code generation | Official |
| 4 | Chopper | - | HTTP client generation library for Dart/Flutter. Automatically generates HTTP client from Retrofit-like API definitions using source_gen. Enables flexible customization through converter and interceptor support. Provides time-saving code generation. | Continues as choice for code generation approach in Flutter development in 2025. Market share limited due to competition with Retrofit, but supported by developers valuing plugin system flexibility and customizability. Addresses specific architectural needs. | MIT | Code generation | Official |