FlareSolverr vs One API
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A local proxy server that opens a real browser to get past Cloudflare checks for your requests.
Open source · MIT
Self-hosted gateway that exposes many LLM providers through one OpenAI-style API with key management.
The short answer
Choose FlareSolverr if you need…
- Developers whose scripts are blocked by Cloudflare challenges on pages they are allowed to access
- People running self-hosted tools that need to fetch Cloudflare-protected pages through a local REST endpoint
- Users who prefer running the service in Docker
Choose One API if you need…
- Developers who want one OpenAI-compatible endpoint for several model providers
- Small teams or groups who need to issue and limit API keys to members
- Operators who want load balancing or retries across multiple provider channels
- People comfortable running a Docker container or a Go binary on a server
Side-by-side
| FlareSolverr | One API | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 16.1k | 37.3k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Run with Docker | Run with Docker |
| Main language | Python | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 13 days ago | 10 months ago |
What each one is
FlareSolverr
FlareSolverr is a proxy server that runs on your own machine and handles requests for pages protected by Cloudflare or DDoS-GUARD. When a request arrives, it launches a Chrome browser, loads the page, waits until the protection challenge is solved or times out, then returns the HTML and cookies. Other HTTP tools can then reuse those cookies.
One API
One API is a self-hosted web service that sits between your apps and many large language model providers such as OpenAI, Azure, Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek. Clients send requests in the standard OpenAI API format, and One API translates them to each provider. It also includes a web admin panel for issuing tokens, setting quotas, and managing channels.
Best for
FlareSolverr
- Developers whose scripts are blocked by Cloudflare challenges on pages they are allowed to access
- People running self-hosted tools that need to fetch Cloudflare-protected pages through a local REST endpoint
- Users who prefer running the service in Docker
One API
- Developers who want one OpenAI-compatible endpoint for several model providers
- Small teams or groups who need to issue and limit API keys to members
- Operators who want load balancing or retries across multiple provider channels
- People comfortable running a Docker container or a Go binary on a server
Strengths
FlareSolverr
- Runs as a simple REST API that works from curl, Python, or PowerShell
- Reuses browser sessions so you do not have to solve challenges on every request
- Available as a Docker image, precompiled binary, or from source under the MIT license
One API
- Single OpenAI-format interface across many listed providers
- Ships as a single executable or Docker image, per the README
- Includes token, quota, channel, and user-group management in one admin UI
Not ideal for
FlareSolverr
- Anyone planning to expose it to the internet, since the README warns it can be abused
- Machines with little RAM, because each request launches a new browser and browsers use a lot of memory
- Users who need to run it on non-x64 hardware outside Docker, since precompiled binaries and source installs are x64 only
One API
- Users who only call one provider and do not need a gateway, since it adds a service to run
- Anyone who needs a fully managed hosted service, because this is software you deploy and maintain yourself
- Those who cannot verify compliance with local AI service rules, since the README asks users to follow OpenAI terms and applicable law and warns about unregistered public services in China
Trade-offs
FlareSolverr
- Browsers consume significant memory, so concurrent requests need enough RAM
- Works only for sites you are permitted to access; it is not a general guarantee against blocking
- Setup has platform-specific caveats such as Chromium not working on Windows for source installs
One API
- The README warns to change the default root password (123456) immediately after first login
- Some features such as model mapping can change request bodies and drop fields not yet supported
- High concurrency requires setting SQL_DSN, so a production setup likely involves a database beyond the default
Getting started
FlareSolverr
Start the container with the Docker CLI
docker run -d --name=flaresolverr -p 127.0.0.1:8191:8191 -e LOG_LEVEL=info --restart unless-stopped ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:latestOne API
Run with SQLite using Docker
docker run --name one-api -d --restart always -p 3000:3000 -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai -v /home/ubuntu/data/one-api:/data justsong/one-apiFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between FlareSolverr and One API?
FlareSolverr: A local proxy server that opens a real browser to get past Cloudflare checks for your requests. One API: Self-hosted gateway that exposes many LLM providers through one OpenAI-style API with key management. FlareSolverr suits developers whose scripts are blocked by cloudflare challenges on pages they are allowed to access, while One API suits developers who want one openai-compatible endpoint for several model providers.
Are FlareSolverr and One API free?
FlareSolverr: Free and open source. One API: Free and open source.
Is FlareSolverr or One API more popular?
One API has more GitHub stars (37.3k) than FlareSolverr (16.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to FlareSolverr and One API?
Other options people compare them with include Gotenberg, PostgREST, camofox-browser, LibreChat, OpenHands.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.