Arcjet vs @fastify/rate-limit: 2026 Comparison
Arcjet is a commercial api security tool by Arcjet. @fastify/rate-limit is a free api security tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best api security fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Developers building APIs and web services need bot and rate-limit protection that doesn't require security expertise to deploy, and Arcjet's SDK-first approach means you configure rules in code rather than wrestling with WAF consoles. The WebAssembly-based local execution runs decisions at the edge without sending traffic to external services, cutting latency and keeping you compliant with data residency constraints. Skip this if your primary concern is legacy OWASP Top 10 coverage on existing monolithic applications; Arcjet is built for modern application stacks, not retrofitting old infrastructure.
Teams building Node.js APIs who need rate limiting without the operational overhead of a separate service should reach for @fastify/rate-limit. The plugin ships as a native Fastify middleware with sub-millisecond latency overhead, making it practical for high-throughput routes where traditional gateway-level rate limiting adds unacceptable latency. Not for buyers who need distributed rate limiting across multiple instances without in-memory state coordination or those who require sophisticated quota management beyond simple request-per-window rules.
