The Scalar Alternative
Scalar is the newest major entrant in this space, and it’s the one most often cited as “the modern alternative to Swagger UI” — deservedly. A three-pane layout, dark mode, a command palette, and a genuinely nice request console, all installable with a single script tag.
Where Scalar still wins
Scalar has strong momentum, an active team, and a broad plugin/theme ecosystem. If you’re already inside the Scalar ecosystem — using their hosted API client, or their broader platform — the reference viewer integrates naturally with that.
Where it falls short
That platform ambition is the trade-off. Scalar has expanded from “OpenAPI viewer” into “API client platform,” and the newer, more advanced functionality increasingly lives behind Scalar Cloud, their hosted paid tier — so “free” no longer automatically means “everything,” the way it does with a docs-only tool.
GetMan stays deliberately narrow: it’s an OpenAPI viewer, full stop. Every feature — try it out, dark mode, command palette, deep linking — ships in the open-source, MIT-licensed build, with no cloud account or hosted tier gating anything.
Scalar, like GetMan, reads OpenAPI 3.1 documents natively — see OpenAPI 3.1 vs 3.0 if you’re deciding whether to migrate a spec before choosing between them.
Feature comparison
| Feature | GetMan | Scalar |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | One script tag | One script tag |
| Try it out (live requests) | ||
| Dark mode | Built-in, follows system preference | Built-in |
| Command palette (⌘K) | ||
| Scope | Docs viewer only | Docs viewer + API client platform |
| Account required for full feature set | For Scalar Cloud / hosted features | |
| License | MIT, all features | MIT core, cloud features paid |
Migrate in 3 steps
Swap the embed code and point GetMan at the same OpenAPI spec you're already serving.
Scalar
<script
id="api-reference"
data-url="https://your-api.com/openapi.json"
></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@scalar/api-reference"></script>
GetMan
<div id="api-docs" style="height: 100vh"></div>
<script src="https://cdn.getman.dev/latest/getman-ui.js"></script>
<script>
GetMan.launch(
document.getElementById('api-docs'),
{ url: 'https://your-api.com/openapi.json' }
);
</script>
FAQ
Is Scalar not free?
Scalar's core API Reference viewer is open source and free to self-host — that part is a fair comparison to GetMan. Where it diverges is scope: Scalar has grown into a broader platform with an API client and hosted 'Scalar Cloud' tier, and some of the newer functionality lives behind that paid layer rather than in the open-source viewer.
Does GetMan have the same modern, polished look as Scalar?
That's the design bar GetMan was built against — a three-pane layout, dark mode by default, and a command palette, all in a self-hosted script with no platform sign-up required.
Why compare against Scalar specifically?
Scalar is the most-cited 'modern' OpenAPI viewer right now, so if you're evaluating options beyond Swagger UI, it's probably on your shortlist. Worth knowing both what it does well and where it's grown broader than a docs-only use case needs.
See GetMan next to your own spec
Paste any OpenAPI or Swagger URL and see it rendered live — no signup, no install.
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