JSON Schema
JSON Schema is an open-source specification organization that defines a declarative vocabulary for validating and documenting JSON data structures, serving software developers, enterprise API teams, and tooling maintainers across multiple programming languages.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What JSON Schema does
JSON Schema is an open-source specification organization that defines and maintains a declarative vocabulary for describing, validating, and documenting the structure of JSON data. Founded in 2007 by Kris Zyp, the project is governed by a Technical Steering Committee (TSC) and operates under the OpenJS Foundation Code of Conduct, with no traditional corporate ownership. The specification has evolved through Draft 04, 06, 07, and the 2019-09 and 2020-12 versions, with a v1 effort underway, and it underpins widely deployed standards including OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, RAML, and W3C Web of Things. The organization does not sell software products; instead, its reach is mediated through a community-built tooling ecosystem spanning validators, generators, linters, bundlers, and code generators across JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, PHP, and other languages, with Bowtie serving as the meta-validator for cross-implementation compliance.
The organization is sustained by donations and sponsorships routed through Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors, with capped corporate tiers (Bronze at $100/month, Silver at $500/month up to 10 sponsors, Gold at $1,000/month up to 3 sponsors) alongside individual backer and community sponsor tiers. A 9-person core team coordinates the project alongside volunteer contributors and TSC members drawn from organizations such as Hyperjump Software, Sourcemeta, and academic institutions including the University of Oxford and Columbia University. Adoption is evidenced by more than 60 million weekly downloads, a 5,000+ member Slack workspace, approximately 110,000 monthly views of json-schema.org, and named adopters including GitHub, Postman, Cookpad, Remote, Tyler Technologies, 6 River Systems, and Oracle.
The go-to-market is community-led rather than sales-led: distribution runs through GitHub, the documentation site, Slack, blog, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, and an annual JSON Schema Conference track hosted at APIdays Paris (launched in 2024, with the second edition held in 2025). The organization's primary customer segments are software developers, enterprise teams using JSON Schema for API design and data governance, and open-source tooling maintainers building implementations across languages.
JSON Schema firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- JSON Schema
- Legal name
- JSON Schema
- Website
- https://json-schema.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- JSON Schema is an open-source specification organization that defines a declarative vocabulary for validating and documenting JSON data structures, serving software developers, enterprise API teams, and tooling maintainers across multiple programming languages.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
JSON Schema industry classification
Industry- Product category
- JSON Data Validation Specification
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Modeling & Semantic Layer / Business Glossary (HDAEADAJ)
Keywords
JSON Schema business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Sponsorships: JSON Schema accepts donations through Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors. Funds are used transparently to cover project expenses including infrastructure, hosting, new feature development, administrative costs, merchandising, and mentoring programs. Sponsorship tiers include Individual Backer ($5/month), Community Sponsor ($20/month), Bronze Sponsor ($100/month), Silver Sponsor ($500/month, limit 10), and Gold Sponsor ($1,000/month, limit 3).
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
JSON Schema product offering
Product offeringCore offering
JSON Schema is a declarative vocabulary/specification for defining structure, constraints, and validation rules for JSON data, supporting multiple draft versions (Draft 04, 06, 07, 2019-09, 2020-12) plus an upcoming v1. The specification provides validation keywords, format annotations, conditional validation, and content metadata, enabling data consistency, validity, and interoperability at scale. The organization maintains a curated ecosystem of community-built validators, generators, linters, bundlers, and code generators across many programming languages.
Product overview
JSON Schema is a specification organization offering a vocabulary for validating, describing, and documenting JSON data structures. The core product is the JSON Schema Specification itself, supported by comprehensive documentation, learning resources, and a curated ecosystem of community-built tools including validators, generators, linters, and code generators across multiple programming languages. The organization also maintains a Landscape page showcasing companies using JSON Schema, a Blog for case studies and news, and hosts an annual JSON Schema Conference. The tools ecosystem covers dialects from Draft 4 through 2020-12, with community tools available in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, PHP, and many other languages. The specification is freely available under open governance, with support through community channels including Slack and monthly meetings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- JSON Schema Specification A free, open-source declarative vocabulary/specification for defining structure, constraints, and validation rules for JSON data, supporting multiple draft versions (Draft 04, 06, 07, 2019-09, 2020-12) and enabling data consistency, validity, and interoperability at scale. Used by developers, enterprise engineering teams, and API platforms worldwide.
- JSON Schema Tools Ecosystem A curated ecosystem directory of community-driven validators, generators, linters, bundlers, code generators, schema-to-code tools, and editors across many programming languages (JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, PHP) that support JSON Schema specifications from Draft 4 through 2020-12.
- JSON Schema Conference Annual conference track at APIdays Paris bringing together maintainers, developers, enterprise teams, tooling builders, researchers, and open-source contributors to discuss JSON Schema schema design, interoperability, validation, tooling, AI integration, and enterprise adoption.
- Tour of JSON Schema Certification Course Educational certification course covering JSON Schema concepts, available through the json-schema.org/learn documentation site as part of learning resources.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced incomplete product submissions from 10% to 0% at Cookpad
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use JSON Schema
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
JSON Schema technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature5 records
JSON Schema partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- OpenJS FoundationcoreJSON Schema operates under the OpenJS Foundation governance structure. The foundation provides organizational support, code of conduct enforcement (via the OpenJS Foundation Code of Conduct), and escalation processes for community governance.
- APIdays ParismajorAnnual conference venue and organizer for JSON Schema Conference track. JSON Schema Conference operates as part of the broader APIdays Paris ecosystem alongside OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, and other open standards projects.
- Hyperjump Software, Inc.coreEmployer of Jason Desrosiers, JSON Schema Specification and Tooling Architect. Maintains the @hyperjump/json-schema validator implementation.
- BowtiecoreMeta-validator project providing compliance reports for JSON Schema implementations across all programming languages. Supports Bowtie integration in tooling directory.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
JSON Schema competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- JSON-LD (W3C): JSON-LD is a W3C specification for linked data serialization that also uses JSON-based syntax. It addresses overlapping use cases around structured data interchange and is governed through a similar standards-body process.
- AsyncAPI Initiative: AsyncAPI Initiative maintains the AsyncAPI specification for asynchronous APIs, which also builds on JSON Schema. It operates with a similar open-source governance model and shares community channels (Slack, APIdays conferences) with JSON Schema.
- OpenAPI Initiative: The OpenAPI Initiative maintains the OpenAPI Specification, which is built on top of JSON Schema for API request/response definitions. Both organizations operate as open-source specification bodies with similar community-driven governance models and overlapping ecosystems.
- Protocol Buffers (Google): Protocol Buffers is Google's language-neutral data serialization format, competing with JSON Schema for use cases involving structured data interchange, API contracts, and schema-driven code generation across services.
- Sourcemeta: Sourcemeta is a commercial company founded by JSON Schema TSC member Juan Cruz Viotti that builds tooling around the JSON Schema specification, including validation and JSON Schema-to-code workflows. It is a direct commercial peer in the JSON Schema tooling ecosystem.
- Apache Avro: Apache Avro is a data serialization system under the Apache Foundation that competes with JSON Schema for schema-driven data interchange, particularly in big data and streaming contexts (e.g., Kafka).
- Hyperjump Software: Hyperjump Software is a commercial company whose CTO, Jason Desrosiers, is a JSON Schema TSC member and author of the @hyperjump/json-schema validator. It provides commercial JSON Schema tooling and implementation services.
Emerging players
- Zod: Zod is a TypeScript-first schema validation library that competes with JSON Schema for runtime validation in modern web and Node.js applications, offering more ergonomic, code-native schemas without separate JSON files.
- Yup: Yup is a popular JavaScript object schema validation library that competes with JSON Schema validators for runtime validation in React and Node.js applications. It is widely adopted in form validation contexts.
Broad incumbents
- Postman: Postman is a leading API platform that incorporates JSON Schema as a core component for API definition and validation. While not a specification body itself, it operates as a broad incumbent in the same API ecosystem and depends on JSON Schema for key functionality.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
JSON Schema social profiles
Digital presenceJSON Schema financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
JSON Schema leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
JSON Schema funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
JSON Schema M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about JSON Schema
What does JSON Schema do?
JSON Schema is a declarative vocabulary/specification for defining structure, constraints, and validation rules for JSON data, supporting multiple draft versions (Draft 04, 06, 07, 2019-09, 2020-12) plus an upcoming v1. The specification provides validation keywords, format annotations, conditional validation, and content metadata, enabling data consistency, validity, and interoperability at scale. The organization maintains a curated ecosystem of community-built validators, generators, linters, bundlers, and code generators across many programming languages.
Is JSON Schema a public or private company?
JSON Schema is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was JSON Schema founded?
JSON Schema was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does JSON Schema make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Sponsorships.
Who are JSON Schema's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are JSON-LD (W3C), AsyncAPI Initiative, OpenAPI Initiative, Protocol Buffers (Google), Sourcemeta, Apache Avro and Hyperjump Software. Emerging players are Zod and Yup. Postman is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does JSON Schema have an API?
No public API is recorded for JSON Schema.
What industry is JSON Schema in?
JSON Schema's product category is JSON Data Validation Specification. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEADAJ, Data Modeling & Semantic Layer / Business Glossary. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7372.