The best Postman alternative for most developers is Bruno: a free, open-source desktop API client that works offline without an account, stores collections as plain files in your Git repo and imports Postman collections, translating common pm.* scripts. Insomnia, from Kong, is the closest like-for-like app, with local, Git or encrypted cloud storage and free Git Sync for up to 3 users; Pro is $10 per user a month billed yearly. Hoppscotch is the best in the browser: open source, free for personal use, with team workspaces at $6 per user a month billed yearly. Thunder Client is the best inside VS Code, from $3 a month billed yearly.
Best Postman alternatives in 2026
Bruno
Open source, offline and account-free; collections are plain-text files you commit with your code, and Postman imports translate common pm.* scripts. Paid plans from $6 per user a month billed yearly.
Insomnia
A polished desktop client for REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket and SSE with local, Git or end-to-end encrypted cloud storage; free Git Sync for 3 users, Pro $10 per user a month billed yearly ($12 monthly).
Hoppscotch
Open source (MIT) and free for personal use in the browser, on the desktop or self-hosted; team workspaces with real-time collaboration on Business at $6 per user a month billed yearly.
Thunder Client
Tests APIs inside VS Code, Cursor or JetBrains with collections stored locally; the free plan is capped at 10 collections, and Git Sync starts at $3 a month billed yearly.
Questions buyers ask
What is the best free alternative to Postman?
Bruno: its open-source edition is free, needs no account and keeps collections as files in Git. The catch is that its built-in Git panel commits and pushes only on paid plans, though any Git client works on the files. Hoppscotch is the best free option in the browser: open source, free for personal workspaces and self-hostable, with team workspaces on Business at $6 per user a month billed yearly.
Is Postman still free?
Yes, for one person. Postman's Free plan and its $9 a month Solo plan (billed yearly) are single-user; shared team workspaces need Team at $19 per user a month billed yearly, and Enterprise is priced by sales. Postman moved the Free plan to one user in March 2026.
Bruno vs Postman: which is better?
Bruno if you want collections versioned in Git, offline use and no account, at $0 or $6 per user a month billed yearly. Postman if your team relies on shared cloud workspaces, monitors, Flows, mock servers or published API docs, which Bruno does not replace one to one.
Insomnia vs Postman: which is better?
Insomnia is cheaper for small teams (free Git Sync for up to 3 users, then $10 to $12 per user a month against Postman Team at $19) and lets each project stay local, in Git or in an end-to-end encrypted cloud. Postman has the bigger ecosystem and more platform features. Insomnia forced accounts and cloud sync in version 8 in 2023; local storage and a no-login Scratch Pad have since returned.
Can I import my Postman collections?
Yes. Bruno, Insomnia, Hoppscotch and Thunder Client all import Postman v2 or v2.1 collection files, and Bruno also imports a full Postman data export (bulk import is part of its $11 Ultimate plan). Bruno translates common script calls such as pm.test and pm.environment; calls it cannot map stay as written and fail at runtime until you rewrite them. Non-string variable values become strings. Monitors, Flows, mock servers and published documentation are not part of a collection export.
What is the best Postman alternative inside VS Code?
Thunder Client runs as an extension in VS Code, Cursor and JetBrains IDEs. Its free plan allows commercial use but caps you at 10 collections, 50 requests per collection and 50 local runs a month; Git Sync and unlimited collections start on Starter at $3 a month billed yearly, with Business at $7 and Enterprise at $16 per user. Bruno also has a VS Code extension that works on the same files as its desktop app.
What about Apidog and HTTPie?
Apidog is the closest to Postman's full platform, combining API design, testing, mocks and docs in a cloud workspace; Apidog says its free plan covers up to 4 users, and Basic is $9 per user a month billed yearly. HTTPie is best known for its free, open-source command-line client, a fast way to send requests from a terminal rather than a collection manager.
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