Insomnia alternatives: 11 API testing tools compared
Teams look past Insomnia when a free Git Sync project hits its three-user ceiling, when mock requests start to count, or when SSO and SCIM turn out to sit in a $45 tier. The alternatives below range from file-based open source clients to editor extensions, test frameworks and enterprise suites.
Short answer: Bruno, Hoppscotch and Thunder Client head the list of Insomnia alternatives drawn from our API testing tool ranking. Challengers take places 1 to 3 here. Big brands follow in the order of our category ranking. Bruno is the one to try if collections should live as plain files in your own Git repository and $6 per seat is acceptable. The 11 entries that follow are all ranked in Best API Testing Tools in 2026; each one explains what sets it apart from Insomnia.
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Pricing: Free Essentials plan; Pro and Enterprise billed per user; 14-day Enterprise trial
Established in: United States
Built for: Developers wanting a Git-synced client with a CLI for CI
Not for: Larger teams wanting free collaboration beyond three people
01
Why buyers look past Insomnia
01
Git Sync is free for three people only
Insomnia's pricing page lists Essentials at $0 with Git Sync for up to 3 users. Beyond that comes Pro at $12 per user per month, which the page marks as unlimited users. A group of five developers sharing one Git-backed project therefore pays for every seat, or splits the work across local projects.
02
Mock requests are metered
The same page gives 1,000 mock server requests a month on Essentials, 10,000 on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise. Extra mock use is sold at $10 per 25,000 requests. Teams that lean on mocks in test pipelines have a number to watch before the invoice shows it.
03
Identity controls and vaults start at $45
SAML/OIDC, SCIM and native vault integrations for AWS, GCP, HashiCorp and Azure are listed only under Enterprise at $45 per user per month, self-serve up to 50 users, with larger teams routed to sales. Insomnia's GitHub page adds that most features need a free account, and that only the Scratch Pad works without login. Companies with a login or data-location policy should read that before rollout.
a regulated enterprise needs codeless tests across many protocols and accepts quote-based pricing
#12
03
What each one does differently
1
Bruno
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Bruno Software, Inc. sells a desktop client whose core is MIT-licensed. The free edition allows 2 workspaces and public Git repositories only; Pro costs $6 and Ultimate $11 per user per month on annual billing, and Ultimate comes with a 14-day trial that needs no card. Pro unlocks private repositories and unlimited workspaces. The vendor names no country, so check which entity signs the contract.
Switch from Insomnia if collections should live as plain files in your own Git repository and $6 per seat is acceptable.
Hoppscotch runs in the browser and its MIT-licensed Community Edition can be hosted on your own servers. The free cloud plan covers REST, GraphQL and realtime protocols with a personal workspace; team workspaces, mocking and documentation publishing start at Business, $6 per user per month annually. Enterprise at $11 adds SAML, OpenID Connect, SCIM and audit logs, the items Insomnia holds back for its $45 tier.
Switch from Insomnia if you need SSO and SCIM without paying $45 per seat, or want to host the tool yourself.
Thunder Client Limited, based in Ireland, ships the client as an extension for VS Code and JetBrains editors rather than a separate app. Starter is $3, Business $7 and Enterprise $16 per user per month annually; the free plan stops at 3 collections of 50 requests. Local runner runs are capped monthly at 30, 250 or 500, while CI runs are not limited.
Switch from Insomnia if your developers never leave the editor and a few dollars per seat settles the question.
Apidog puts design, debugging, test scenarios and documentation into one shared workspace, with a free plan and per-member paid plans on a 14-day trial. Its docs list import from Insomnia, Postman, Stoplight and OpenAPI, which eases a move. We could not read plan limits on the pricing page, and the vendor names no company or country.
Switch from Insomnia if you want API design, documentation and tests in one workspace and can import your Insomnia data.
Karate is a test framework rather than a request client: Karate Labs Inc. publishes the core under the MIT licence, with REST, GraphQL and SOAP tests, browser automation, Gatling load tests and mocks in one runtime. Pro is billed per user annually and mostly adds IDE plugin features. Kafka, gRPC and WebSocket tests in CI need an Enterprise runtime licence.
Switch from Insomnia if tests are written as code, run in CI and exploring requests by hand matters less.
Assertible is a hosted service that runs assertions against staging and production after each deployment and monitors endpoints on a schedule. The free plan is followed by paid plans at a flat monthly fee per account, so adding colleagues costs nothing extra, and paid plans have a one-month trial. It does not replace a desktop client for exploring requests.
Switch from Insomnia if you want checks fired after every deploy and a price per account instead of per person.
SoapUI Open Source is maintained by SmartBear and published under the EUPL 1.1 licence. It handles REST, SOAP, GraphQL and JMS projects on one machine. SmartBear's own comparison says data-driven testing, automatic test refactoring and native CI integration are missing, and it points larger teams to ReadyAPI.
Switch from Insomnia if legacy SOAP and JMS services dominate and a local open source tool is enough.
Postman is the largest platform in this list, headquartered in San Francisco. Free covers one user at 10,000 Postman calls a month; Solo is $9 and Team $19 per user per month annually, and Team is where unlimited users start. Cloud performance tests cost $0.04 per virtual user hour and AI credits are metered, so the bill moves with use.
Switch from Insomnia if collaboration, monitors and a big ecosystem outweigh the cost of a larger platform.
ReadyAPI is SmartBear's commercial suite for functional, load and virtual API testing, with plug-ins for Jenkins, TeamCity and Azure DevOps. Tests can read Excel, CSV and database data and reports export to PDF, JUnit-style XML, CSV or Allure. The pricing page text shows no figures, so the budget comes from a sales call; a 14-day trial exists.
Switch from Insomnia if a QA team needs data-driven functional and load tests and has a licence budget.
Katalon, based in Atlanta, is a test automation studio where API checks sit next to web, mobile and desktop tests. Free Studio runs locally but caps static suites at 40 and has no parallel runs. Professional is a per-seat annual licence and a 30-day trial is offered. API work is one feature among many.
Switch from Insomnia if testers already automate web or mobile flows and want API checks in the same studio.
Parasoft Corporation, in Monrovia, California, sells SOAtest for codeless API tests built from recorded traffic or natural language, with over 120 message formats and protocols listed. Functional tests are reused for security and load checks. The product page offers a trial and demo but no prices, and service virtualization is sold separately.
Switch from Insomnia if a regulated enterprise needs codeless tests across many protocols and accepts quote-based pricing.
You have more than three people on one Git-backed project
Bruno: Collections are plain files in your Git repository; Pro is $6 per user per month annually against $12 for Insomnia Pro, and the free edition allows 2 workspaces with public repositories only.
02
You need SSO and SCIM but not Enterprise prices
Hoppscotch: Enterprise at $11 per user per month annually lists SAML, OpenID Connect, SCIM and audit logs; Insomnia lists SAML/OIDC and SCIM at $45.
03
Your developers live in VS Code or JetBrains
Thunder Client: Starter is $3 per user per month annually and CLI use is on every plan, but the free plan stops at 3 collections of 50 requests.
04
You want checks to run after every deployment
Assertible: It runs assertions against staging and production after each deploy, on a flat fee per account instead of per seat.
05
You test SOAP and legacy services
SoapUI: SoapUI Open Source handles SOAP, REST, GraphQL and JMS under the EUPL 1.1, though SmartBear says it lacks data-driven testing and native CI integration.
04
When Insomnia is still the right choice
Insomnia remains the sensible pick when Kong is already in your stack and the client should sit beside it. Its source is on GitHub under Apache 2.0, it supports REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, Server-Sent Events and gRPC, and Essentials includes the Inso CLI, unlimited collection runs and environments and end-to-end encrypted Cloud Sync. Local Vault and Git Sync let you pick where data lives, and a 14-day Enterprise trial needs no card. For a team of three or fewer on Git Sync, nothing in the free plan forces a move.
05
What moving off Insomnia involves
01
Decide where the projects will live
Insomnia offers Local Vault, Scratch Pad, Cloud Sync and Git Sync. Note which of these each project uses today, because a file-based tool maps cleanly to the Git projects and less cleanly to Cloud Sync ones.
02
Export collections and environments before cancelling
Export collections and environment files, and check for secrets sitting in them. Apidog lists Insomnia among its import formats, so test the import on one collection first.
03
Replace the Inso CLI step and run both in parallel
Pipelines that call the Inso CLI need a new runner command in the target tool. Run old and new side by side for a sprint and compare results before switching.
06
Questions about replacing Insomnia
7 answers
What is the best alternative to Insomnia?
Bruno ranks first in our list of Insomnia alternatives: an MIT-licensed desktop client with a free edition and Pro at $6 per user per month annually. Hoppscotch and Thunder Client follow, and Postman is the larger platform further down.
Is there a free alternative to Insomnia?
Bruno's Open Source edition and Hoppscotch's free cloud plan cost nothing, and Hoppscotch's Community Edition can be self-hosted. Bruno's free edition allows 2 workspaces and public Git repositories only; Thunder Client's free plan caps collections at 3.
Which Insomnia alternative has SSO and SCIM for less than $45 per user?
Hoppscotch lists SAML SSO, OpenID Connect and SCIM provisioning in Enterprise at $11 per user per month annually. Insomnia lists SAML/OIDC and SCIM only at $45.
Can I import my Insomnia collections elsewhere?
Apidog's documentation lists Insomnia among its import sources. For other tools, export your collections and check the target's import page; we only verified the Apidog claim.
Which alternative works inside VS Code?
Thunder Client runs inside VS Code and JetBrains editors, from $3 per user per month on Starter annually, with CLI and CI use on every plan.
Is Insomnia open source?
Insomnia's GitHub repository carries the Apache-2.0 licence. Bruno and Hoppscotch are MIT-licensed, and Karate is MIT as well, while SoapUI Open Source uses the EUPL 1.1.
What if we mostly test SOAP services?
SoapUI Open Source handles SOAP, REST, GraphQL and JMS, and SmartBear's ReadyAPI adds data-driven tests and CI plug-ins. Parasoft SOAtest lists over 120 message formats and protocols.
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Sources
Checked 2 November 2026
Insomnia pricing: Essentials $0, Pro $12, Enterprise $45 per user per month; Git Sync up to 3 users; mock request limits and $10 per 25,000; SSO, SCIM, vaults on Enterprise; 14-day Enterprise trial.
Insomnia on GitHub: Apache-2.0 licence; REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, SSE, gRPC; account needed for most features; Scratch Pad without login.
Insomnia storage docs: Local Vault, Scratch pad, Cloud Sync, Git Sync; E2EE on Cloud Sync; Scratch pad usable before login.
Bruno pricing: Open Source $0, Pro $6, Ultimate $11 per user per month annually; 2 workspaces and public repos on free; 14-day Ultimate trial.
Hoppscotch pricing: Free, Business $6, Enterprise $11 per user per month annually; SAML, OIDC, SCIM and audit logs on Enterprise.
Thunder Client pricing: Free, Starter $3, Business $7, Enterprise $16; 3 collections and 50 requests on free; runner limits 30, 250, 500; 14-day team trial.
Postman pricing: Free 1 user and 10,000 calls, Solo $9, Team $19; cloud performance testing $0.04 per virtual user hour; AI credit overages.
Apidog: Design, debugging, tests and documentation in one workspace; import from Insomnia, Postman, Stoplight, OpenAPI; free plan, 14-day trial.
Karate Labs: MIT-licensed framework; REST, GraphQL, SOAP, UI, Gatling load tests; Pro and Enterprise licensing.
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Sebastiaan Smits wrote and checked this page, most recently on 2 November 2026. See how we review.
