Postman is a well-liked utility programming interface (API) platform with a complete ecosystem of providers. Numerous different instruments supply related options and functionalities to Postman for various use circumstances and wishes. Selecting the most effective amongst Postman options is like deciding between LeBron James and Usain Bolt. These options are like area of interest energy instruments in a developer’s equipment. They might not be as universally referred to as Postman, however usually sharper and extra environment friendly for the job at hand.
I selected the preferred instruments available on the market; some may even be in your thoughts whereas contemplating an API shopper or a platform. Let’s rapidly have a look at the most effective Postman options out there in 2025.
Finest 6 Postman options for 2025
- APIdog is greatest for collaborative work in API administration. ($9/month)
- Bruno is an open-source, git-integrated API shopper that doesn’t sync any knowledge to the cloud. ($6/month)
- Kong Insomnia is the most effective for REST and GraphQL API testing and debugging. (Customized Pricing)
- Stoplight is the most effective for designing APIs in OpenAPI and JSON Schema. ($41 / month)
- Swagger is usually used for API design, documentation, and improvement collaboration. ($22.80 /month)
- Thunder Shopper is nice for light-weight API testing inside Visible Studio Code. (free)
The merchandise are listed alphabetically and embody a mixture of API shoppers and platforms listed on G2. Most of them supply a free model or a free trial. I’ve included the beginning worth of their paid plan for simple comparability.
What makes the most effective Postman options?
Postman is a well-liked API platform with an ecosystem of instruments and providers. It’s simple to check paperwork and handle requisitions. I might combine Postman with a CI/CD pipeline to observe APIs and create mock servers for superior utilization.
Nevertheless, if you happen to’re on the lookout for a Postman various, chances are you’ll search a instrument that higher enhances your use case and have necessities. Or, perhaps, you need one thing easier than Postman.
For instance, if testing isn’t your main concern and also you need a extra versatile instrument, Kong Insomnia could be a better option. For an open-source and Git-friendly platform, Bruno could be the most effective wager. Due to this fact, the “greatest” varies for each distinctive want.
Primarily based on my expertise, a powerful postman various ought to:
- Be higher than Postman for a selected use case. These options can both work higher the place Postman falls quick or a minimum of work equally to Postman however supply extra worth.
- Serve a singular goal. These instruments may serve a specific want that’s distinctive to the shopper. For instance, Thunder Shopper is appropriate for API testing inside Visible Studio (VS) Code.
- Be easier to work with. Postman is a complete API platform, however not everybody wants such an intensive platform. Some shoppers may need one thing extra simple — a minimal instrument that addresses their wants.
- Work the place you might be. The choice would work on a Mac, Desktop, or Home windows machine. Some may additionally work in a browser.
High 6 Postman options I discover priceless
Beneath are the main Postman options I discovered available on the market. They provide aggressive—or, in some circumstances, higher—worth than Postman.
This listing is predicated on G2 critiques from 2025. We’ll maintain updating it to replicate the most recent and greatest options. Some critiques might have been edited for readability.
This knowledge was pulled from G2 in 2025. Some critiques might have been edited for readability.
1. APIdog: Finest for combining API improvement and documentation workflow
APIdog is a Postman various, which I consider is the most effective on the market when on the lookout for a full-featured API platform. It has obtain choices for Mac, Home windows, Linux, and completely different working techniques. I examined it on its net utility.
Whereas creating a brand new endpoint, identical to Postman, you’ll be able to move your API URL, paste it, and provides it a reputation. It allows you to outline and save your knowledge schema. For instance knowledge, you should utilize the ‘generate routinely’ performance to autogenerate in keeping with your schema. If this have been Postman, you’d have to write down instance knowledge within the API doc. APIdog generates it with one click on, saving ample time.
With APIdog, you get every thing from improvement to API documentation technology in a single API instrument. The product proudly presents itself as one platform to interchange all, particularly Postman. Think about it whereas evaluating completely different options for Postman.
APIdog is free for as much as 5 initiatives and 4 customers. Past that, you’d pay $9/consumer/month for a Primary plan.
From a usability standpoint, I discovered some options of APIdog lacking in Postman, like the flexibility to outline and reuse knowledge schema. What’s extra, APIdog permits you to generate API specs from the request and acknowledge JSON/XML/SQL to schema. Postman doesn’t ship these options.
What I like about APIdog:
- It seems like an entire platform fairly than a distributed set of functionalities packaged collectively in a instrument.
- From a debugging standpoint, the API doc connects with a database. Postman can not instantly join until there’s an API endpoint over it.
What G2 customers like about APIdog:
“It is ease of use and influence. With out an finish utility/shopper in sight, we will design, develop, take a look at, and make it prepared for the assorted deliberate utilization throughout platforms and use circumstances, which makes it near 99.99%. Growth and nonetheless some points might come up, however both under no circumstances or very minimal issues. So, it makes improvement very impartial.”
– APIdog Evaluation, Steve P., Managing Director
What I dislike about APIdog:
- Personally, I’m not a terrific fan of their UI/UX proper now. Possibly they’ll modify the aesthetics later. Nevertheless, if you happen to want one thing useful, APIdog generally is a good instrument.
What G2 customers dislike about APIdog:
“Because of its featurefulness, it has a steep studying curve. Merely establishing a single request and response is simple sufficient, however attempting to kind out a complete API and environments on it can show difficult.”
– APIdog Evaluation, Andres S, .Web Full Stack Software program Engineer
2. Bruno: An open-source, Git-integrated, and offline API shopper
Postman could be essentially the most used API shopper available on the market, however Bruno wins relating to ease of use. And no, it’s not simply because its emblem is the founder’s canine or as a result of it’s a terrific pun on scaring the Postman away, but it surely genuinely delivers worth the place it must.
Bruno is open-source, made for offline use, and doesn’t require me to log in. Nonetheless, once you open it, you are able to do every thing you’d naturally do with an API shopper.
Bruno doesn’t have a proprietary cloud sync. It’s offline, and I really like that essentially the most about it. There’s no syncing of knowledge to any cloud, which helps me make sure that our knowledge stays personal.
Bruno’s native Git integration revolutionizes the established order set by Postman, Insomnia, and others. After I tried Postman, I used to be capped at round 25 assortment runs on the free plan. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as a such restrict on Bruno whereas it is freed from price. Should you go to its web site, you’ll see the professional plan. That’s primarily for options like a graphical consumer interface (GUI) assortment and open API technology.
What I like about Bruno:
- Bruno is particularly useful for these on the lookout for a light-weight, easy-to-use API shopper. I don’t need to create an account, be on-line, or run my request via a proxy.
What G2 customers like about Bruno:
“Bruno is straightforward, intuitive, superb for builders and testers.”
– Bruno Evaluation, Rodrigo G., Growth Specialist
What I dislike about Bruno:
- In contrast with Postman, Bruno lacks request chaining, flows, and mocks to simulate API servers. It additionally lacks some new AI options that Postman retains including. Nevertheless, because it’s for these on the lookout for a light-weight shopper, it is comprehensible.
What G2 customers dislike about Bruno:
“It lacks some options current in options like Postman.”
– Bruno Evaluation, Daniel G., Head of Knowledge, Analytics
3. Kong Insomnia: Finest for a easy UI with vital options
Kong Insomnia has a easy, intuitive interface, not like Postman, which has turn out to be bloated over time for easy API improvement and testing wants. Insomnia is fairly elegant and easy to make use of.
Whereas testing, I discovered that Postman has an interceptor that takes all cookies from a logged-in session and considers that you just’re already logged into the API. Insomnia has an idea of plugins, however there’s no ready-to-use model for such use circumstances. Should you want this performance, Postman could be a better option.
Insomnia is geared towards customers who want an intuitive and structured setting. You get choices to work throughout numerous forms of API with a lot flexibility. Most significantly, you don’t want an account to work on Insomnia domestically. You may simply get equipped and begin working.
What I like about Kong Insomnia:
- I like that Insomnia doesn’t dump a great deal of options that don’t make sense to me. It retains issues clear and easy whereas nonetheless being versatile sufficient to accommodate my improvement and API testing wants.
- It helps a variety of options, together with REST, GraphQL, and SOAP requests, making it a flexible instrument that I might use for numerous initiatives.
What G2 customers like about Kong Insomnia:
“It’s open supply and nicely documented. It has good protection of various authentication modes and setting variables. Among the best issues is the code technology for the calls.”
– Kong Insomnia Evaluation, Carlos V, CTO
What I dislike about Kong Insomnia:
- Insomnia AI is simply out there within the Enterprise plan, which limits me from testing it.
What G2 customers dislike about Kong Insomnia:
“We can not create an Automation suite or write assessments like we will do on Postman. Websocket assist just isn’t out there. Mocking can also be not allowed.”
– Kong Insomnia Evaluation, Sumit T, Product Verification Engineer
4. Stoplight: Finest for designing, documenting, and testing APIs in a single place
Stoplight permits me to work with APIs cleanly and simply. Like Postman, I can take a look at my APIs, however Stoplight provides me a bit extra when planning and organizing them. I can design, doc, and take a look at APIs in a single place with the assistance of a pleasant visible editor with out writing uncooked code.
It permits me to create mock APIs. Earlier than constructing the precise backend, I used to be in a position to arrange mock responses and share them with the group. This helps everybody keep on the identical web page. One other nice characteristic? Stoplight creates docs from the API design itself; you don’t need to do something further for the documentation half.
Highlight is a superb instrument that works nicely for each solo builders and groups.
What I like about Stoplight:
- Its GUI may be very intuitive. Due to the UX, I might do every thing vital and navigate the platform with out studying a lot documentation.
- I really like its wealthy collaboration performance built-in with the duty administration system, which makes it simpler to depart feedback contextually and talk about the API floor.
What G2 customers like about Stoplight:
“One of many standout options of Stoplight.io is its user-friendly interface, which makes it accessible to each seasoned builders and newcomers. The platform’s well-designed structure permits customers to navigate via numerous sections effortlessly, together with designing APIs, defining knowledge fashions, and producing complete documentation.
Furthermore, Stoplight.io presents quite a lot of instruments to boost API improvement. The “Design” characteristic facilitates the creation of API endpoints, making it handy to mannequin and visualize knowledge buildings utilizing the OpenAPI Specification. ”
– Stoplight Evaluation, Erik F., Knowledge Scientist
What I dislike about Stoplight:
- The price of premium options is greater, however related options can be found at a relatively cheaper price in different instruments.
What G2 customers dislike about Stoplight:
“It lacks bulk modifying instruments, which may make issues barely handbook, however if you happen to’re conversant in JSON/YAML, you might be extra environment friendly. For higher visibility, the publish characteristic might be barely higher with extra context into what’s altering inside the API docs.”
– Stoplight Evaluation, Aman T., Buyer Success
5. SwaggerHub: Finest for velocity and adaptability within the improvement course of
SwaggerHub offers a central platform for builders to design and put together API documentation. Its consumer interface is straightforward and clear, which makes it simple for brand new customers to entry. My colleagues and I collaborated simply to develop documentation for a similar venture.
Most significantly, you get to check the APIs domestically earlier than deployment. You may export the code to the programming language and implement it rapidly. It helps all programming languages.
For my part, if you happen to comply with an API design-first method, i.e., you outline the API specs earlier than implementation, Swagger could be a superb instrument for you. It helps you generate shopper SDKs and server stubs routinely based mostly on the API specs. However, if API testing is your main focus, you need to follow Postman. It permits for fast prototyping and iterations of APIs inside the instrument.
What I like about SwaggerHub:
- The automated technology of shopper and server SDKs in numerous languages helps expedite the event course of.
- Enhancing the output doc individually from the code is versatile. The script’s output is instantaneous.
What G2 customers like essentially the most about SwaggerHub:
“Its structured documentations assist so much whereas doing any integrations.”
– SwaggerHub Evaluation, Shivam G., Software program Engineer
What I dislike about SwaggerHub:
- I discovered that SwaggerHub’s authorization generally turns into glitchy, and I have to reauthorize it once more.
What G2 customers dislike about SwaggerHub:
“If we reload Swagger, then all of the request our bodies we made earlier for APIs will probably be erased. We must always have a persistence choice to avoid wasting requests. For instance, Postman helps saving requests, and so on. The Swagger Filter choice just isn’t up to speed.”
– SwaggerHub Evaluation, Varun T., Senior Software program Engineer
6. Thunder Shopper: Finest for testing APIs instantly in VS code editor
Thunder Shopper is a quick, easy-to-use API testing software program designed for the VS code editor. It permits you to create requests, manage them into collections, and construct environments for various phases, akin to dev and manufacturing.
Thunder Shopper doesn’t attempt to do an excessive amount of, which I respect. I can simply entry request sorts (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and so on.). It helps pre- and post-request scripts that turn out to be useful to automate small duties like setting tokens. Not like REST shoppers, Thunder Shopper delivers a correct UI and higher workflow.
Postman’s VS code extension can also be highly effective, supporting distant process calls (gRPC), WebSocket, cURL, and higher setting administration. In comparison with Postman, Thunder Shopper is mild and doesn’t distract me from coding. Postman is extra polished, but when I would like one thing fast and environment friendly with out logging in or paying for group options, I’d go for Thunder Shopper. For me, it is about simplicity and velocity.
What I like about Thunder Shopper:
- Thunder Shopper doesn’t require an web connection to work, which I really like. I don’t want to change between VS Code and an API testing instrument, as Thunder Shopper is out there on the VS editor.
- It is considerably light-weight however has the required options for API testing. It allows you to take a look at API responses with none scripting.
What G2 customers like about Thunder Shopper:
“I’ve used Thunder Shopper as an extension in VS Code, which was such a lovely extension. It is vitally simple for a newbie to make use of. It had all of the issues that I wished to make use of. I might save my variables and likewise maintain all my API requests.”
– Thunder Shopper Evaluation, Shailesh B., Software program Engineer
What I dislike about Thunder Shopper:
- Collaboration is hard in Thunder Shopper. Furthermore, it’s not as feature-rich as Postman, however this largely is dependent upon the use case.
What G2 customers dislike about Thunder Shopper:
“The set up could be lengthy or complicated to different customers, and the drawback is you could not entry it on a cellular system. I want to see enhancements on Thunder Shopper that make it accessible to any system.”
– Thunder Shopper Evaluation, Thandiwe M., Venture Supervisor
Comparability of the most effective Postman options
Really feel like you could have an data overload? This comparability desk makes it simpler for you.
Postman options | Finest for | Free model availability | Pricing |
APIdog | Collaborative work in API administration | Sure (with consumer and venture limits) | $9/month per consumer (Primary Plan) |
Bruno | Open-source and Git-integrated API shopper | Sure (open supply) | $6/month per consumer (Professional plan) |
Kong Insomnia | REST and GraphQL API testing and debugging | Sure (with limits on initiatives) | Customized |
Stoplight | Designing APIs in OpenAPI and JSON Schema | Free trial out there | $41 / month (Primary plan) |
SwaggerHub | API design, documentation, and improvement collaboration | Free trial out there | $22.80 /month (Particular person plan) |
Thunder Shopper | Light-weight API testing inside Visible Studio Code | Sure, for non-commercial use with limits | $3/month per consumer (Starter Plan) |
Steadily requested questions on API platforms and Postman options
1. Why is Postman so standard?
Postman is standard as a result of it simplifies API testing with an intuitive interface, automated workflows, and collaboration instruments. Builders use Postman to ship requests, examine responses, and automate take a look at circumstances. It helps REST, GraphQL, and SOAP, making it a flexible instrument for API improvement and debugging.
2. Is Postman higher than SwaggerHub?
Evaluating the 2, Postman could be higher than SwaggerHub, and vice-versa, relying on the use case. SwaggerHub is a extra appropriate instrument if you happen to comply with an API design-first method and outline API specs earlier than implementation. Nevertheless, if API testing is your main goal, it’s greatest to go for Postman.
3. Why is Insomnia higher than Postman?
Postman presents greater than a developer’s easy API improvement and testing wants. It turns into sophisticated, as you could devour deep documentation to make use of the characteristic set that Postman presents. From a UI/UX perspective, Insomnia offers a easy and extra intuitive interface, making it a preferable selection for customers geared towards a structured setting and searching for an intuitive interface.
4. Is APIdog higher than Postman?
APIdog proudly claims to encapsulate the options and performance of Postman and numerous different API improvement and testing instruments. The concept of a greater instrument is dependent upon the use case. Nevertheless, I found in my analysis you could generate knowledge routinely with APIdog however not with Postman.
Numerous different options and functionalities differ in how they attraction to the consumer. The ultimate selection of the higher instrument is dependent upon the consumer and their use case, for which they examine the choices.
5. Is Thunder Shopper higher than Postman?
Thunder Shopper is light-weight and quick, and in contrast to Postman, it presents a minimal UI. It’s good to check inside VS Code whereas utilizing easy options. Postman has many options, together with testing API inside VS Code. However its UI/UX won’t be as minimal as Thunder Shopper’s, which is kind of pure.
6. What’s the greatest Postman various in VS Code?
RapidAPI or Thunder Shopper are good Postman options in VS Code choices.
In search of the most effective Postman various is imprecise, until:
You’ve a transparent thought of what you want, or perhaps why you’re not contemplating Postman. There are a selection of options out there for distinctive and particular use circumstances. For instance, Kong Insomnia delivers a a lot better UI than Postman, whereas Thunder Shopper delivers an API-testing product once you need to take a look at inside VS Code.
Your goal, want, and requirement will outline the most effective Postman options to your use case. It’s greatest to outline them clearly earlier than we go for the respective demos. This can assist you could have your pointers in place to make the most effective use of your time whereas conversing with the seller.
Try the entire listing of API administration instruments and discover all choices available on the market.