
Insomnia
Cross-platform API client for REST, GraphQL, gRPC
Coldcast Lens
Insomnia is the API client that developers switch to when Postman gets too heavy. Clean interface, excellent GraphQL support, and native Git sync for version-controlling your collections. Kong's acquisition brought enterprise features while keeping a generous free tier with unlimited collaboration.
Postman has the deepest ecosystem with 30M+ users but increasingly pushes cloud features. Bruno is the Git-purist choice — plain text files, no accounts, fully offline. Hoppscotch is browser-first for quick tests. Insomnia sits in the middle: powerful desktop app with cloud sync optional, not required.
Use Insomnia if you work with GraphQL, want a design-first workflow, or need REST + gRPC + WebSocket testing in one polished client.
The catch: Kong's ownership means the roadmap serves Kong's API gateway ecosystem first. The open-source version is Apache 2.0, but premium features like AI-powered workflows and advanced collaboration are commercial. The Git sync is great but requires Insomnia-specific formatting. And Bruno's growing fast — 29k stars and fully offline with no account requirement. For Git-native teams, Bruno is simpler.
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