Postman has been a leading tool for API development, widely used for its capabilities in API design, testing, and documentation, making it a staple in the software sector for almost ten years. However, in 2021, Postman disrupted its own dominance by revising its pricing model, moving from unlimited user licenses to a per-user monthly fee. This shift has driven many developers to look for free, open-source, and affordable alternatives to Postman.
Thankfully, the API tools landscape has grown significantly, now bursting with robust, often free or open-source, API testing tools. This article aims to provide a detailed overview of their features, benefits, and drawbacks.
Why Are Users Moving Away from Postman?
Postman, despite its longstanding popularity for API development and testing, has seen users migrate due to limitations in its free plan. Here's why:
API Creation Limits: The free plan confines teams to creating just three APIs. For projects needing numerous APIs, particularly those involving multiple microservices, this restriction can be a critical barrier. Many users find this limitation too restrictive and thus turn to more flexible tools.
Collection Runner Limitations: A major constraint is the cap of 25 collection runner runs per month. For projects requiring frequent testing, this limit can curtail productivity, urging users to either upgrade or seek alternative solutions with more generous or unlimited testing runs.
API and Mock Server Call Caps: The free plan limits users to 1,000 API calls and 1,000 mock server calls each month, which can be insufficient for high-traffic projects or those with complex testing needs. Upon hitting these limits, users often have to find other tools that can better fit their testing demands.
Limited Flows: With only five flows allowed in the free plan, the potential for automating complex workflows is restricted. This can be frustrating for teams wishing to build and automate intricate workflows, prompting them to explore other tools offering more comprehensive automation options.
Team Collaboration Limitations: Effective collaboration is vital in API development, yet Postman's free plan restricts collaboration to only three users. Growing teams find this constraint necessitates an upgrade or a switch to platforms that provide better collaboration features without such tight restrictions.
These restrictions can greatly affect the workflow of developers and teams, leading many to search for more adaptable and economical alternatives that better meet their needs.
Postman Alternatives
Here is an overview of the 30 Postman alternatives. To find out product details, key features, pricing, websites, pros and cons of each tool, check out this blog: 30 postman alternatives.
Postman Alternative 1: Apidog
Apidog is a powerful API development and testing tool that offers a wide range of features to streamline the API workflow. It focuses on API design, debugging, and automated testing, making it a great alternative for teams looking for a complete API lifecycle tool.
Postman Alternative 2: NativeRest
NativeRest is a lightweight API client designed for macOS users, providing a simple interface for interacting with APIs. It supports all common HTTP methods, making it ideal for developers who need a straightforward API testing tool without added complexity.
Postman Alternative 3: Swagger UI
Swagger UI is a leading open-source tool that provides a visual interface for interacting with REST APIs. It allows users to explore APIs documented with OpenAPI, making it a popular choice for API testing and development, especially for teams that prioritize documentation.
Postman Alternative 4: Insomnia REST Client
Insomnia is a modern API client that offers a clean interface, support for GraphQL and REST, and environment variables management. It’s a great alternative for developers who prefer a more streamlined and less resource-intensive tool than Postman.
Postman Alternative 5: Paw (Rapid API)
Paw is an advanced API client designed specifically for macOS. It offers rich features like environment management, response visualizers, and a sleek user interface, making it a great choice for developers looking for an elegant yet powerful API client.
Postman Alternative 6: Apigee
Apigee, by Google, is an API management platform that allows businesses to design, secure, and scale APIs. It’s ideal for organizations looking to implement full lifecycle API management, with strong support for analytics, security, and versioning.
Postman Alternative 7: SoapUI
SoapUI is a robust tool for testing both SOAP and REST APIs. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create complex test scenarios. SoapUI is widely used for its extensive support for web service testing.
Postman Alternative 8: Runscope
Runscope is a cloud-based API testing and monitoring platform. It enables users to monitor their APIs and ensure they’re working as expected by running automated tests across various stages of development.
Postman Alternative 9: Boomi
Boomi is an enterprise-level integration platform that includes powerful API management tools. It allows users to integrate various cloud and on-premises systems and manage APIs within the same platform.
Postman Alternative 10: Restlet Studio
Restlet Studio provides an easy way to design APIs and generate API documentation. It is a cloud-based API design tool that makes API creation simple for developers, enabling rapid prototyping and design.
Postman Alternative 11: Thunder Client
Thunder Client is a lightweight API client for Visual Studio Code. It integrates directly into the code editor, making it a convenient tool for developers who prefer to test APIs without leaving their coding environment.
Postman Alternative 12: Talend API Tester
Talend API Tester is a Chrome extension that offers a convenient way to test APIs directly from the browser. It supports a wide range of HTTP requests and features a simple interface for quick API tests.
Postman Alternative 13: Testfully
Testfully is a modern tool for API testing and monitoring. It focuses on providing an intuitive user experience while enabling teams to automate their API tests across development, staging, and production environments.
Postman Alternative 14: Bruno
Bruno is an open-source API client that emphasizes simplicity and minimalism. It provides a straightforward interface for sending HTTP requests and analyzing responses, making it ideal for developers who need a lightweight alternative.
Postman Alternative 15: Yaak
Yaak is a lightweight API client designed for fast and efficient testing. It supports all HTTP methods and offers features like request templates and response analysis, making it a practical tool for quick API tests.
Postman Alternative 16: HTTPie
HTTPie is a user-friendly command-line HTTP client that simplifies API interactions. Its human-readable output and simple syntax make it ideal for developers looking for a more intuitive tool than traditional CLI options.
Postman Alternative 17: ReadyAPI
ReadyAPI by SmartBear is a comprehensive tool for testing and monitoring SOAP and REST APIs. It offers advanced features like load testing, security testing, and service virtualization, making it ideal for large-scale API testing.
Postman Alternative 18: Hoppscotch
Hoppscotch is a lightweight and fast API client that runs in the browser. It’s open-source and designed for quick and efficient API testing without the need for installation or heavy resource consumption.
Postman Alternative 19: Postcode
Postcode is a simple and minimalistic API testing tool that offers a clean interface for sending HTTP requests and inspecting responses. It’s ideal for developers looking for a no-frills approach to API testing.
Postman Alternative 20: Firecamp
Firecamp is a collaborative API testing tool that supports REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and Socket.IO. It’s great for teams that need a shared environment for testing and debugging various types of APIs.
Postman Alternative 21: TestMace
TestMace is a comprehensive API testing tool that offers automated test case creation, environment management, and rich documentation capabilities. It’s ideal for teams looking for a more structured approach to API testing.
Postman Alternative 22: LoadNinja
LoadNinja is a performance testing tool that allows users to test their APIs under load using real browsers. It provides real-time analytics and scriptless test creation, making it a strong option for performance-focused teams.
Postman Alternative 23: Airborne
Airborne is a Ruby-based API testing framework designed for REST APIs. It integrates well with RSpec, making it an ideal choice for Ruby developers looking for an API testing tool within their existing development workflow.
Postman Alternative 24: curlx
curlx is a powerful extension of the popular curl command-line tool. It offers additional features for API testing and development, including enhanced syntax and request management for a more user-friendly experience.
Postman Alternative 25: RecipeUI
RecipeUI is a simple API client designed to make testing APIs quick and efficient. Its user-friendly interface and support for various HTTP methods make it a solid alternative for developers looking for simplicity.
Postman Alternative 26: httpYac
httpYac is a command-line-based API testing tool that supports multi-protocol testing, including HTTP, GraphQL, and WebSocket. It offers script-based testing, making it a flexible choice for developers comfortable with the CLI.
Postman Alternative 27: JMeter
JMeter is an open-source tool that focuses on performance testing and can simulate heavy loads on APIs. It’s widely used in large projects where performance and scalability are critical aspects of testing.
Postman Alternative 28: TestSigma
TestSigma is a test automation platform that supports API testing. It offers AI-driven test creation and execution, allowing teams to automate their API testing workflows without writing code.
Postman Alternative 29: Assertible
Assertible is an API testing platform that focuses on continuous integration and deployment pipelines. It enables users to automate API tests and monitor API performance in production environments.
Postman Alternative 30: Tricentis Tosca
Tricentis Tosca is an enterprise-level test automation tool that supports API testing as part of a larger continuous testing platform. It’s ideal for large organizations needing a comprehensive test automation suite with API capabilities.
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