This comparison is maintained by Yaak, one of the tools below. Facts are checked against each tool's documentation and pricing pages. Depending on what you need, another tool on this list may fit better.
Postman is a capable product, and it's improving in directions this page cares about: Postman 12 (March 2026) added native Git support and offline filesystem storage. Two things still send people looking:
Both things can be true: Postman is fine, and one of the tools below may fit you better.
| Feature | Yaak | Bruno | Insomnia | Kreya | Hoppscotch | HTTPie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source |
CLI only | |||||
| Works offline |
login required | |||||
| No account required |
Scratch Pad only | |||||
| Git-friendly storage |
Git UI paid |
3 users free |
JSON export | |||
| GraphQL | ||||||
| gRPC | ||||||
| WebSocket | ||||||
| Server-sent events | ||||||
| Request scripting |
templating instead |
Pro | ||||
| Postman import | ||||||
| License | MIT · paid commercial use | MIT (app) · paid team features | Apache-2.0 (app) · proprietary cloud | Proprietary | MIT (app) · paid enterprise | BSD-3 (CLI) · proprietary desktop |
| Pricing | Free for personal use · $50/user/year commercial | Free · Pro $6/user/mo · Ultimate $11/user/mo | Free tier · Pro $12/user/mo · Enterprise $45/user/mo | Free · Pro $50/year · Enterprise $100/year | Free · Cloud teams $6/user/mo · Self-host free | Free (desktop in public beta) |
Verified against each tool's public documentation and pricing pages. Spot an error? Email help@yaak.app.
https://yaak.app · macOS, Windows, Linux
Yaak is the tool behind this page, so read this section with that in mind. It's an MIT-licensed desktop client that stores everything locally, requires no account, and syncs workspaces as plain files you can commit to Git when you enable directory sync.
There is no request scripting, on purpose. Dynamic values come from templating: pull a token from another request's response, reference environment variables, or write a custom template function as a plugin. It covers most of what scripts do in Postman, declaratively. If your workflow truly depends on arbitrary pre-request code, one of the other tools here fits better.
Plugins also cover custom auth flows and themes, and a CLI and MCP server let terminal agents and AI assistants drive the same workspaces.
Commercial use requires a license after a 30-day trial. Personal use is free, full-featured, forever.
Choose Yaak if: you want the API client parts of Postman (HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, SSE) in a fast local-first app without the platform sprawl.
https://www.usebruno.com · macOS, Windows, Linux · CLI
Bruno stores collections as plain-text .bru files on your filesystem, the most aggressive local-first design on this list. There is no cloud sync product at all, no account, and the MIT-licensed app includes gRPC, WebSocket, MQTT, and SSE support.
Versioning happens with your normal Git tooling; the built-in Git UI inside the app is part of the paid Pro tier, along with team workspaces and enterprise features. The one-time Golden Edition license was discontinued in favor of these subscriptions.
Development is active, with an official CLI and CI/CD integrations shipping regularly.
Choose Bruno if: filesystem-first storage beats everything else on your list: requests live in the repo, next to the code, with no app database at all.
Choose Yaak instead if: you want Git-friendly files plus the conveniences of an app database: response history, faster search, and file sync you can turn on per-workspace.
https://insomnia.rest · macOS, Windows, Linux · CLI
Insomnia is the veteran of this list: an Apache-2.0 desktop client owned by Kong since 2019, with broad protocol support (REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, SSE) and Postman-compatible scripting.
The tradeoff is account coupling. Since version 8.0, using the app beyond the limited Scratch Pad requires logging in, even for projects stored in the fully-local vault. Git Sync works well but caps at 3 users per project on the free tier.
Recent releases lean into Kong's platform: version 12 added MCP clients and AI features, and version 13 embeds Insomnia into Kong Konnect. If that trajectory fits your stack, it's a strength; if you wanted a standalone client, it's the opposite.
Choose Insomnia if: you want Postman-style cloud collaboration from an open-source client, or your team already runs on Kong.
Choose Yaak instead if: the account requirement is why you're leaving. Yaak needs no login for anything, and local storage is the default rather than an option.
https://kreya.app · macOS, Windows, Linux · CLI
Kreya is a closed-source desktop client from a small Swiss company that started as a gRPC tool and grew outward: server reflection, all streaming modes, and protobuf-first project setup, with REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and SSE added over time, over HTTP/1.1 through HTTP/3.
Projects are stored as git-diffable JSON files on disk with no cloud sync and no account. The free tier covers core protocol work; scripting, testing, and full request history sit in the inexpensive Pro tier.
Development is active, with regular releases. The main tradeoff is the closed source: you're trusting a vendor, not a codebase you can read.
Choose Kreya if: you want a client designed around gRPC first: protobuf-centric project setup, server reflection, and every streaming mode, with REST and GraphQL added later.
Choose Yaak instead if: you want open source, or request history without a paid tier. Yaak covers the same gRPC basics: server reflection, .proto imports, and all streaming modes.
https://hoppscotch.com · Web, desktop, self-hosted · CLI
Hoppscotch is the web-first option: an MIT-licensed app that runs in the browser with full guest mode (no account, data in local storage). A Tauri-based desktop app and free Docker self-hosting round out the deployment options, and teams can pay for cloud workspaces or a self-hosted enterprise edition.
Protocol coverage is broad for a web app (REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, SSE, Socket.IO, MQTT), but there's no gRPC, and no file-based or Git-native storage; collections move via manual JSON export.
Releases ship monthly, and the project is one of the most active open-source API clients.
Choose Hoppscotch if: zero-install matters. It runs in a browser tab, works as a PWA, has a desktop app, and the whole stack can be self-hosted for free with Docker.
Choose Yaak instead if: you need gRPC, or you want requests stored as Git-syncable files instead of browser storage and manual JSON exports.
https://httpie.io · CLI · web · desktop
HTTPie's BSD-licensed CLI is a classic for a reason: the most pleasant way to fire an HTTP request from a terminal. The newer desktop and web apps carry the same design taste into a GUI, free while in public beta, with local-first storage and an account-free incognito mode.
The gaps are real, though. The desktop app is closed source, covers only HTTP and GraphQL (no WebSocket, gRPC, or SSE), and has no request scripting. Development has also slowed: as of mid-2026, the CLI hasn't shipped a release since late 2024 and the desktop app since early 2025.
Choose HTTPie if: the beloved CLI is what you're here for: human-friendly syntax, great output, perfect for quick requests and scripts.
Choose Yaak instead if: you want an actively developed app with protocols beyond HTTP and GraphQL, or request chaining.
No. The Postman app and platform are proprietary. Several alternatives on this list are open source, including Yaak (MIT), Bruno (MIT), Hoppscotch (MIT), and Insomnia (Apache-2.0).
The Insomnia desktop app is open source under the Apache-2.0 license, and is developed by Kong. Some platform features, like cloud sync, rely on Kong's commercial services.
Yaak, Bruno, and Kreya are local-first: collections live on your machine and nothing requires a network connection or account. Hoppscotch works offline as a PWA or desktop app, and can be self-hosted.
Most tools on this list import Postman collection exports. Yaak imports Postman collections and environments directly; see the migration guide at yaak.app/docs/migration/postman.
For a desktop app: Yaak and Bruno are both free for personal use with optional paid licenses. For the browser: Hoppscotch. For the terminal: HTTPie or curl.
