Postman alternatives: where to go and how to move your collections

Why move to Bruno. Bruno saves every request as a plain-text file in a folder you pick. Drop it into your API's repo, and a request change ships in the same pull request as the code. No account, no cloud sync: that answers the two biggest complaints about Postman head-on. The app is open source and handles HTTP, REST, GraphQL and gRPC on the free edition.

Who it's for. Dev teams that already run everything through Git, and companies that can't store API calls with a third party.

Who it's not for. Teams where QA or product folks never touch Git: sharing one request means cloning a repo. Bruno also has no mock server and no monitoring.

Its limit. The free edition caps you at 2 workspaces and basic Git actions (clone, diff, commit). Push, branching, data-driven runs and reports need a paid plan. Pro is $6 per user per month, Ultimate $11.

How to migrate. Export each collection as v2.1, then Import Collection in Bruno. Common calls (pm.test, pm.environment, pm.response) get translated. Importing a full Postman data dump (the ZIP) is an Ultimate feature; on free, you go collection by collection. Environments import one at a time, and every value becomes a string: port 5000 turns into "5000", so check your comparisons.

Why move to Insomnia. Its UI and mental model are the closest to Postman: collections, environments, pre-request and after-response scripts, a runner, mocks. The free Essentials plan keeps unlimited local and cloud projects, an unlimited runner, and free Git Sync for up to 3 users. For a team of 3 that just lost Postman's free tier, it's the most direct exit.

Who it's for. Teams that want to change tools without changing habits, and teams heavy on GraphQL or gRPC.

Who it's not for. People fleeing Postman because of the forced login: Insomnia went through the same backlash with version 8 in 2023, then added a local Scratch Pad that needs no account.

Its limit. The free mock server stops at 1,000 requests a month, and past 3 people on Git Sync you need Pro at $12 per user per month. Enterprise is $45, self-serve up to 50 users.

How to migrate. Kong publishes an official guide: import a Postman ZIP or separate JSON files, v2.0 or v2.1 collections. Most scripts convert on import (pm.environment becomes insomnia.environment). Mock servers don't carry over, so recreate them. In CI, inso run collection replaces Newman.

Why move to Hoppscotch. Hoppscotch opens in a browser tab, no install, and also ships a desktop app. It's open source and self-hostable, so your team can keep collections on its own server. The free cloud plan covers REST, GraphQL and realtime (WebSocket), with collections, environments, scripts and a runner.

Who it's for. Developers who want a fast, light client, locked-down machines where you can't install software, and teams that want to host their own tooling.

Who it's not for. Teams with script-heavy collections: Postman script import is still experimental.

Its limit. Free cloud is a personal workspace. Team workspaces, mocking and published docs need Business at $6 per user per month. Enterprise (SSO, SCIM, audit logs) is $11.

How to migrate. The importer takes Postman collections and environments as JSON. Pre-request and test scripts only come across if you turn on Experimental Script Import, and advanced auth and collection-level settings aren't imported. Plan to redo auth on each collection by hand.

Why move to Apidog. If your team uses Postman for everything (API design, docs, mocks, test scenarios), Apidog covers that scope in one tool. Its free plan allows up to 4 users, where Postman now allows one. Its scripting engine follows Postman's pm syntax, so most scripts run without a rewrite.

Who it's for. Small product teams that design APIs before coding them and want docs and mocks in the same place.

Who it's not for. Anyone leaving Postman to get back to a light or local tool: Apidog is an online platform with an account too.

Its limit. Past 4 people, Basic costs $9 per user per month, billed annually. On migration, pm.nextRequest() isn't supported: conditional chains get rebuilt as a test scenario with if conditions.

How to migrate. Two paths: import a v2.1 collection file (Settings, Import Data, Postman), or connect your Postman API key and pull everything at once. A Postman collection becomes an Apidog project, and its collection variables become project-level globals. Check the environment named after the collection afterward.

Why move to Thunder Client. It's a VS Code extension: you send requests from the editor without switching windows. If you only open Postman to hit your routes while coding, this is faster than a separate app. Its paid plans are the cheapest on this page, with Starter at $3 per user per month.

Who it's for. Developers who spend the day in VS Code and keep modest collections.

Who it's not for. QA teams with big suites, or anyone who doesn't use VS Code.

Its limit. The free plan is tight: 3 collections of up to 50 requests, 5 imports a month, runner and reports via CLI only, no Git Sync and no custom scripting. Business is $7 and Enterprise $16 per user per month.

How to migrate. In the collections menu, pick Import and choose your Postman file. With 5 imports a month on free, merge collections first or start with the ones you use most. If a large file won't go through, re-export it from Postman as v2.1.

List your workspaces, collections, environments, globals, mock servers, monitors, Flows, and every CI job that runs Newman or the Postman CLI. Note who uses what.

Why bother? A Postman export only holds collections and environments. Everything else gets rebuilt by hand, and anything you didn't write down gets forgotten.

Go to Settings, Account settings, Export Data, tick collections and environments, then Request Data Export. The link arrives by email and expires after 2 days, so download it right away. On a team, only Admin and Super Admin roles can run a bulk export.

Catch: global variables aren't in the dump. Export them separately from the Variables pane. For a single collection, use More, Export collection, v2.1.

Exported environments often hold API keys and tokens in plain text. If your destination writes everything to Git (Bruno, Insomnia with Git Sync), split secret values out before the first commit: a gitignored file, the tool's secret variables, or a secrets manager.

A token pushed to a shared repo should be treated as leaked. Rotate it.

Import collections, then environments. Run each collection once in the destination's runner and compare results with a Postman run. Gaps almost always come from three places: auth inherited from the collection, variables that became strings, and scripts that call a Postman-only function.

Search your scripts for pm.sendRequest, pm.nextRequest, pm.vault and any require of newman, postman-collection or @postman. Those break most often. Apidog skips pm.nextRequest; Bruno has no equivalent for @postman packages; Hoppscotch imports scripts only in experimental mode.

Run a text search on the exported JSON before importing, and you'll know right away how many requests are affected.

A Newman job reads a Postman collection. Swap it for your destination's CLI: bru run for Bruno, inso run collection for Insomnia, or the Hoppscotch and Apidog CLIs. Keep the old job running in parallel for a week, then cut it once both give the same results.

Recreate the mocks and monitors you still need, announce a cutover date, then scale your Postman account down. Keep a Free account while you double-check: your collections stay viewable there, and you can still export.