Best REST API Testing Tools in 2026: Complete Comparison

Choosing the right API testing tool can significantly impact your development workflow. The landscape has shifted considerably in 2026, with open-source and git-friendly tools challenging the incumbents. Some tools excel at quick manual testing, others at automated CI/CD integration, and some try to do everything.

This guide compares the most popular REST API testing tools across features, pricing, and real-world use cases so you can pick the right one for your workflow.

Quick Comparison Table

Tool	Type	Price (Individual)	Offline	Git-Friendly	Collaboration	Best For
Postman	Desktop + Cloud	Free / $14/mo	Partial	Limited	Excellent	Teams, documentation
Bruno	Desktop (OSS)	Free	Full	Excellent	File-based	Git-first workflows
Insomnia	Desktop	Free / $7/mo	Full	Good	Good	Individual developers
Hoppscotch	Web + Desktop	Free (OSS)	Desktop only	Good	Good	Quick testing
Thunder Client	VS Code Extension	Free / $10/yr	Full	Good	Limited	VS Code users
HTTPie	CLI + Desktop	Free / $8/mo	CLI: Full	CLI: Excellent	Desktop: Good	CLI enthusiasts
REST Client (VS Code)	VS Code Extension	Free	Full	Excellent	Limited	Minimalists
cURL	CLI	Free	Full	N/A	N/A	Scripting, CI/CD
k6	CLI (OSS)	Free / Cloud paid	Full	Excellent	Cloud version	Load testing
Playwright	Framework (OSS)	Free	Full	Excellent	Via CI/CD	E2E + API testing

Detailed Tool Reviews

1. Postman

Postman remains the most widely used API testing platform, but it has increasingly pushed users toward its cloud-based model.

Strengths:

Most comprehensive feature set
Excellent team collaboration
Built-in mock servers and documentation
Large ecosystem of public collections
AI-powered test generation (Postbot)

Weaknesses:

Requires account creation even for basic use
Collections stored in cloud by default
Free tier has limited collaboration features
Can feel bloated for simple testing
Offline capabilities are limited

Pricing:

Plan	Price	Key Features
Free	$0	Basic collections, 25 shared collections
Basic	$14/user/mo	Unlimited shared collections, team workspaces
Professional	$29/user/mo	Advanced roles, audit logs, integrations
Enterprise	$49/user/mo	SSO, SCIM, dedicated support

Best for: Teams that need collaboration, documentation, and a full-featured platform.

Example: Creating a Test in Postman:

// Postman test script (JavaScript)
pm.test("Status code is 200", function () {
    pm.response.to.have.status(200);
});

pm.test("Response has correct structure", function () {
    const jsonData = pm.response.json();
    pm.expect(jsonData).to.have.property("id");
    pm.expect(jsonData).to.have.property("name");
    pm.expect(jsonData.name).to.be.a("string");
});

pm.test("Response time is under 500ms", function () {
    pm.expect(pm.response.responseTime).to.be.below(500);
});

2. Bruno

Bruno has emerged as the leading open-source, git-friendly alternative to Postman. Collections are stored as plain files in your repository.

Strengths:

Fully offline, no account required
Collections stored as files (.bru format) -- version control friendly
No cloud dependency
Fast and lightweight
Active open-source community

Weaknesses:

Smaller ecosystem than Postman
No built-in mock servers
Collaboration is file-based (via git)
Fewer integrations

Pricing: Free and open source. A paid Golden Edition ($19 one-time) adds visual Git integration and some advanced features.

Best for: Developers who want git-native API collections without cloud lock-in.

Example: Bruno .bru File Format:

meta {
  name: Get Users
  type: http
  seq: 1
}

get {
  url: {{baseUrl}}/api/v1/users
  body: none
  auth: none
}

headers {
  X-API-Key: {{apiKey}}
  Content-Type: application/json
}

query {
  page: 1
  limit: 20
}

tests {
  test("should return 200", function() {
    expect(res.status).to.equal(200);
  });

  test("should return array of users", function() {
    expect(res.body).to.be.an("array");
    expect(res.body.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
  });
}

3. Insomnia

Insomnia offers a clean, developer-friendly interface with a focus on simplicity.

Strengths:

Clean, intuitive interface
Good Git sync support
GraphQL support built-in
Environment management
Plugin system

Weaknesses:

Kong acquisition has changed the product direction
Some features moved behind paywall
Smaller community than Postman or Bruno
Occasional sync issues

Pricing:

Plan	Price	Key Features
Free	$0	Local collections, basic features
Individual	$7/mo	Cloud sync, Git sync, unlimited
Team	$15/user/mo	Collaboration, shared environments
Enterprise	Custom	SSO, RBAC, audit logs

4. Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch (formerly Postwoman) is a fast, open-source API testing tool available as both a web app and desktop app.

Strengths:

Extremely fast web-based interface
Open source and self-hostable
WebSocket, SSE, Socket.IO, MQTT support
No installation required (web version)
Clean, modern UI

Weaknesses:

Desktop app is newer and less mature
Fewer advanced testing features
Limited automation capabilities
Smaller plugin ecosystem

Pricing: Free and open source. A paid cloud version is available for team collaboration.

Best for: Quick ad-hoc API testing, especially when you cannot install software.

5. Thunder Client (VS Code Extension)

Thunder Client brings API testing directly into VS Code as a lightweight extension.

Strengths:

Lives inside VS Code -- no context switching
Lightweight and fast
Git-friendly JSON collections
Clean, simple interface
Good environment variable support

Weaknesses:

Limited to VS Code users
Fewer advanced features than Postman
Limited collaboration options
No CI/CD runner

Pricing: Free for basic use. Pro at $10/year for advanced features.

Best for: VS Code users who want integrated API testing without leaving the editor.

6. REST Client (VS Code Extension)

REST Client uses .http files to define requests, making them completely version-control friendly.

Strengths:

Requests are plain text .http files
Perfect git integration
Zero configuration
Inline variable support
No account required

Weaknesses:

No GUI for building requests
Limited testing/assertion capabilities
No collection runner
Manual process

Best for: Developers who prefer text-based, minimal tooling.

Example: .http File:

### Get all users
GET https://api.example.com/v1/users
X-API-Key: {{$dotenv API_KEY}}
Content-Type: application/json

### Create a new user
POST https://api.example.com/v1/users
X-API-Key: {{$dotenv API_KEY}}
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "name": "Jane Doe",
    "email": "jane@example.com",
    "role": "developer"
}

### Update user
PUT https://api.example.com/v1/users/123
X-API-Key: {{$dotenv API_KEY}}
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "name": "Jane Smith"
}

### Delete user
DELETE https://api.example.com/v1/users/123
X-API-Key: {{$dotenv API_KEY}}

7. HTTPie

HTTPie combines a powerful CLI with a clean desktop application.

Strengths:

Beautiful CLI with syntax highlighting
Desktop app with modern UI
Intuitive command syntax
Good for both manual and scripted testing
Offline-first CLI

Weaknesses:

Desktop app is newer
CLI syntax differs from cURL (learning curve)
Smaller community
Limited CI/CD integration compared to cURL

Example: HTTPie CLI:

# GET request
http GET api.example.com/v1/users X-API-Key:your-key

# POST with JSON (default for data arguments)
http POST api.example.com/v1/users \
    X-API-Key:your-key \
    name="Jane Doe" \
    email="jane@example.com" \
    age:=34

# Download response
http --download GET api.example.com/v1/reports/latest X-API-Key:your-key

8. cURL

cURL is the universal baseline for API testing. Every developer should know the basics.

Strengths:

Available everywhere (pre-installed on macOS, Linux)
Universal standard -- every API doc includes cURL examples
Perfect for scripting and CI/CD
No installation required
Maximum flexibility

Weaknesses:

No GUI
Verbose syntax for complex requests
No built-in test assertions
Poor readability for large requests

Example: Common cURL Patterns:

# GET with headers
curl -s "https://api.example.com/v1/users" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" | python3 -m json.tool

# POST JSON
curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/v1/users" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Jane Doe", "email": "jane@example.com"}'

# With timing
curl -o /dev/null -s -w "HTTP %{http_code} in %{time_total}s\n" \
  "https://api.example.com/v1/health"

Feature Comparison Matrix

Feature	Postman	Bruno	Insomnia	Hoppscotch	Thunder Client	cURL
REST support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GraphQL	Yes	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes	Manual
WebSocket	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
gRPC	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Via grpcurl
Environment variables	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Manual
Pre-request scripts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited	N/A
Test assertions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited	Yes	Manual
Collection runner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited	Scripts
Mock servers	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
API documentation	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
OpenAPI import	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
CI/CD integration	Newman	CLI	CLI	CLI	No	Native

Choosing the Right Tool: Decision Tree

Solo Developer

Do you live in VS Code? Use Thunder Client or REST Client
Do you want git-native collections? Use Bruno
Do you want a quick web-based tool? Use Hoppscotch
Do you prefer CLI? Use HTTPie or cURL

Small Team (2-10 developers)

Need real-time collaboration? Use Postman (Basic plan)
Want git-based collaboration? Use Bruno (share .bru files via git)
Budget-conscious? Use Hoppscotch self-hosted or Bruno

Large Team / Enterprise

Need SSO, RBAC, audit logs? Use Postman Enterprise
Want self-hosted? Use Hoppscotch self-hosted
CI/CD focus? Use Postman + Newman or k6

CI/CD Pipeline

API functional tests: Newman (Postman CLI) or Bruno CLI
Load testing: k6 or Artillery
E2E + API testing: Playwright
Simple health checks: cURL

Setting Up API Testing in CI/CD

GitHub Actions with Newman (Postman)

name: API Tests
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  api-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm install -g newman
      - run: newman run ./tests/api-collection.json -e ./tests/test-env.json

GitHub Actions with Bruno

name: API Tests
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  api-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm install -g @usebruno/cli
      - run: bru run --env test ./api-tests/

Simple cURL Health Check

name: API Health Check
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '*/5 * * * *'  # Every 5 minutes

jobs:
  health-check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check API health
        run: |
          status=$(curl -o /dev/null -s -w "%{http_code}" https://api.example.com/health)
          if [ "$status" != "200" ]; then
            echo "API is down! Status: $status"
            exit 1
          fi
          echo "API is healthy"

2026 Trends in API Testing

Trend	What Is Changing	Tools Leading
Git-native collections	Moving away from cloud-stored collections	Bruno, REST Client
AI-assisted testing	Auto-generating tests from API specs	Postman (Postbot), Apidog
Shift-left testing	Testing earlier in development cycle	Playwright, k6
OpenAPI-first	Generating tests from API specifications	All major tools
Privacy-first	Offline, no-telemetry tools gaining traction	Bruno, Hoppscotch

Conclusion

The "best" API testing tool depends on your workflow. For teams that need collaboration and documentation, Postman remains the standard despite its cloud-first direction. For developers who want git-native, offline-first tooling, Bruno is the strongest choice. For VS Code users who want minimal friction, Thunder Client or REST Client work well. For CI/CD pipelines, cURL and Newman are the reliable workhorses.

If you are testing AI-powered APIs and need a real-world endpoint to practice with, Hypereal AI provides REST API endpoints for image generation, video creation, voice cloning, and talking avatars. The API uses standard REST conventions with X-API-Key authentication, making it easy to import into any of the testing tools covered in this guide.