Bruno or Postman? You shouldn’t have to choose.
Bruno locks you out of cloud sync forever. Postman locks you into it. Requestly is the one API client that gives you local with Git, real-time team sync, and self-hosted deployment.
No login · No cloud lock-in · No AI training on your data
Trusted by 300,000+ developers
Bruno takes privacy seriously. So do we at any team size.
Bruno's model is Git-first: your files, your repo, your existing access controls cascade down. That works beautifully until the people who need API access don't live in your Git workflow.
What Bruno gets right
Privacy by default. Git as the source of truth.
- Plain-text Bru collections you can diff and version
- Open source, no telemetry, no account required
- Genuinely lightweight desktop client
- No cloud sync — ever, by explicit policy
- No mock servers, weak documentation, no monitoring
- "Use Git" excludes PMs, QA, and non-Git teammates
What Postman gets right
Real-time team sync. Mocks, docs, monitors built in.
- Real-time cloud workspaces, easy for non-developers
- Mature ecosystem of public collections and integrations
- Built-in mock servers, API docs, and monitors
- Forced cloud account, no true offline mode
- Free plan capped at three seats
- No self-hosted deployment for regulated teams
Requestly gives you everything in both columns above, without the tradeoffs in either. Local with Git for the privacy-first crowd, real-time cloud sync for non-Git teammates, self-hosted deployment when InfoSec asks. One tool, one flat price.
Three tools, side by side
The tradeoffs, in plain sight.
Bruno, Postman, and Requestly each pick different defaults. Here’s how those defaults play out across the questions teams actually evaluate on.
01 · Developer productivity
Day-to-day, who lets you ship faster?
How are collections stored?
Bruno
Plain-text Bru files on your filesystem. Diff-friendly, version-controllable, readable in any text editor.
Postman
Proprietary JSON in a cloud workspace. Version control is manual, controlled by whoever administers the workspace.
Requestly
Plain JSON files locally, like Bruno. Or sync them to a Team Project when you need real-time collaboration. Per workspace, your call.
Do I need an account to use it?
Bruno
No. There’s no concept of an account, ever. The app is local-first by policy: "no plans to add cloud-sync, ever."
Postman
Yes. Sign-in is required for almost everything beyond a basic scratch pad. As of March 2026, the free plan is one user only.
Requestly
Optional. Local Projects work without an account. You only sign in if you want cloud sync or Team Projects.
What does the free plan give your team?
Bruno
Free and open source for individuals. Pro features (advanced collaboration tools) require a subscription.
Postman
One user only since March 2026. Any team of two or more pays for the Team plan ($19 per user, per month).
Requestly
10 collaborators, 3 Team Projects, environments, and Git-based collab. All free, no credit card.
02 · Security & compliance
When InfoSec asks, what’s the answer?
Where does my data live?
Bruno
Entirely on your local filesystem. Requests, responses, variables, tokens. All of it stays on your machine.
Postman
In Postman’s cloud, by default. Local Vault is available for secrets, but the workspace itself syncs to their servers.
Requestly
Your call. Local on your machine, on Requestly’s managed cloud, or on your own self-hosted servers.
Can I deploy this on my own infrastructure?
Bruno
Not applicable. Bruno’s offline-only model means there’s nothing to host. Useful for individuals, hard for centralized control.
Postman
Not available. The platform is cloud-only with no self-hosted option. For regulated industries, that’s where evaluations stop.
Requestly
Yes, Deploy the entire platform on your own servers. Air-gapped environments supported.
What does SSO and governance cost?
Bruno
Not applicable for SSO. There’s no centralized identity model. Permissions cascade from your Git provider, which is elegant but limited.
Postman
SSO, SAML, audit logs, and policy controls are gated to the Enterprise tier ($49 per user, per month, annual only).
Requestly
SSO, SAML, audit logs, and policy controls are gated to the Enterprise tier.
03 · Team & collaboration
When the team grows, what breaks?
How do teams collaborate?
Bruno
Through Git. Pull requests, merges, branches, the same workflow as code. Works perfectly for developers. Harder for PMs, designers, or QA who don’t live in Git.
Postman
Through cloud workspaces with real-time sync. Works for everyone, including non-technical roles. The price escalates with seats.
Requestly
Both. Git for the developers who want it, real-time Team Projects for everyone else. Same source of truth, different access modes.
What does scaling the team actually cost?
Bruno
Free for the open-source core. Subscription Pro for advanced team features. Pricing model has shifted twice in the last year.
Postman
Free (1 user), Solo $9, Team $19, Enterprise $49 per user per month. SSO requires Enterprise.
Requestly
Free (10 users) or Pro at flat $12 per user, per month. Everything included, no tier ladder.
Simple, predictable pricing
Start free. Upgrade only when you need Pro features. No hidden add-ons, no per-feature paywalls.
Free
For individuals and small teams getting started.
Download freeIncluded
- Unlimited local projects & collections
- Git-based collaboration
- 3 Team Projects, 10 collaborators
- Scripting & environments
- Import from Postman, OpenAPI
Pro
Scale, compliance, and priority support for growing teams.
Contact salesEverything in Free, plus
- Unlimited projects & collaborators
- AI-powered API testing
- Test reports & AWS Secrets Manager
- SOC 2 report
- Priority support
Bruno's privacy. Postman's power. No compromise
No login · No cloud lock-in · No AI training on your data