Postman or Insomnia? You shouldn't have to choose.
Postman locks you into cloud-only with escalating per-seat pricing. Insomnia gives you flexible storage but ties you to Kong’s cloud. Requestly 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
Postman has the ecosystem. Insomnia has the flexibility. We have both plus self-hosting.
Postman has the biggest ecosystem. Insomnia has the most flexible storage. Neither lets you self-host or store collections as local files with Git.
What Postman gets right
The biggest ecosystem. Real-time team sync. Everything built in.
- Real-time cloud workspaces, easy for non-developers
- Mature ecosystem of public collections and integrations
- Built-in mock servers, API docs, monitors, and collection runner
- Account required for almost everything - free plan is single-user only since March 2026
- Pricing escalates fast: Team $19, Enterprise $49 per user per month
What Insomnia gets right
Flexible storage. GraphQL-first. Design and mocking built in.
- Local Vault, Git Sync, and Cloud Sync - you pick per project
- Best-in-class GraphQL with schema introspection and autocomplete
- Built-in mock servers, OpenAPI design editor, and Inso CLI for CI/CD
- Account required for anything beyond a scratch pad
- Git Sync capped at 3 users on the free plan
- No self-hosted deployment - Kong's cloud or nothing
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.
Postman, Insomnia, 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?
Postman
Proprietary JSON in a cloud workspace. Version history is built in but controlled by whoever administers the workspace. No plain files on disk.
Insomnia
Three options: Local Vault for fully offline storage, Git Sync through any third-party Git repo, or Cloud Sync with optional end-to-end encryption. You choose per project.
Requestly
Plain JSON files locally. 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?
Postman
Yes. Sign-in is required for almost everything beyond a basic scratch pad. Since March 2026, the free plan is single-user only.
Insomnia
Only for the scratch pad. An account is required to access most capabilities — projects, collaboration, Git Sync, mock servers, and the CLI.
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?
Postman
Single-user only since March 2026. Any team of two or more pays for the Team plan ($19/user/month). Unlimited collection runs and mock server usage on all plans.
Insomnia
Unlimited cloud and local projects for all users, but Git Sync is limited to 3 users. 1,000 mock server requests per month. Unlimited collection runs.
Requestly
10 collaborators, 3 Team Projects, environments, and Git-based collab. All free, no credit card.
How strong is GraphQL support?
Postman
Supported. You can send GraphQL queries, use variables, and import schemas. But there’s no native schema introspection or intelligent autocomplete in the editor.
Insomnia
Best in class. Native schema introspection, query autocomplete, and a dedicated GraphQL interface. If your stack is GraphQL-heavy, Insomnia is genuinely excellent here.
Requestly
Full GraphQL support with schema-aware autocomplete and introspection. Comparable to Insomnia, with the added flexibility of local or cloud storage.
02 · Security & compliance
When InfoSec asks, what’s the answer?
Where does my data live?
Postman
In Postman’s cloud, by default. Local Vault is available for secrets, but the workspace itself syncs to their servers. No way to keep everything local.
Insomnia
Depends on the storage backend you choose. Local Vault keeps everything on your machine. Git Sync stores it in your repo. Cloud Sync puts it on Kong’s servers, optionally with E2EE.
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?
Postman
Not available. The platform is cloud-only with no self-hosted option. For regulated industries, that’s where evaluations stop.
Insomnia
Not available. The platform is tied to Kong’s cloud. There is no self-hosted option. For air-gapped or regulated environments, 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?
Postman
SSO is available as a Team plan add-on, or included with Enterprise ($49/user/month). SCIM, domain capture, and audit logs require Enterprise.
Insomnia
SSO (SAML/OIDC), SCIM, domain capture, and enterprise storage controls are gated to the Enterprise tier ($45/user/month).
Requestly
SSO, SAML, audit logs, and policy controls are available on the Enterprise tier.
03 · Team & collaboration
When the team grows, what breaks?
How do teams collaborate?
Postman
Through cloud workspaces with real-time sync. Works for everyone, including non-technical roles. The price escalates linearly with every seat added.
Insomnia
Through cloud workspaces with real-time sync, or Git Sync for developer-centric teams. Git Sync beyond 3 users requires the Pro plan.
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?
Postman
Free (1 user), Solo $9, Team $19, Enterprise $49 per user per month. SSO as a Team add-on or included with Enterprise.
Insomnia
Essentials (free, Git Sync for 3), Pro $12, Enterprise $45 per user per month. SSO and storage controls require 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
Postman's ecosystem. Insomnia's flexibility. No lock-in
No login · No cloud lock-in · No AI training on your data