Postman restricted its free tier to 1 user in March 2026. Here's how Insomnia, Bruno, Hoppscotch, and Thunder Client stack up — open-source Git-native, free unlimited teams, web-based self-hostable, or VS Code lightweight.
Bruno if Git-native file-based collections matter (free, AGPL, offline-first). Insomnia if you need free unlimited team collaboration after Postman's cutback (Kong-owned, cloud free for teams). Hoppscotch if web-based + open-source self-host fits ($6/user Org or free OSS). Thunder Client if you live in VS Code and want lightweight ($3/mo Pro). Postman still wins on ecosystem and AI features if $19/user Team fits.
One row per dimension, the values side-by-side. The olive dot marks the clear winner for that dimension when there is one — most rows are a wash, and that’s the point.
The incumbent. Free tier restricted to 1 user in March 2026; teams now need Solo ($9) or Team ($19/user). Largest API ecosystem — Public API Network, AI features, deep integrations.
Kong-owned API client positioned as Postman's free-tier-friendly alternative. Free unlimited team collaboration on cloud. Enterprise $45/user for governance + RBAC.
Open-source Git-native API client. Collections stored as plain text (Bru markup) in your filesystem. Free + Pro $6 + Ultimate $11 per user. Offline-only by design.
Open-source web-based API client. Free unlimited usage; Organization plan $6/user for admin dashboard + dedicated support. Self-hostable via Docker.
Lightweight API client as a VS Code extension. Free for 30 collection runs (non-commercial). Pro $3/mo or $49/year individual; Business $7/user.
Three receipts, three scales. The line items are the same; the prices move. Every number is from the public May 2026 pricing page — we round to the nearest dollar but don’t invent.
Common pitfalls visible in public docs and community discussion. None of these will stop you shipping; all of them will cost you an afternoon if you don’t know about them.
As of March 1, 2026, Postman's free plan supports only 1 user. Any team of 2+ people must move to the paid Team plan ($19/user) or migrate to an alternative. The old Basic and Professional plans are no longer available for new customers. For teams previously on free Postman with multiple users, this is the trigger event for migration.
Insomnia 7 was fully open-source standalone. After Kong's 2022 acquisition, Insomnia 8.0+ requires a free account to use. The 2026 free tier is generous (unlimited users, cloud sync) but the account-required model is a real shift from the original open-source approach. Some teams continue using Insomnia 7 archived builds; this works but means no updates or new features.
Bruno deliberately doesn't offer cloud sync. Your collections live in files on your disk, and team collaboration happens through Git (push to a repo, others pull). This is a feature for Git-native teams and a friction point for teams expecting Postman-style cloud workspaces. If you don't want to use Git for API collections, Bruno isn't the fit.
Hoppscotch's integration set covers the basics (Postman import, OpenAPI import, GraphQL, REST, WebSocket, MQTT) but is smaller than Postman's mature ecosystem. For teams using niche tooling (specific API gateways, observability platforms, vendor-specific testing tools), check Hoppscotch's integration list before switching.
Thunder Client transitioned from completely-free to paid in 2024. The free tier exists but is restricted to 30 collection runs and non-commercial use only. For any real work usage, the Pro tier ($3/mo or $49/yr individual) is required. Some teams felt blindsided by this transition; the value at $49/yr is still good for individual VS Code-bound devs.
Insomnia, Bruno, and Hoppscotch all have Postman collection importers. They handle the bulk of the work — environments, requests, headers, authentication — but Postman-specific features (Pre-request Scripts in JavaScript, custom test scripts, dynamic variables) don't always translate cleanly. Plan to review imported collections and fix edge cases. For very Postman-script-heavy collections, full migration may take a few days.
Editorial framing only — we have not migrated either way ourselves. What follows is the pattern visible in public post-mortems, GitHub issue threads, and conference talks. Take it as observed-pattern, not lived experience.
The most common migration after Postman's March 2026 free-tier cutback. Insomnia has the most polished Postman importer in this set — handles collections, environments, authentication, and most scripts. Plan 1-2 weeks to migrate a non-trivial workspace, including team-onboarding to the new UI.
The mental shift is small because Insomnia's UX is similar to Postman. The biggest adjustment is Kong's account requirement (since 2022). For teams wanting genuinely Postman-equivalent workflows without per-user fees, Insomnia is the path.
Migration for teams ready to embrace Git-native API collections. Bruno has a Postman collection importer that converts to Bru markup files. Plan 2-4 weeks — the migration is mostly cultural (training the team to treat API collections as code, reviewable in PRs).
The big workflow shift: instead of `Send Request` in a cloud-synced workspace, devs run `bru run` in their terminal or commit collection files for code review. For teams already deep in Git workflows (PRs, code review, branch-based development), this feels natural. For teams used to cloud-synced collections, the adjustment is real.
Migration for solo devs or small teams who live in VS Code and want simpler API testing. Thunder Client has a Postman importer that handles standard collections.
Plan 3-5 days for a solo migration. Limitations to know: Thunder Client lacks a robust CLI for CI/CD, has fewer integrations than Postman, and pricing was raised in 2024 ($49/yr individual). For VS Code-first developers with simple API testing needs, this is a friction-free migration; for teams needing collaboration, Insomnia or Bruno are better fits.