Postman is a popular tool for API development, testing, and managing APIs for QA professionals. However, Postman is a comprehensive tool with complex design, which may not fit teams with more specific needs. In this article, we have listed out 15 best Postman alternatives, their strong features, and pricing plan for you to consider before switching.
Katalon provides an all-in-one testing solution for any type of test project. It supports web, mobile, API, and desktop application testing. For API testing in particular, Katalon supports you throughout the entire API testing lifecycle, from test planning, test creation, to test execution and test reporting for many types of API requests on multiple environments.
For example, after creating a test project in Katalon Studio, you can click on “Add Web Service Keyword” to generate test steps, which are “Send Request” and Verify Element Property Value" here, then simply drag-and-drop objects from the Object Repository on the left sidebar to define what those test steps include. Instead of writing code, you have constructed a full API test from scratch in seconds.
The tool is constantly adding in test integration features and improving over time, allowing users to scale up testing projects with confidence. Beside that, it also has a scripting mode for experienced testers, reducing the time it takes for API test creation. It is the perfect Postman alternative for teams of all scale and expertise.
Here's a quick demo of how Katalon works:
Pricing: Katalon offers a Free Forever version to get you started immediately with codeless API, web, mobile app, desktop app test creation and cross-browser test execution. There is also a 30-day free trial for you to experience the full capabilities of Katalon.
Bruno emerges as a fast and innovative open-source API client aimed at challenging the norms set by established tools like Postman and Insomnia.
What sets Bruno apart is its unique approach of storing API collections directly on your local filesystem, using a plain text markup language called Bru for managing API requests. This approach not only simplifies storage and version control but also enhances accessibility and transparency in managing API documentation and tests.
Unlike cloud-based tools, Bruno operates offline-only, ensuring maximum data privacy by keeping all collections securely on the user's device. This commitment to data security is a key feature for users who prioritize privacy and control over their API testing environments.
Pricing:Open-source
Website: UseBruno
Git:Bruno
HTTPie is a command-line interface (CLI) HTTP client that allows users to send requests to web servers and APIs using a simple and intuitive syntax. It is similar to the popular tool cURL but offers a more user-friendly and intuitive experience. More than just API testing, HTTPie can be used for API debugging, web page scraping, and interacting with RESTful services.
Pricing: Open-source
Website: HTTPie
Git: HTTPie
cURL is a command-line tool for transferring data with URLs. It supports various protocols and is widely used for fetching or sending data to servers via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more.
Pricing: Free
Website: cURL
Git: cURL
Swagger is another powerful alternative to Postman with well-organized API documentation features. Swagger comes with smart error feedback and syntax auto-completion within API Editor, enhancing the API design experience. As developers design the API, Swagger will highlight any inconsistencies in the design compared with established standards. A library of reusable components can be built and shared across multiple APIs, reducing the amount of code to be written compared to Postman.
The Swagger Petstore is a sample API provided by Swagger/OpenAPI to showcase their capabilities. It is a RESTful API that manages pet data, allowing operations like creating, reading, updating, and deleting pets using HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE.
Pricing: Swagger offers flexible pricing from Free for Individual user to $95 annually for Team plan (3 users)
Website: Swagger
Git: Swagger
Hopscotch is an open-source API development and testing tool that can be used as a Postman alternative. It has a user-friendly interface to test and debug APIs. It is available as a web app, desktop app, browser extension, and can be used on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Hoppscotch supports REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and other protocols.
Pricing: Free
Website: Hoppscotch
Website: Hoppscotch
JMeter was an open-source performance testing tool primarily used to test web apps, APIs, and other network protocols (FTP, SMTP, etc). Most notably, it provides a wide range of functionalities tailored for API testing, such as HTTP requests, parsing responses, and asserting response data.
To test APIs using JMeter, you need to set up a Test Plan in JMeter. This involves adding a Thread Group, which determines the number of virtual users and how they are distributed over time, and an HTTP Request, which specifies the details of the API request such as the server, path, method, parameters, and headers. Optional assertions can be added to validate the response.
Once the Test Plan is configured, you can run the test and monitor the results using JMeter's listeners. By adding multiple Thread Groups and HTTP Requests, you can create more complex test scenarios. Remember to save your Test Plan and ensure that you have the necessary dependencies and plugins for your API protocols and authentication mechanisms.
Pricing: JMeter is open-source and free.
Website: Apache JMeter
Git: Apache JMeter
SoapUI is an API testing tool for both SOAP and REST testing. It covers the creation and execution of automated functional, regression, compliance, and load tests on Web API. Apart from functional testing features, SoapUI also offers security and load testing features. Users can leverage SoapUI’s easy scripting features: drag and drop or point and click.
With a simple and easy-to-use interface, testing with SoapUI is not too much of a challenge for users without a technical background. Testers and businesses can choose to work with the open-source or the paid version depending on their needs.
In comparison with Postman, SoapUI provides a wider range of features for API testing needs, such as SOAP testing, API discovery, automated assertion creation, templated data insertion, and open-source standards. Postman also lacks load testing and security testing capabilities that are available when testing with SoapUI.
Pricing: SoapUI is a free open-source tool
Website: SoapUI
TestSigma is an interesting Postman alternative. It requires no coding and no setup to get started. TestSigma gives a high level of customization to API call sequences, matching the application workflow. API dataset can be stored as “parameters”, which can be populated across many tests, so testers don’t have to modify test scripts every time they run.
Test Sigma also offers different comparison modes that allow developers to choose the level of rigidity (Strict, Lenient, Non-extensible, Strict Order, etc.) for their requirements and validate API responses with varying degrees of comparison.
Pricing: TestSigma offers three packages: community, cloud, and enterprise. Community is open-source and free to use, while cloud and enterprise packages are paid.
Website: TestSigma
ReadyAPI is a comprehensive API testing tool developed by SmartBear that allows testers and developers to perform functional, performance, and security testing of APIs. It provides a user-friendly interface for designing, testing, and generating reports on API tests. ReadyAPI is designed to support both RESTful and SOAP APIs and can be used to test APIs developed in various programming languages.
Pricing: ReadyAPI for API Testing is available from $895/license, billed annually. The API Performance Module starts at $7308/license and API Virtualization Model at $1374/license.
Website: ReadyAPI
Assertible is a cloud-based testing and monitoring tool designed to help developers and QA teams automate API testing and monitoring. The tool provides a range of features that help teams ensure their APIs are functional, secure, and reliable.
As a Postman alternative, Assertible offers advanced test automation features, including support for JSON Schema validation, parameterized testing, and assertion chaining for wider test coverage.
Pricing: Assertible offers a free plan with basic features, and its paid plans start at $50/month.
Website: Assertible
Git: Assertible
Paw is a macOS native application for API testing and development. It allows users to easily make HTTP requests, create and share API documentation, and mock APIs. Paw supports a wide range of HTTP protocols and authentication methods, as well as allowing users to write custom scripts and plugins to extend its functionality.
Paw promotes teamwork. It allows developers, testers, and other stakeholders to contribute to the API testing activities with real-time updates on the status.
Pricing: There is a Free for Personal and Professional use, then its paid plan starts at $60/month for 6 users
Website: Paw
Karate is an automation testing framework written in Java that supports API automation, API mocking, performance testing, and UI testing. Karate’s syntax is easy to understand for non-programmers or testers who are new to API testing. It generates HTML-based test reports that provide a comprehensive view of test results, including detailed information about test steps, HTTP requests and responses, and assertion failures.
Pricing: Free open-source framework
Website: Karate
Git: Karate
Tricentis Tosca is an enterprise-level software testing tool designed to automate end-to-end functional testing, integration testing, and regression testing of applications.
Tosca offers a model-based approach to testing, which allows users to create and maintain test cases at a higher level of abstraction, using visual representations of the application's business processes.
For API testing specifically, Tricentis offers the Tosca API Scan Module. It allows users to create test cases using simple drag-and-drop actions, making it easy to design complex test scenarios without writing a single line of code. API and UI tests can be combined to create truly automated end-to-end test scenarios spanning across web, mobile, SAP, and more.
Check out Tricentis's features in head-to-head comparison with Katalon Studio:
Pricing: Being an enterprise-level tool, its pricing is only available upon request.
Website: Tricentis
LoadNinja is a cloud-based load testing tool that helps testing web applications by generating virtual user traffic. Testers can simulate user traffic from different geographical locations, browsers, and devices to identify potential bottlenecks and performance issues in the application.
LoadNinja provides a user-friendly web-based interface for creating complex API test scenarios. You can easily generate an authentication request and re-use the token for subsequent requests without having to write any scripts. You can even customize the think time and other parameters to create highly realistic tests.
There is also a machine learning assistant that can detect anomalies automatically. The test results page displays essential statistics such as navigation timings and transactions per second.
Pricing: There is an on-demand plan. The Subscription-based plan starts at $105/month billed annually.
Website: LoadNinja
Apigee is an excellent Postman alternative. It is Google Cloud’s native API management tool to build, manage, and secure APIs across a wide range of environments, use cases, and scale.
Apigee Edge Platform is the core component of Apigee, providing a range of tools and services for managing the entire lifecycle of an API. There is also a set of policies and access controls to secure the API, a traffic management system to control and optimize API traffic, and a set of analytics and monitoring tools to track API usage, performance, and other key metrics.
Another key component of Apigee is the Developer Portal, which enables organizations to publish and manage their APIs, providing documentation, SDKs, and other resources to help developers easily discover and use the APIs.
Pricing: You must contact Apigee for a quote, but they do offer a free trial.
Website: Apigee
Git: Apigee
When selecting the right alternative to Postman, there are a few factors to consider.
Most importantly, it is about understanding the strong and weak points of Postman, then compare them with your tool of consideration.
Postman works on all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Individual developers can use Postman’s free version for their basic and simple requirements, and businesses can look for more in their commercial versions. Now identified as a collaboration platform for API development, the tool aims to simplify building an API and streamline team collaboration to make APIs creation better and faster.
Although Postman has proven its capabilities in providing a holistic experience for developers to perform testing with their web services, it still falls short in several criteria. Most significantly, Postman is ideal for manual testing needs while the world is turning its focus more toward continuous testing tools.
Here’s a closer look at Postman’s limitations for automated testing demands:
Indeed Postman is a popular tool for API testing and development, but there are many Postman alternatives available that better suit your needs depending on your specific use case. When exploring these options, make sure to weigh their pros and cons to find the best fit for your team and improve your API testing and development workflow.