You don't need expensive tools to develop and test APIs professionally. There are excellent free API development tools that provide comprehensive testing, documentation, and collaboration features without any cost.
🎯 Top 5 Free API Tools
1. Bruno - Best Open Source
Price: 100% Free (Open Source)
Best For: Privacy-focused offline-first development
2. Postman Free - Best Feature-Rich
Price: Free tier (up to 3 users)
Best For: Comprehensive API development
3. Hoppscotch - Best Web-Based
Price: 100% Free
Best For: Quick testing without installation
📊 Complete Free API Tools List
1. Bruno (Fully Free, Open Source)
Offline-first API client with Git-friendly storage and no cloud requirements.
- Completely free forever
- No account required
- Collections stored as plain text
- Native Git integration
- REST and GraphQL support
2. Postman Free Tier
Industry-standard tool with generous free tier.
- Up to 3 users free
- Unlimited personal workspaces
- Full REST/GraphQL testing
- Basic documentation
- 1,000 API monitoring requests/month
3. Insomnia Free
Clean interface with excellent GraphQL support.
- Unlimited individual use
- REST and GraphQL
- Code generation
- Plugin system
4. Hoppscotch (Open Source Web)
Fast, lightweight web-based API testing.
- Completely free
- No installation needed
- PWA support
- Real-time collaboration
5. Thunder Client (VS Code Extension)
Lightweight API client built into VS Code.
- Free tier available
- Integrated in VS Code
- Lightweight and fast
- Basic testing features
⚡ Building Your Free API Toolkit
Complete Free Stack
- Bruno - Main API testing tool (free, privacy-focused)
- Swagger/OpenAPI - API documentation (free, open source)
- Newman - CLI testing (free, Postman's CLI)
- Mockoon - Mock API servers (free, open source)
- Ngrok - Webhooks testing (free tier)
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Is Postman completely free?
Postman has a generous free tier for up to 3 users with most core features. Paid plans ($14+/month) add team collaboration and higher limits.
What's the best completely free API tool?
Bruno is 100% free and open source with no limitations. Hoppscotch is also completely free for web-based testing.
Can I use free API tools professionally?
Absolutely. Bruno, Postman Free, and Insomnia Free are used by professional developers daily. They offer 90%+ of paid tool capabilities.
🎁 Final Recommendations
Best Completely Free: Bruno
Open source, offline-first, no limitations, Git-friendly. Perfect for privacy-conscious developers.
Best Feature-Rich Free: Postman Free
Most comprehensive free tier with excellent documentation and community support.
Best Web-Based Free: Hoppscotch
No installation, works anywhere, completely free. Great for quick testing and collaboration.
Our Recommendation:
Use Bruno as your primary tool for privacy and Git integration. Keep Postman Free for its ecosystem and documentation features. Add Hoppscotch for quick web-based testing. This combination covers all API development needs at zero cost.