Postman and Insomnia are two of the most popular API development tools. While Postman dominates market share, Insomnia has gained loyal followers with its cleaner interface and superior GraphQL support. Here's our comprehensive comparison to help you choose.
🎯 Quick Comparison
Postman
Starting Price: Free (Paid from $14/user/month)
Best For: Large teams, comprehensive API development
Winner in: Features, collaboration, ecosystem, documentation
Insomnia
Starting Price: Free (Paid from $5/user/month)
Best For: GraphQL APIs, clean interface, budget teams
Winner in: GraphQL, performance, pricing, simplicity
📊 Feature-by-Feature Comparison
REST API Support: Tied
Both tools excel at REST API testing with comprehensive request building, environment variables, and automated testing capabilities.
GraphQL Support: Insomnia Wins
Insomnia was built with GraphQL in mind and it shows:
- Automatic schema introspection
- Query autocomplete and validation
- Better GraphQL debugging
- Cleaner GraphQL explorer interface
Postman supports GraphQL but feels more bolted-on than native.
Collaboration: Postman Wins
Postman offers superior team collaboration:
- Team workspaces with role-based access
- Built-in comments and discussions
- Version history and rollback
- Fork and merge workflows
- Better sharing and publishing
Documentation: Postman Wins
Postman's auto-generated documentation is more polished with better publishing options and customization.
Performance: Insomnia Wins
Insomnia is noticeably faster, especially with large collections. It uses less memory and feels more responsive.
Pricing: Insomnia Wins
Insomnia Team ($5/user/month) costs 65% less than Postman Basic ($14/user/month) while offering similar core features.
💰 Pricing Comparison
Postman Pricing
- Free: 3 users, unlimited personal workspaces
- Basic: $14/user/month
- Professional: $29/user/month
Insomnia Pricing
- Free: Unlimited individual use
- Team: $5/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom
⚡ Which Should You Choose?
Choose Postman If:
- You need comprehensive collaboration features
- Documentation is a priority
- You want the largest ecosystem and community
- API monitoring is important
Choose Insomnia If:
- You work heavily with GraphQL
- You prefer a cleaner, simpler interface
- Budget is a constraint
- Performance matters (large collections)
🎁 Final Verdict
The Winner: It Depends
For Large Teams: Postman's collaboration features justify the higher cost.
For GraphQL Projects: Insomnia is the clear winner.
For Budget Teams: Insomnia offers 80% of Postman's features at 35% of the cost.
Our Recommendation: Try both free tiers. Most developers prefer Insomnia's interface but appreciate Postman's features. For GraphQL-heavy work, choose Insomnia. For comprehensive API development with large teams, choose Postman.