Postman Free Plan 2026: What the 1-User Limit Means for Small Teams

TL;DR

Postman cut its free tier to a single user in early 2026. Any team sharing a workspace must now move to a paid plan or lose collaborative access. If your small team used Postman’s free tier for shared API collections, you can either pay per seat or migrate to a tool with free team collaboration.

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What changed in Postman’s free tier

Postman’s 2026 Q1 pricing update reduced the free plan to 1 user.

That means the free tier no longer works for teams that need shared workspaces or collaborative collections.

Current free plan limits include:

• 1 user only
• 3 collections per workspace
• No shared team workspaces
• 1,000 mock server calls per month
• No Collection Runner access
• No API monitoring
• Limited version history: 30 days

Previously, small teams could use Postman’s free tier to share API collections and collaborate in a workspace. Those collaboration features are now behind a paid plan.

Who this affects

The new 1-user free limit mostly impacts teams that were using Postman as a lightweight shared API workspace.

Early-stage startups

A 2-3 person engineering team that used Postman to organize API contracts now has to either:

• pay for each user, or
• migrate to another API workspace

Open-source projects

Projects that shared Postman collections with contributors can no longer rely on a free shared workspace.

Bootcamps and educators

Courses that used Postman for API testing labs now need a paid plan or an alternative workflow. Postman offers educational discounts, but they require application and approval.

Freelancers working with clients

If you used a shared Postman workspace for client handoff, you now need to either pay for access or export the collection as a static file.

Postman upgrade cost

Postman Basic costs:

• $19/user/month when billed monthly
• $14/user/month when billed annually

Here is the cost breakdown:

Team size	Monthly billing	Annual billing
2 users	$38/month	$336/year
3 users	$57/month	$504/year
5 users	$95/month	$840/year
10 users	$190/month	$1,680/year

The Professional plan adds features like audit logs, SSO, and custom domains, and costs $29/user/month. Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales.

For teams that were previously paying $0 for basic collaborative API testing, this is a significant increase.

What Apidog offers on the free tier

Apidog’s free plan supports up to 3 users in a shared workspace with no seat fees.

The free tier includes:

• Shared team workspace
• API collaboration
• Unlimited API requests
• Built-in API design with OpenAPI/Swagger support
• API testing with environment variables
• Smart mock server
• API documentation generation
• Import from Postman, Insomnia, OpenAPI, HAR, and cURL
• Offline mode with local-first data storage

For teams of 2-3 people, this covers the core workflow Postman moved out of its free tier: shared API development and testing.

If your team grows beyond 3 users, Apidog paid plans start at $9/user/month.

Migration checklist: Postman to Apidog

Use this process to move your Postman workspace into Apidog.

1. Export your Postman collection

In Postman:

1. Open the collection.
2. Click the three-dot menu.
3. Select Export.
4. Choose Collection v2.1.
5. Download the JSON file.

2. Import the collection into Apidog

In Apidog:

1. Open your project.
2. Click Import.
3. Select Postman as the source.
4. Upload the exported JSON file.
5. Review the imported requests, folders, variables, and scripts.

3. Export and import environments separately

Postman environments are exported separately from collections.

In Postman:

1. Open the Environments panel.
2. Select an environment.
3. Export it as JSON.

Then in Apidog:

1. Open your project environment settings.
2. Import the environment JSON.
3. Verify variable names and values.

4. Review scripts after import

Postman Collection v2.1 exports include:

• request URLs
• headers
• query parameters
• request bodies
• pre-request scripts
• test scripts

However, some scripts may use Postman-specific pm.* APIs. After import, review complex scripts and adjust them if needed.

Example Postman test script:

pm.test("Status code is 200", function () {
  pm.response.to.have.status(200);
});

If your collection uses many custom pm.* calls, test each request after importing and update incompatible logic.

5. Invite your team

After the project is imported:

1. Open the Apidog workspace.
2. Invite team members.
3. Assign access as needed.
4. Confirm your free workspace has no more than 3 total users.

The free plan supports up to 3 users total, not 3 users per role.

Practical migration workflow

For a small team, a safe migration looks like this:

1. Export all Postman collections.
2. Export all Postman environments.
3. Import collections into Apidog.
4. Import environments.
5. Run the most important API requests manually.
6. Review scripts that use pm.*.
7. Invite teammates.
8. Keep the Postman export files as a backup until the team confirms the new workspace works.

This avoids switching the whole team before validating your API requests and environments.

FAQ

Can I still use Postman for free as a solo developer?

Yes. The free tier still supports 1 user with 3 collections and basic request sending. If you work alone and do not need team collaboration, you can continue using Postman’s free plan.

Does Apidog’s free plan have a time limit?

No. Apidog’s free tier is not a trial. The 3-user free workspace is available indefinitely and does not require a credit card.

What happens to my existing Postman team workspace if I do not upgrade?

Postman has communicated that teams with more than 1 user will lose collaborative workspace access and be downgraded to individual free accounts. Collections are not deleted, but shared access is revoked.

Are Postman collection exports complete?

Collection v2.1 exports include request bodies, headers, parameters, pre-request scripts, and test scripts.

Environments must be exported separately.

You may need to review JavaScript test scripts because some Postman-specific pm.* API calls may need adjustment in other tools.

Is Apidog’s import one-click?

Mostly. The import handles collection structure, requests, and environments well. Complex pre-request scripts written for Postman’s sandbox may need manual review because Postman’s JavaScript API differs from Apidog’s.

Does Apidog have a desktop app?

Yes. Apidog has a desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux, plus a web version. The desktop app stores data locally by default, with optional cloud sync.

Bottom line

Postman’s 1-user free plan limit is a meaningful change for teams that depended on shared workspaces. If you are a solo developer, Postman’s free plan may still be enough. If you are a team of 2-3 people, you now need to decide whether to pay per seat or migrate.

For small teams that need shared API design, testing, mocks, and documentation, Apidog’s free tier provides a practical alternative without requiring a credit card or paid seats.