Written by the Apidog team. Apidog is on this list. Every free-plan limit below was checked on the vendor's pricing page on September 8, 2026, because "free" means seven different things across these tools.
Postman Free changed in March 2026. It is now one user who cannot create a team workspace, and Solo at $9 a month is still one user. The good news in the same change: collection runs and mock servers are unlimited on Free, so a single developer loses nothing. The problem starts at two people, where the next step is Team at $19 per user per month.
If you searched for a free Postman alternative, you are almost certainly a small team hitting that wall. This page lists what each free tier includes, in enough detail to know whether it covers you.
Free plans compared
| Tool | Users on the free plan | Runs | Mocks | Team collaboration | What is paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postman Free | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited | None (Team $19/user/month) | Team workspaces, more monitoring, more AI credits |
| Apidog Free | 4 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Real-time co-editing, branches | Teams above 4: Basic $9/user/month, every seat billed |
| Bruno | Unlimited (MIT) | Unlimited in the app | Local only | Through Git | Pro $6: in-app Git, runner, codegen |
| Hoppscotch Free | Unlimited stated | Unlimited runners | New | Team workspaces | Organization $6: admin dashboard, support |
| Insomnia Essentials | Git Sync for 3 | Unlimited | 1,000 requests/month | Cloud or Git projects | Pro $12: unlimited users on Git Sync |
| Yaak | Personal use only | Unlimited | Local | None | $79/year for commercial use |
| Thunder Client Free | 1 | Metered | None | None | Starter $3: Git storage, protocols, CLI, 250 runs |
| HTTPie CLI | Unlimited (BSD-3) | Scripted | None | None | Desktop app |
1. Apidog: free for a team of four
Apidog's free plan is the only one on this page that covers a small team outright: up to four users, unlimited test and collection runs, unlimited mock calls, real-time co-editing of the same spec, sprint branches, published docs, and SQL database steps in tests, with no time limit and no credit card. Teams larger than four move to Basic at $9 per user per month on annual billing, with every member billed.
Key advantages over Postman Free:
- Team collaboration included
- Spec-first design where mocks, schema assertions, and docs update from one schema
Migration tip: Imported Postman collections keep their pm.* scripts. Guide: how to migrate from Postman to Apidog.
2. Bruno: free forever, files in Git
Bruno's client is MIT-licensed and complete for free:
- Collections as
.brufiles in your repository - Offline workflow
- No account required
Collaboration: Works with your Git workflow (great for developers, not for product managers).
Pro upgrade ($6): Adds in-app Git integration and unlimited collection runner.
Limitations: No hosted mock, no docs site, no live co-editing. See Bruno limitations.
3. Hoppscotch: free and uncapped in the browser
Hoppscotch's free plan includes:
- No caps on workspaces, collections, requests, or runners
- Runs in browser tabs
- Team workspaces included
Organization plan ($6/user): Adds admin dashboard and support. MIT-licensed and self-hostable.
Limitations:
- Localhost requires desktop app or extension
- Light docs publishing
- No scenario tests with database steps
Compare with: Postman vs Hoppscotch.
4. Insomnia Essentials: free for three on Git Sync
Features:
- Unlimited local and cloud projects
- Git Sync for up to three users
- 1,000 mock requests/month
- Supports REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, and SSE (Apache 2.0 licensed)
Pro upgrade ($12/user): Needed for fourth Git Sync user and unmetered mocks.
See comparison: Postman vs Insomnia.
5. Yaak: free for personal use
Key points:
- MIT-licensed
- Local-first (never syncs your data)
- Free for personal use
- Commercial license: $79/year or $399 once
Limitation: "Personal" excludes work use (no team features anyway).
Learn more: What is Yaak.
6. Thunder Client: free inside VS Code
Free tier includes:
- HTTP requests in VS Code
- Local collections and environments
Starter plan ($3/user): Adds Git-tracked storage, WebSocket/SSE/gRPC support, scripting, CLI, and 250 collection runs/month.
Limitation: Most team and protocol features require payment.
See: Thunder Client paywall.
7. HTTPie CLI: free in the terminal
Features:
- BSD-licensed CLI
- JSON by default
- Sessions and plugins
- Pairs with GUI tools for scripting/CI
Limitation: No collections, mocks, docs, or testing features.
Staying on Postman Free
If you're solo, Postman Free now includes unlimited runs and mocks - staying might make sense. Workarounds for sharing without a Team plan:
- Exporting collections
- Using shared Git repo
- Maintaining one shared account
See: How to use Postman for free. These break when multiple people need simultaneous editing.
Choosing Your Free Plan
- Solo developer: Postman Free, Bruno, or Hoppscotch
- 2-4 person team: Apidog Free (full shared workspace) or Hoppscotch (collections only)
- Git-first developers (2-3): Bruno or Insomnia with Git Sync
- 5+ teams: Compare per-seat pricing in best Postman alternative for teams
FAQ
Q: Is there a Postman alternative free for teams?
A: Apidog (up to 4 users) or Hoppscotch (teams but no mocks/docs-from-spec).
Q: Does Postman Free limit collection runs?
A: No. Since March 2026, runs and mock servers are unlimited on all Postman plans. The limit is one user.
Q: Best open-source alternative?
A: Bruno (Git-first) or Hoppscotch (zero-install). Full list in open-source Postman alternatives.
Q: Can I import Postman collections?
A: Yes. All listed tools import Postman JSON, with Apidog maintaining pm.* scripts.
For complete comparisons:
Top comments (0)