Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

httpbin(1) VS Insomnia REST

Compare httpbin(1) VS Insomnia REST and see what are their differences

httpbin(1) logo httpbin(1)

HTTP request and response service

Insomnia REST logo Insomnia REST

Design, debug, test, and mock APIs locally, on Git, or cloud. Build better APIs collaboratively for the most popular protocols with a dev‑friendly UI, built-in automation, and an extensible plugin ecosystem.
  • httpbin(1) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-05
  • Insomnia REST Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05

httpbin(1) features and specs

  • Simple Testing
    httpbin provides a straightforward way to test HTTP requests, allowing developers to send requests and see responses without setting up a server.
  • Variety of Endpoints
    It offers a variety of endpoints like /get, /post, /put, /delete, and more, which are useful for testing different types of HTTP methods.
  • Request Inspection
    The service allows users to inspect various parts of the HTTP request, including headers, data, and status codes, which is invaluable for debugging.
  • Free and Open Source
    httpbin is free to use and is open-source, which makes it accessible for all developers and allows for community contributions.
  • Ease of Use
    With a clean, minimalistic interface, it is easy for developers to understand and start utilizing immediately without a steep learning curve.

Possible disadvantages of httpbin(1)

  • Not for Production Use
    httpbin is designed for testing and demonstration purposes only and is not suitable for live production environments as it lacks security features.
  • Limited to HTTP
    The service is limited to HTTP protocol testing and does not support more advanced use cases or protocols beyond simple HTTP methods.
  • Public Environment
    Since httpbin is publicly accessible, it’s not suitable for testing private or sensitive data, as requests might be logged or visible to others.
  • Potential Rate Limiting
    As a public service, there may be rate limiting or performance bottlenecks during peak usage times, which could affect testing workflows.
  • Lack of Customization
    Users cannot customize the httpbin endpoints to fit specialized use cases or requirements due to its general-purpose design.

Insomnia REST features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Insomnia REST features a clean and intuitive user interface that makes it easy to create, send, and manage API requests without a steep learning curve.
  • Support for Multiple Protocols
    In addition to REST, Insomnia supports GraphQL and gRPC, making it versatile for developers working with different API protocols.
  • Environment Management
    Insomnia allows you to create and manage multiple environments, making it easier to switch between staging, development, and production settings.
  • Custom Plugins and Themes
    Insomnia supports custom plugins and themes, allowing users to extend its functionality and personalize the interface to suit their workflow.
  • Collaboration Features
    With Insomnia Teams, users can collaborate and share API requests, environments, and other resources, enhancing team productivity.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Insomnia is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility for users on different operating systems.

Possible disadvantages of Insomnia REST

  • Resource Heavy
    Some users have reported that Insomnia can be resource-intensive, leading to potential performance issues on lower-end machines.
  • Limited Free Features
    While Insomnia offers a free tier, some of the more advanced features, such as team collaboration and sync capabilities, require a paid subscription.
  • Steeper Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    Although the basic functionalities are user-friendly, mastering the more advanced features might require a steeper learning curve.
  • Dependency on Electron
    Since Insomnia is built on Electron, it might consume more memory and disk space compared to native applications.
  • Complex Plugin System
    While the plugin system is powerful, it can be complex and challenging for users who are not familiar with JavaScript and Node.js.

httpbin(1) videos

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Insomnia REST videos

3 Reasons to use Insomnia REST Client in your Exploratory API Testing

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Insomnia REST Client Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to httpbin(1) and Insomnia REST)
Developer Tools
15 15%
85% 85
API Tools
5 5%
95% 95
Proxy
100 100%
0% 0
APIs
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare httpbin(1) and Insomnia REST

httpbin(1) Reviews

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Insomnia REST Reviews

Top 20 Open Source & Cloud Free Postman Alternatives (2024 Updated)
Product Introduction: Insomnia is a powerful open-source API client designed for simplicity and efficiency and works great as a postman alternative. It supports REST, GraphQL, and gRPC, making it versatile for various API types.
Source: medium.com
Best Postman Alternatives To Consider in 2025
It is a free, open-source platform that boasts a user-friendly interface and robust features like environment and collection management, code snippets, and test automation. Compared to Postman, Insomnia offers a lighter footprint and a more customizable workspace.
Postman Alternatives for API Testing and Monitoring
Insomnia is a user-friendly tool for API development and testing. Insomnia allows creating and sending HTTP and REST requests, like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and more. Users can view API responses, including status codes, headers, and body. This enables understanding how the application handles different response scenarios, for efficient debugging.
Top 10 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools (2023)
Insomnia REST is the best alternative for Postman. It has more than 350 open-source plugins, plus GraphQL built-in with multiple protocol support. Since GraphQL is an added value, you can fully automate the entire lifecycle of APIs, build and debug them efficiently and with ease.
15 Best Postman Alternatives for Automated API Testing [2022 Updated]
Insomnia by Kong enables you to deliver high-quality APIs through collaboration. This postman alternative also includes testing suites, which allow you to create functional tests and centralize APIs. With this platform’s streamlined API client, sending GraphQL, REST, and SOAP requests are simple. Defining variables such as authentication credentials allows you to manage...
Source: testsigma.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Insomnia REST should be more popular than httpbin(1). It has been mentiond 129 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

httpbin(1) mentions (59)

  • WebAssembly on Kubernetes
    The use case should be more advanced than Hello World to highlight the capabilities of WebAssembly. I've implemented an HTTP server mimicking a single endpoint of the excellent httpbin API testing utility. The code itself is not essential as the post is not about Rust, but in case you're interested, you can find it on GitHub. I add a field to the response to explicitly return the underlying approach, respectively... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Using cURL Inside a Docker Container
    For example, If we want to test sending HTTP requests, we can use the service httpbin. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Create your K3S lab on Google Cloud
    Create a Dockerfile for your app, we will use the HttpBin API which allows to test all the request we can make to a Rest API :. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Host a Reverse Proxy in Seconds
    Curl --request POST -d '{"message":"hello"}' \ Https://matts-org-a0696.blackbird-relay.a8r.io/proxy/post { "args": {}, "data": "{\"message\":\"hello\"}", "files": {}, "form": {}, "headers": { "Accept": "*/*", "Content-Length": "19", "Content-Type": "application/json", "Host": "httpbin.org", "User-Agent": "curl/8.6.0" }, "json": { "message": "hello" }, "url":... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Metrics Can Fool You: Measuring Execution Time in Connection-Pooled Environments
    To simulate delays in the external service, we will use the httpbin Docker image. Httpbin provides an easy-to-use HTTP request and response service, which we can use to create artificial delays in our requests. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
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Insomnia REST mentions (129)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing httpbin(1) and Insomnia REST, you can also consider the following products

HTTPDump - A simple, beautiful Webhook debugging tool.

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Endpoints - View and respond to requests on an HTTP endpoint

Hoppscotch - Open source API development ecosystem

Proxy Manager for Google Chrome - Oxy Proxy Extension for Google Chrome: add and switch between multiple proxies, simple, one-click connection, works with any proxy provider of your choice.

RapidAPI for Mac - Paw is a REST client for Mac.