Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Insomnia REST VS Shorten.REST

Compare Insomnia REST VS Shorten.REST and see what are their differences

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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.

Shorten.REST logo Shorten.REST

A URL shortener API you can depend on
  • Insomnia REST Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05
  • Shorten.REST Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-19

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.

Shorten.REST features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Shorten.REST provides a straightforward and user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for users to shorten URLs quickly without any technical complexities.
  • API Access
    It offers a robust API that developers can integrate into their applications to automate URL shortening, making it a versatile tool for tech-savvy users.
  • Analytics
    Shorten.REST provides analytics on the shortened links, allowing users to track performance metrics such as the number of clicks and geographic distribution.
  • Customizable Short Links
    Users can customize the shortened URLs to make them more descriptive or memorable, enhancing branding and link management.

Possible disadvantages of Shorten.REST

  • Limited Free Features
    The free version of Shorten.REST may have limitations on the number of URLs you can shorten or the features you can access, which can be restrictive for heavier users.
  • Dependence on Service Availability
    Users are dependent on Shorten.REST's uptime and service reliability; any downtime can impact access to and tracking of shortened URLs.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As with other URL shortening services, there may be privacy concerns regarding the data collected through link tracking and analytics.
  • Potential for Malicious Links
    Shortened URLs can mask the original URL, making it easier for malicious links to be disguised; users need to be cautious when clicking on shortened URLs.

Analysis of Insomnia REST

Overall verdict

  • Insomnia REST is an excellent choice for developers who need a robust and intuitive tool for API development and testing. Its comprehensive features and ease of use make it a competitive option alongside other popular API clients.

Why this product is good

  • Insomnia REST is widely regarded as a powerful tool due to its user-friendly interface, extensive plugin ecosystem, and support for multiple authentication protocols. It allows users to easily build, debug, and test RESTful APIs with features like environment variables, code generation, and response validation. Moreover, its compatibility with GraphQL and gRPC makes it versatile for modern development needs.

Recommended for

  • API Developers
  • Software Testers
  • Backend Engineers
  • Technical Leads
  • Anyone involved in RESTful API development and testing

Analysis of Shorten.REST

Overall verdict

  • Shorten.REST is a good choice for developers and businesses seeking a reliable and feature-rich URL shortening service. Its API-first approach makes it particularly well-suited for integration into existing applications and systems, providing flexibility and automation capabilities.

Why this product is good

  • Shorten.REST is a URL shortening service that provides an easy-to-use API for developers to integrate into their applications. It offers robust features such as link tracking, custom aliases, and detailed analytics, making it a useful tool for businesses looking to manage and analyze their link traffic effectively.

Recommended for

    Shorten.REST is recommended for developers who need a comprehensive URL shortening service for their applications, as well as businesses looking to gain insights into link performance and optimize their marketing and engagement strategies.

Insomnia REST videos

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

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Insomnia REST Client Tutorial

Shorten.REST videos

Shorten.REST Chrome Extension

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Insomnia REST and Shorten.REST)
API Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Link Management
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
URL Shortener
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 Insomnia REST and Shorten.REST

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

Shorten.REST Reviews

We have no reviews of Shorten.REST yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Insomnia REST seems to be more popular. 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.

Insomnia REST mentions (129)

View more

Shorten.REST mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Shorten.REST yet. Tracking of Shorten.REST recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Insomnia REST and Shorten.REST, you can also consider the following products

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

PixelMe - URL shortener for savvy marketers

Hoppscotch - Open source API development ecosystem

Pixela - Record and Track your habits or effort. All by API.

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

chl.li URL shortener - A simple, modern, free and privacy-friendly URL shortener.