Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Postman VS Apache APISIX

Compare Postman VS Apache APISIX and see what are their differences

Postman logo Postman

The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Apache APISIX logo Apache APISIX

Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real-time, high-performance Cloud-Native API gateway, based on the Nginx library and etcd.
  • Postman Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-23
  • Apache APISIX Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-27

Postman features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Postman features an intuitive and user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of constructing API requests and visualizing responses. This makes it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Collaboration
    Postman offers robust collaboration features, such as shared workspaces, collections, and real-time editing, enabling teams to work together more efficiently on API development.
  • Comprehensive Testing Tools
    Postman provides a suite of testing tools to create, automate, and manage test cases. It supports automated testing through its scripting environments, which ensure APIs perform as expected.
  • Extensive API Documentation
    Postman can automatically generate comprehensive API documentation, making it easier to maintain and share API specifications with stakeholders and other developers.
  • Mock Servers
    Postman allows users to create mock servers to simulate API responses. This is particularly useful for testing and development purposes when the actual API is not yet available.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Postman offers integrations with various CI/CD tools, version control systems, and other services like Jenkins, GitHub, and Slack, facilitating seamless integration into development workflows.

Possible disadvantages of Postman

  • Resource Intensive
    Postman can sometimes be resource-intensive, consuming substantial memory and CPU, which can impact the performance of your system, especially when dealing with large collections.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While Postman is generally user-friendly, some of its advanced features, like scripting and automation, can have a steep learning curve and might require additional effort to master.
  • Pricing
    Although Postman offers a free tier, many of its advanced features, such as enhanced collaboration tools and extended integrations, are locked behind paid plans, which may not be cost-effective for smaller teams or individual developers.
  • Dependency on Internet
    Some of Postman's features, particularly those related to collaboration and synchronization, require a stable internet connection, which can be a limitation in environments with poor connectivity.
  • Limited Native Support for Certain Protocols
    Postman primarily focuses on HTTP/HTTPS protocols and may offer limited or no native support for other protocols, which can be restricting for developers working with diverse sets of technologies.

Apache APISIX features and specs

  • High Performance
    Apache APISIX is built on top of Nginx and designed to handle thousands of requests per second. This makes it suitable for high-performance applications and services requiring efficient request processing.
  • Dynamic Configuration
    APISIX allows for dynamic load balancing, routing, and plugin configuration without the need to restart or reload the service, offering robust flexibility and reducing downtime.
  • Extensive Plugin Ecosystem
    APISIX offers a wide range of plugins to extend its functionalities, covering authentication, security, traffic control, and more, allowing for customization and scalability.
  • Open Source and Community-driven
    Being an Apache project, APISIX is open-source and actively maintained by a community of contributors, ensuring continuous improvement and support.
  • Multi-language Support
    APISIX supports multi-language plugins such as Java, Go, and Python, thereby allowing developers to write plugins in the language they are most comfortable with.

Possible disadvantages of Apache APISIX

  • Complexity of Setup
    Setting up Apache APISIX can be complex for new users, requiring familiarity with Nginx and understanding its configuration model, which might involve a steep learning curve.
  • Documentation Gaps
    While the project is actively improved, some users might experience gaps or inconsistencies in the documentation, posing challenges during setup and customization.
  • Limited Enterprise Support
    Compared to some commercial API management solutions, APISIX might lack dedicated enterprise-level support, which could be a concern for organizations requiring rapid troubleshooting and expert assistance.
  • Evolving Features
    As a relatively new project, some features and components may still be evolving, which means users may encounter changes that require adaptation and adjustments over time.

Postman videos

POST/CON 2018 workshop in review: Running Postman Collections

More videos:

  • Review - POST/CON 2018 workshop in review: Postman Collections
  • Tutorial - How to Share Postman Collections

Apache APISIX videos

Getting started with Apache APISIX Dashboard

More videos:

  • Review - Getting started with Apache APISIX
  • Review - APIs security with Apache APISIX

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Postman and Apache APISIX)
API Tools
95 95%
5% 5
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100
APIs
97 97%
3% 3
Developer Tools
96 96%
4% 4

User comments

Share your experience with using Postman and Apache APISIX. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Postman and Apache APISIX

Postman Reviews

Top 20 Open Source & Cloud Free Postman Alternatives (2024 Updated)
As the digital landscape evolves, the significance of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) has surged, facilitating seamless communication between various software applications. Postman has been a leading tool in this space, offering a comprehensive platform for API development, testing, and documentation. However, recent shifts in its pricing model and user experience...
Source: medium.com
Best Postman Alternatives To Consider in 2025
- Focus on specific needs: Does the tool excel at SOAP APIs or cater to microservices? - Resource usage: Does it handle complex projects without impacting system performance? - Script reusability: Does it allow for efficient code sharing across projects?3. Is Postman the best API tool?Not all-encompassing. While Postman is powerful, the "best" tool depends on your specific...
Postman Alternatives for API Testing and Monitoring
Some engineers turn to Postman for API testing and monitoring needs. However, Postman is a costly and limited solution. QA, DevOps and other engineers may find it lacks capabilities that can answer their needs. In this blog post, we provide 12 Postman alternatives built for the enterprise.
Beeceptor vs Postman
You cannot download request log. Although, you can use Postman APIs to query and retrieve.
Source: beeceptor.com
Top 15 MuleSoft Competitors and Alternatives
Postman is an API platform with the world’s largest public API hub that helps developers design, build, test, and iterate APIs. In 2022, Postman served over 20 million developers and 500,000 organizations.

Apache APISIX Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache APISIX yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache APISIX should be more popular than Postman. It has been mentiond 71 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.

Postman mentions (30)

  • Best API Mocking Platforms in 2024
    Postman (postman.com) is a comprehensive API platform that goes beyond mocking, offering a full suite for API development, testing, and monitoring. With its mock server feature, Postman enables teams to simulate responses for various endpoints, making it a popular choice for end-to-end API management. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • 10 Best API Mocking Tools (2024 Review)
    Postman is a widely used tool for API testing and interaction. Its "Mock Servers" feature lets you create a mock version of your API, returning specific responses for testing. While useful, Postman may lack advanced mock server management features compared to other tools. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • The 3 Best Tools for API Design for Software Architects
    Postman is a widely adopted tool for API design and development, offering an intuitive interface for creating, testing, and documenting APIs. It simplifies the API design process, allowing architects to quickly prototype and refine their designs. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • How to use ApyHub to Build a Serverless Function in NodeJs?
    Once deployed, thoroughly test your serverless function to confirm it behaves as expected. Invoke the function manually from the cloud platform’s console or use tools like Postman, Apidog, or Fusion ( Fusion is ApyHub’s own API Client ) to test HTTP-triggered functions. Ensure the function executes correctly and handles errors gracefully. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Mastering Microservices: A Hands-On Tutorial with Node.js, RabbitMQ, Nginx, and Docker
    To test the API endpoints, you can use Postman. Download and install Postman from Postman's official website. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

Apache APISIX mentions (71)

  • Announcing Integration between Apache APISIX and open-appsec WAF
    Apache APISIX is a modern, flexible, and high-performance open-source API gateway solution designed to handle various use cases in microservices and cloud-native architectures. Its primary purpose is to facilitate API management by serving as a gateway for managing, securing, and optimizing API traffic between clients and backend services. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • open-source API gateway solutions and their managed offerings.
    Kong and APISIX, two popular open-source #APIGateway solutions. #kong looks versatile Unified Gateway but how it fares against #APISIX backed by a similar enterprise API7 offering. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Free tier API with Apache APISIX
    Lots of service providers offer a free tier of their service. The idea is to let you kick their service's tires freely. If you need to go above the free tier at any point, you'll likely stay on the service and pay. In this day and age, most services are online and accessible via an API. Today, we will implement a free tier with Apache APISIX. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • OpenResty on NixOS for an API Gateway
    We have been using Apache APISIX for a while now. It is a high-performance, cloud-native API gateway solution. It also has a nice dashboard for managing APIs. However, I have been looking for a simpler and more portable solution for our use case. In particular, I want to be able manage the API gateway as a NixOS service so that the configuration can be tested and redeployed easily. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Advanced URL rewriting with Apache APISIX
    I spoke at Swiss PgDay in Switzerland in late June. The talk was about how to create a no-code API with the famous PostgreSQL database, the related PostgREST, and Apache APISIX, of course. I already wrote about the idea in a previous post. However, I wanted to improve it, if only slightly. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Postman and Apache APISIX, you can also consider the following products

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.

Prometheus - An open-source systems monitoring and alerting toolkit.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform - Anypoint Platform is a unified, highly productive, hybrid integration platform that creates an application network of apps, data and devices with API-led connectivity.

API7 cloud - API management platform for hybrid and multi-cloud

DreamFactory - DreamFactory is an API management platform used to generate, secure, document, and extend APIs.

etcd - A distributed, reliable key-value store for the most critical data of a distributed system