Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VS Code VS Postman

Compare VS Code VS Postman and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Postman logo Postman

The Collaboration Platform for API Development
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • Postman Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-23

Postman

$ Details
Platforms
Windows Mac OSX Linux
Startup details
Country
India

VS Code features and specs

  • Cross-platform
    VS Code works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent development experience across different operating systems.
  • Extensibility
    A vast library of extensions allows users to add functionalities like debuggers, linters, and themes, making it highly customizable.
  • Integrated Git
    Built-in Git integration makes it easy to manage version control tasks directly within the editor.
  • Performance
    Lightweight compared to full-fledged IDEs, ensuring good performance even on systems with limited resources.
  • IntelliSense
    Advanced code completion and refactoring tools help improve coding efficiency and reduce errors.
  • Community Support
    A strong and active community provides extensive support, tutorials, and third-party extensions.
  • Debugging
    Robust debugging tools for various languages and frameworks are available out of the box.
  • Free and Open-Source
    VS Code is completely free to use and open-source, which is beneficial for both individual developers and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of VS Code

  • Limited IDE Features
    While extensible, it may lack some advanced features found in dedicated IDEs out of the box.
  • Extension Management
    Managing and configuring a large number of extensions can become cumbersome and sometimes lead to performance issues.
  • Learning Curve
    Although user-friendly, it has a steeper learning curve for beginners due to its numerous features and customization options.
  • Memory Usage
    Despite being lightweight, it can consume a significant amount of memory when multiple extensions are installed.
  • Update Frequency
    Frequent updates may sometimes introduce bugs or require users to adapt to new changes quickly.
  • Internet Dependency
    Some features and extensions may require an internet connection to function optimally.
  • Telemetry
    By default, VS Code collects usage data, which might be a concern for users sensitive about data privacy. However, this can be disabled.

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.

Analysis of VS Code

Overall verdict

  • Yes, VS Code is generally considered a good choice for developers due to its flexibility, efficiency, and strong community support. It is lightweight, fast, and user-friendly, catering to both novice and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • VS Code, developed by Microsoft, is a widely popular and versatile code editor. It offers a robust extension ecosystem, which allows developers to customize their workflow and coding environment extensively. Additionally, VS Code supports numerous programming languages right out of the box and provides features like IntelliSense, debugging, Git integration, and a built-in terminal, making it a powerful tool for developers.

Recommended for

  • Web developers looking for a comprehensive yet lightweight coding environment.
  • Software developers who need an editor with extensive language support and customization options.
  • Beginner programmers who would benefit from a feature-rich editor that can grow with their skills.
  • Developers interested in an open-source tool with continuous updates and community-driven enhancements.

Analysis of Postman

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Postman is widely regarded as a good tool for API development and testing. Its combination of powerful features and ease of use makes it a popular choice among developers.

Why this product is good

  • Postman is considered a top choice for API development due to its user-friendly interface, extensive features for testing, automation, and collaboration, and strong community support. It simplifies the process of creating, managing, and testing APIs, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers.

Recommended for

  • Developers working on API integration
  • QA engineers involved in testing APIs
  • Teams in need of collaborative API development
  • Developers looking to automate API testing
  • Individuals looking for a comprehensive API testing tool

VS Code videos

My New Favorite Text Editor - Visual Studio Code

More videos:

  • Review - 7 reasons why I switched to Visual Studio Code from Sublime Text

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and Postman)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
API Tools
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
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 VS Code and Postman

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    ยท Working at SpeechKit ยท

Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Visual Studio Code, commonly known as VS Code, is a powerful and extensible code editor developed by Microsoft. With its rich ecosystem of extensions and features like IntelliSense, debugging, and Git integration, VS Code enhances your coding productivity.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
Finally, the Visual Studio Code website has numerous tabs for you to learn about the software. The documentation page walks you through steps like the setup and working with different languages. Youโ€™re also able to check out some tips and tricks and learn all of the Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts. Along with a blog, updates page, extensions library and API...
Source: kinsta.com
Jupyter Notebook & 10 Alternatives: Data Notebook Review [2023]
Previously, VS Code was more suited to developers or engineers due to its lack of data analysis capabilities, but since 2020, the VS Code team has collaborated with the Jupyter team to create an integrated notebook within VS Code. The end result is a fantastic IDE workbook for data analysis.
Source: lakefs.io
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Overview: Although not a traditional IDE, VS Code has gained popularity as a lightweight code editor.
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Visual studio code is a code editor made by Microsoft. It supports several development operations like debugging, task running, and version control. It works on Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems.
Source: linuxopsys.com

Postman Reviews

Postman vs Apidog: Choosing the Suitable API Development Tool
Forking Existing Collections: One of Postmanโ€™s unique strengths is the ability to fork collections created by others. Developers can easily duplicate publicly available Postman collections, modifying them to fit their particular needs without starting from scratch. This feature saves time and encourages collaboration by allowing developers to build upon existing work.
Source: dev.to
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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be a lot more popular than Postman. While we know about 1215 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 30 mentions of Postman. 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.

VS Code mentions (1215)

  • History of JavaScript: Browser wars, ECMAScript, Node.js, TypeScript, and React
    Visual Studio Code, a code editor created by Microsoft, was first introduced on April 29, 2015, at the Build conference. - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • How to Get Your First Tool Online
    The step up from there is an editor with a built-in agent like Cursor, Google Antigravity, Windsurf, or VS Code with a coding extension. These are code editors with an AI agent living inside them, and the difference is the responsible party for getting things from place to place. Instead of the software creator shuttling code between windows, the AI agent edits the project files directly and runs the GitHub and... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Agentic Engineering: What Does AI Coding Really Cost?
    For IDE-heavy teams, BYOK (bring your own key) can be interesting, no matter whether you live in WebStorm or VS Code. On the JetBrains side, the JetBrains AI plans and Junie BYOK docs allow it, and most VS Code AI extensions offer the same idea: keep the IDE, connect provider keys, pay the provider. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Best Markdown Editors for Developers
    Option 1: Raw editing in IDE. You open the .md file in VS Code or whatever you use. Syntax highlighting shows you the structure. Maybe you toggle a preview pane. This works for quick edits but becomes painful for anything involving tables, diagrams, or complex formatting. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Document Generation for Developers: Security, Compliance, and Build-vs-Buy Decisions for the Template-Plus-Data Pipeline
    You'll need Python 3.8+ and pip for the quickstart, with venv recommended for isolation. Install the requests library for HTTP calls. VS Code with the Python extension works well as an editor, though PyCharm or Sublime Text work equally well. You'll also need a free Foxit developer account. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
View more

Postman mentions (30)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and Postman, you can also consider the following products

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Insomnia REST - Design, debug, test, and mock APIs locally, on Git, or cloud. Build better APIs collaboratively for the most popular protocols with a devโ€‘friendly UI, built-in automation, and an extensible plugin ecosystem.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

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.

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

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