Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

HTTPie VS Insomnia REST

Compare HTTPie VS Insomnia REST and see what are their differences

HTTPie logo HTTPie

CLI HTTP that will make you smile. JSON support, syntax highlighting, wget-like downloads, extensions, and more.

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.
  • HTTPie Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28
  • Insomnia REST Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05

HTTPie features and specs

  • User-Friendly Syntax
    HTTPie offers a simplified and intuitive syntax for making HTTP requests compared to tools like curl. This makes it easier to use, especially for beginners.
  • JSON Support
    HTTPie automatically handles JSON data, making it simple to send and receive JSON payloads. It formats JSON responses in a readable way.
  • Cross-Platform
    HTTPie can be used on multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring broad compatibility.
  • Plugin Support
    HTTPie supports extensions and plugins that can extend its functionality, offering users the ability to customize their experience.
  • Automatic Headers
    Certain headers are automatically generated by HTTPie, reducing the need to manually specify common headers like Content-Type.
  • Color-coded Output
    The tool offers color-coded and formatted output, making it easier to read and debug HTTP responses.

Possible disadvantages of HTTPie

  • Performance
    HTTPie's performance may be slower compared to more stripped-down tools like curl due to its additional features and user-friendly design.
  • Dependency on Python
    HTTPie is a Python-based tool, requiring users to have Python installed. This may add complexity for users who do not already have a Python environment set up.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic usage is straightforward, getting the most out of HTTPie's advanced features may require additional learning.
  • Not Pre-Installed
    Unlike curl, HTTPie is not pre-installed on most Unix-based systems, requiring an extra step for installation.
  • Limited Raw Socket Options
    HTTPie lacks some low-level networking capabilities and raw socket options available in other tools, limiting its functionality for some advanced use cases.

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.

HTTPie videos

Testing REST APIs con HTTPie y Postman

More videos:

  • Review - Testing REST APIs con HTTPie y Postman - Parte 3

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 HTTPie and Insomnia REST)
CLI
100 100%
0% 0
API Tools
13 13%
87% 87
Developer Tools
13 13%
87% 87
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 HTTPie and Insomnia REST

HTTPie Reviews

Top 10 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools (2023)
Aside from that, since HTTPie has a simple syntax, it can be used for testing, sending requests, and most specifically, debugging. Its combability goes with the three major OS, Windows, macOS, and Linux, and majorly for web and desktop. When it comes to API testing, many developers hope for it because it is open-source with enhanced UI, best for anything HTTP.
12 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools
The ultimate aim of HTTPie is to make CLI interaction with web services user interface friendly. This tool provides an HTTP command for sending requests, all with the use of a natural syntax.
Source: geekflare.com
Best Postman Alternatives: Fastest API Testing Tools
You can easily use its interactive features for easy testing, debugging, and various other interactions with HTTP servers. If we talk about the price, HTTPie is completely free to use.
5 Open Source API / REST Development Tools – Postman Alternatives
HTTPie—aitch-tee-tee-pie—is a command line HTTP client with an intuitive UI, JSON support, syntax highlighting, wget-like downloads, plugins, and more. HTTPie is a CLI, cURL-like tool for humans. HTTPie consists of a single http command designed for painless debugging and interaction with HTTP servers, RESTful APIs, and web services:

Insomnia REST Reviews

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 HTTPie. It has been mentiond 128 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.

HTTPie mentions (51)

  • How to connect and query multiple databases with a single REST API
    Let's see how querying the table employee from our DB2 looks like after we inserted the record previously. Instead of curl, let's use httpie:. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: What's the Best Postman Alternative?
    I've been using HTTPie[1] for over a year and it's been great. Super light and does the job really well. [1]: https://httpie.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • cURL vs Postman
    HTTPie: This command-line tool is designed to be user-friendly compared to cURL. It provides a more readable output format and supports JSON natively, making it easier for developers to work with APIs directly from the terminal. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Automating DNS with Confidence: Terraform + DNScontrol
    Use curl or https://httpie.io/ to validate the DNS entries. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • No-Code REST API for Databases adds Table Joins
    Notice in the above http POST syntax using HTTPie test client that we specified our first table using /db/review/_expand which says that we want the review table expanded with data from the film table. We further also added some expand (join) conditions table, fields, type prior to the http POST in a JSON Array payload. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
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Insomnia REST mentions (128)

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What are some alternatives?

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

cURL - cURL is a computer software project providing a library and command-line tool for transferring data...

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Hoppscotch - Open source API development ecosystem

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

soapUI - SoapUI Pro is one of the most prominent API testing platforms around, allowing developers to quickly prototype the functions of their apps and get them to market with little hassle.

jq - jq is like sed for JSON data - you can use it to slice and filter and map and transform structured...