Insomnia
Acquired Subsidiary
Open-source API client for developing, testing, and debugging HTTP, gRPC, GraphQL, and MCP interfaces.
Founded
2014Open-source API client for developing, testing, and debugging HTTP, gRPC, GraphQL, and MCP interfaces.
Insomnia is open source and cross-platform, distributed as a native desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux with no login required for the local scratch pad. It supports HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, Server-Sent Events, and MCP protocols in a single client, with Git-based and local-first storage options that appeal to security-conscious teams.
As a Kong product it integrates natively with Kong Konnect for API catalog sync and governance, and it includes AI-assisted testing, a built-in MCP client, and the Inso CLI for CI/CD pipelines. The free tier covers core design and testing workflows, lowering the adoption barrier for individual developers.
Insomnia's third-party plugin and integration ecosystem is smaller than Postman's, which has a larger installed base, more published templates, and broader community content. Teams deeply invested in Postman collections, mock servers, or monitoring may face migration effort when switching.
Following the 2019 Kong acquisition the product went through periods of reduced independent momentum and a 2023 policy change that required account login for cloud sync, which drew community criticism. Enterprise and cloud collaboration features sit behind paid plans, and the desktop-first design means some workflows depend on local resources rather than a fully browser-based experience.
Insomnia uses a freemium model: a free open-source tier covers unlimited projects, the collection runner, MCP clients, and local or Git-based storage without requiring an account for the scratch pad. Paid Individual, Team, and Enterprise plans add cloud sync, collaboration, role-based access, and governance features priced per seat on a recurring subscription.
Enterprise plans add single sign-on through OIDC or SAML, SCIM user lifecycle management, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and Kong support with SLAs. The free tier is intended to drive adoption among individual developers, with monetization concentrated in team collaboration and enterprise security and governance capabilities.