Postman vs Insomnia

Pick Postman for the biggest ecosystem, AI built into the app and an MCP server for your agents. Pick Insomnia if you want your work in a local vault or in Git, an open source client, and a cheaper paid plan.

Choose Postman if

You want AI credits and Agent Mode inside the app.
Your agents need an MCP server to reach your workspace.
You want hosted mocks and monitoring on the free plan.

Choose Insomnia if

You want collections in a Local Vault on your computer.
You want an open source client under Apache 2.0.
You want to test MCP servers you are building.

Postman Team, 10 people$2,280a year
Insomnia Pro, 10 people$1,440a year

Where they differ

Price

For a team of 10, a year of Postman Team costs $2,280 and Insomnia Pro $1,440, so Insomnia Pro saves $840.

Postman: Free for one user¹
Solo $9 a month, Team $19 a user a month, billed annually¹
Insomnia: Essentials is free; Git Sync for up to three users²
Pro $12, Enterprise $45 a user a month²

Where your work lives

Postman keeps work on your computer only in some setups, while Insomnia keeps your work on your computer.

Postman: Workspaces live in Postman Cloud; the lightweight client keeps its own work locally³
Partly: the lightweight API Client sends requests signed out; collections and environments need an account³
Insomnia: Yes, in a Local Vault⁴
Only in the local Scratch Pad; the rest needs an account⁴

AI coding agents

Postman has an MCP server for coding agents, while Insomnia has no official MCP server.

Postman: Yes, the Postman MCP Server¹
Insomnia: No; Insomnia 12 is an MCP client for testing servers⁶

Side by side

	Postman	Insomnia
Free plan	Free for one user¹	Essentials is free; Git Sync for up to three users²
Paid plans	Solo $9 a month, Team $19 a user a month, billed annually¹	Pro $12, Enterprise $45 a user a month²
Use it without an account	Partly: the lightweight API Client sends requests signed out; collections and environments need an account³	Only in the local Scratch Pad; the rest needs an account⁴
Collections kept on your computer	Workspaces live in Postman Cloud; the lightweight client keeps its own work locally³	Yes, in a Local Vault⁴
Collections as files in Git	Yes, with Native Git in the desktop app, synced to Postman Cloud⁵	Yes, with Git Sync⁴
MCP server for coding agents	Yes, the Postman MCP Server¹	No; Insomnia 12 is an MCP client for testing servers⁶
CLI for CI	Yes, the Postman CLI¹	Yes, the Inso CLI⁴

Every fact comes from each app's own pages, checked on 20 Oct 2026. The numbers link to the sources at the end.

What each does better

Where Postman is stronger

Postman's plans include AI credits and an Agent Mode that automates API workflows inside the app.¹
Its free plan includes mock servers and 1,000 monitoring requests a month.¹

Where Insomnia is stronger

Insomnia is open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.⁴
Insomnia 12 can connect to an MCP server and call its tools, for testing servers you build.⁶

Or skip both: Porticol

Porticol keeps your work on your computer and has an MCP server for coding agents, and opened its first window in 0.24 s in our benchmark. Free for one seat.

Download free Porticol vs Postman

Questions

Do Postman and Insomnia keep collections on your computer?

Postman: Workspaces live in Postman Cloud; the lightweight client keeps its own work locally. Insomnia: Yes, in a Local Vault.

Do Postman and Insomnia have an MCP server for AI agents?

Postman: Yes, the Postman MCP Server. Insomnia: No; Insomnia 12 is an MCP client for testing servers.

How much do Postman and Insomnia cost?

Postman: Free for one user; Solo $9 a month, Team $19 a user a month, billed annually. Insomnia: Essentials is free; Git Sync for up to three users; Pro $12, Enterprise $45 a user a month. For a team of 10, a year of Postman Team costs $2,280 and Insomnia Pro $1,440, so Insomnia Pro saves $840.

Is there an alternative to both Postman and Insomnia?

Yes, Porticol. Porticol keeps your work on your computer and has an MCP server for coding agents, and opened its first window in 0.24 s in our benchmark. Free for one seat.