Insomnia

This Insomnia API client review covers what Insomnia is used for, its key features, Insomnia pricing, how storage and accounts work, how it compares with Postman, and where it falls short. Insomnia is a cross platform, open source desktop application for macOS, Windows and Linux. You send requests, inspect responses, manage environment variables, design OpenAPI specs, run mock servers and automate API testing in one place, which makes it one of the most used API testing tools next to Postman. Kong, the company behind Kong Gateway, maintains it and offers paid support for teams. The code is on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, with around 40,000 stars and version 13.3 released in September 2026 (Kong/insomnia).

What is Insomnia used for?

Insomnia is used for API development, API documentation and API testing, and it supports every step of API development from design to CI. Developers use it to send a GET request or POST request to an endpoint, check the response body, headers and timing, and save the request in a collection for later. QA teams use it to build test suites that run against every environment. API designers use it to write and lint OpenAPI specs before any code exists, and to publish a documentation preview for other teams.

Typical tasks are debugging a REST API during development, testing GraphQL APIs with schema-aware autocomplete, calling gRPC services, and checking WebSocket, Server-Sent Events and Socket.IO connections. Since version 12 it can also test MCP servers: you connect to a Model Context Protocol server, call any tool, prompt or resource, and inspect the protocol messages, much like an API request (Kong: Insomnia 12). Teams on Kong Gateway use it as the design and test step before they publish an API to the gateway.

Key features

• Requests for every protocol: HTTP and REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, SSE and Socket.IO, with authentication helpers, body type presets and response history. For example, a GraphQL request reads the schema and suggests fields as you type.
• Environments: a base environment plus sub environments for local, staging and production. The environment manager keeps sensitive values out of shared files, and native vault integrations on Enterprise pull secrets from AWS, Google Cloud, Azure or HashiCorp.
• API design: an OpenAPI editor with a live documentation preview and linting, including custom linting rules for your own API standards.
• Mock servers: cloud or self-hosted mocks with dynamic responses. AI mock generation builds a mock from a prompt, a URL, a JSON sample or an OpenAPI spec (AI in Insomnia).
• Test automation: pre-request and after-response scripts, request chaining and a collection runner for unlimited runs, so you can build positive and negative tests and repeat them on every change.
• Inso CLI: runs collections and tests, lints specs and exports configuration in CI CD pipelines.
• Code generation: generate code snippets for a request in languages such as cURL, JavaScript and Python, and import or export collections as a JSON file to share with other tools.
• Plugins: extend Insomnia with community or custom plugins, for example to add authentication schemes or response formatters.
• AI features: once you connect an LLM, Insomnia generates mocks and suggests commit messages for Git Sync.

Insomnia pricing

Insomnia has a free tier and two paid plans, priced per user per month and billed annually. The figures below come from the Insomnia pricing page as of September 2026.

• Essentials: $0. Unlimited projects in local and cloud storage, Git Sync projects for up to 3 users, unlimited collection runs, the Inso CLI, plugins, AI features, end-to-end encryption and 1,000 mock server requests a month.
• Pro: $12 per user per month billed annually. Unlimited users on Git Sync, unlimited organizations, role-based access control and 10,000 mock requests a month.
• Enterprise: $45 per user per month billed annually, self-serve up to 50 users. Adds Kong Konnect integration, SSO with SAML or OIDC, SCIM, storage mandates, domain capture, vault integrations, SOC 2 documentation, enterprise support and unlimited mock requests. A 14-day trial is available.

The usage metric beyond seats is mock server requests. Extra mock requests cost $10 per 25,000 on Essentials and Pro.

The cost surprise to check is Git Sync, not the paid plan price. The free version allows it for only three users, so a team that keeps collections in a Git repository needs Pro as soon as a fourth person joins. Security teams that want SSO or to force data to stay local or in Git need Enterprise.

Cloud storage, Git Sync and accounts

Insomnia has three storage options per project (Kong Docs):

• Local Vault: data stays on your device.
• Cloud Sync: data is stored in Kong's cloud with end-to-end encryption, and team members see changes in real time. This is the easiest option for small teams.
• Git Sync: data lives in a Git repository you control, next to your code.

Accounts were the big controversy in Insomnia's history. Version 8.0 in 2023 asked users to log in, and many developers objected. Kong answered with the Scratch Pad: a mode for quick requests with no account and no project setup, stored only locally and usable offline (Kong: Insomnia 8.0). For collaboration features you still need a free account. Enterprise admins can go further and mandate local or Git storage for everyone.

How to use Insomnia for API testing and CI CD

1. Install Insomnia from insomnia.rest. Builds exist for macOS, Windows and every major Linux package format.
2. Open the Scratch Pad for a quick test, or create a project and pick Local Vault, Cloud Sync or Git Sync.
3. Create a request, choose the method, add headers and a body, and click Send.
4. Move repeated values such as the base URL and tokens into environment variables.
5. Add after-response scripts with assertions, then group requests in a collection and run them with the collection runner.
6. Add the Inso CLI to your pipeline to run the same tests on every change.

Teams moving from Postman can import collections and environments in JSON format or as a ZIP export (Kong Docs: migrate from Postman).

Insomnia vs Postman

Postman and Insomnia do the same core job: send requests, organize collections, manage environments and automate tests. Insomnia is lighter, open source under Apache 2.0, and lets you keep data local or in Git. Postman is a broader API platform with a web version, monitors, performance testing, an API catalog and more AI features. Postman's own comparison page lists what Insomnia lacks: a web or browser mode, built-in monitoring and scheduled checks, load testing, SDK generation and org-wide governance dashboards (Postman, written by a competitor). Those points match Insomnia's documentation. Postman's page leaves out that Insomnia's Essentials plan already includes unlimited collection runs and Git Sync for small teams.

Choose Insomnia if you want a fast, open source client with local or Git storage and an easy to use interface; the Insomnia user interface puts requests, environments and responses on one screen. Choose Postman if you need monitors, performance tests and a shared workspace for non-developers.

Where Insomnia shines — and where it falls short

Strengths:

• Open source under Apache 2.0, actively maintained by Kong, with support for API development and API design in one tool.
• One app for REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, SSE and MCP servers.
• Local, Git and cloud storage options, plus a no-account Scratch Pad.
• A generous free tier and the Inso CLI for CI CD.

Trade-offs:

• Desktop only, with no web or browser version of the client.
• No built-in monitoring, scheduled checks or load testing.
• Git Sync for more than three users needs a paid plan.
• A smaller ecosystem, fewer third-party tools and less community support than Postman; Enterprise support is paid.
• AI features are limited to mocks, commit messages and MCP testing.

How Insomnia compares

• Postman Flows: Postman's visual tool for chaining API calls into workflows without code; Postman itself is Insomnia's main competitor.
• Bruno: an open-source, offline-first tool that stores collections as plain files in Git.
• Hoppscotch: an open-source, browser-based alternative.
• SoapUI: a long-standing tool for SOAP and REST testing, with a paid ReadyAPI edition.

Is Insomnia worth it?

Insomnia is worth it for developers and small teams who want a clean, open source tool for REST, GraphQL, gRPC and MCP work, with control over where their data lives. The free tier covers most individual use, and Pro is cheap for teams that sync through Git. It is less of a fit when you need API monitoring, load testing, a browser version or a large shared workspace for non-developers, where Postman or a dedicated testing platform does more. If you need help designing, testing or integrating APIs for a low-code project, the low-code agencies and developers on LowCodeDevs can take it on.

Sources

• Insomnia pricing: plans, prices, Git Sync limits and mock requests.
• Insomnia, Kong Docs: storage options, Inso CLI, mocks and plugins.
• AI in Insomnia, Kong Docs: AI mock generation and commit suggestions.
• Kong Insomnia 12: MCP client support.
• Kong Insomnia 8.0: accounts and the Scratch Pad.
• Migrate from Postman, Kong Docs: importing Postman collections.
• Kong/insomnia on GitHub: license, stars and releases.
• Insomnia vs Postman, Abstracta: a hands-on comparison.
• Test Your REST APIs Using Insomnia, CODE Magazine: a REST and GraphQL walkthrough.
• Postman vs Insomnia, Postman: Postman's comparison (written by a competitor).