Hoppscotch
Insomnia
| Feature | Hoppscotch | Insomnia |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $7/mo | Free / from $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, open-source-teams, api-testing, lightweight-alternative | developers, api-designers, small-teams, individual-developers |
| Founded | 2019 | 2015 |
| Rest Client | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graphql Client | ✓ | ✗ |
| Websocket Testing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collections | ✓ | ✗ |
| Environments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Team Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api Client | ✗ | ✓ |
| Graphql Explorer | ✗ | ✓ |
| Environment Variables | ✗ | ✓ |
| Git Sync | ✗ | ✓ |
| Plugins | ✗ | ✓ |
| Design Specs | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automated Testing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Hoppscotch Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Lightweight and fast (browser-based, no download)
- Supports REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, SSE, Socket.IO
- Team collaboration with shared collections
✗ Hoppscotch Cons
- Fewer features than Postman for enterprise use
- Limited mock server capabilities
- Desktop app less mature than web version
✓ Insomnia Pros
- Beautiful and intuitive desktop application
- Git-based sync for version control of API specs
- Plugin system for extending functionality
- Supports REST, GraphQL, gRPC protocols
✗ Insomnia Cons
- Kong acquisition changed direction (cloud-focused)
- Free tier became more limited over time
- Fewer integrations than Postman
The Verdict
Hoppscotch is built for developers and open source teams, with a focus on rest-client and graphql-client. Insomnia targets developers and api designers and leads with api-client and graphql-explorer.
Pricing is close: Insomnia starts at $5/mo versus $7/mo for Hoppscotch — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Hoppscotch has a slight overall edge — but if beautiful and intuitive desktop application matters most to you, Insomnia may still be the right call.