Postman is known as a leading platform for API development, testing and management tool which is widely proffered by security teams and developments teams alike. Its advanced feature set makes it ideal tool for working with API’s across the development cycle. However, its complex interface may not suit every team particularly those who want lightweight, specialized or affordable solutions.

Searching for alternatives to Postman? This blog explores the Top 10 Postman alternatives and the unique features each alternative offers.

Top 10 Postman Alternatives and Competitors

Looking for alternatives to Postman? Here are the Top 10 Postman alternatives and competitors that offer powerful API testing, easy collaboration, and useful features to help you work smarter. Explore these options to find the best tool for your API projects.

Akto.io

Akto API Security is among the best API testing platform specifically designed for modern application and product security teams. Throughout the DevSecOps pipeline it delivers a wide spectrum of API security features including continuous API discovery, sensitive data protection and security posture management powered by AI agents.

Image source: Akto

Features:

• Utilizes AI for secure software development lifecycle by effortlessly integrating API security into CI/CD pipelines.

• AI engine learns normal API behavior and flags anomalies in real time.

• Rapid deployment, API discovery, continuous security monitoring, and an extensive testing library of over 1,000 test cases to ensures proactive identification and remediation of vulnerabilities.

• Supports OAuth 2.0 and JWT

• Custom authentication to maintain reliable and strong security against unauthorized access.

Ideal for:

DevSecOps, engineering teams and enterprises that are looking to integrate security into their CI/CD pipelines such as shift-left practices looking to automate API testing before deployment.

Swagger

Swagger is a unified API lifecycle platform for design to testing. The API hub for test modules easily and integrates testing directly into API development process utilizing API specifications such as Async API or OpenAPI to auto generate and scale test creation, execution and enable team work. It helps DevSec and design teams by providing test automation from spec to deployment.

Image source: Swagger

Features:

• Works effortlessly within API hub ecosystem in single SaaS instance

• Scale tests run parallelly by CI/CD integration for automated validation

• Allows shared visibility into test results for real time feedback across development and security teams.

• Low code or no code testing automation via visual interface

• Automatically derive tests from API specs to minimize error and maintain accuracy.

Ideal for:

Agile, hybrid teams, and DevSec teams that are looking to integrate test creation into API design and delivery.

Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch is a well known open source API development and testing tool. It aims at simplicity and high speed. It provides GraphQL, REST and real-time API testing tools via intuitive web, desktop, and CLI interface.

Image source: Hoppscotch

Features:

• AI powered naming suggestions, and scaffolding for pre requests and test scripts to improve productivity.

• Rich response view in formats like JSON, HTML, XML, images, raw text and test reporting

• Configurable HTTP methods, headers, body, parameters and authorizations

• Manages variables and environments for different setups

• Powerful scripting and assertions for automated validation

Ideal for:

Developers & security teams, teams that prefer open source tools, cloud or desktop early adopters and spec driven workflows.

SoapUI

SoapUI is a reputed open-source API testing tool for testing both SOAP and REST web services, which offers reliable graphical interface and enterprise level features. For teams that need more advanced capabilities such as improved productivity, security, virtualization and automation.

Image source: SoapUI

Features:

• Run automated tests for SOAP, REST, JMS, JDBC and more

• Automated generation of mock web services from API definitions or WSDLs

• Supports Groovy and JavaScript scripting

• Performs built in security scans and turn function test into load test to analyze performance

• Data driven test support via ReadyAPI

Ideal for:

QA engineers and developers, open-source advocates and users who want unified interface for API testing and security.

TestSigma

Testsigma is a AI-powered low-code cloud based test automation platform that allows teams to testing automatically for API via plain English scripts or AI agents. It focuses on simplifying the full testing lifecycle from generation to optimization.

Image source: TestSigma

Features:

• Plain english, no code test authoring as users write tests in natural language or use a built-in recorder.

• Cross browser and cross device parallel testing to ensuring compatibility across platforms

• Integrates easily with 30+ CI/CD pipelines and collaboration tools with detailed dashboards and test reports

• Utilizes AI agents to scale tests with low manual effort

• AI detects UI changes and automatically corrects tests which reduce failures and maintenance workload

Ideal for:

DevSecOps and enterprises that want to integrate security into their CI/CD pipelines, want end-to-end test lifecycle management in one SaaS tool.

Karate Labs.io

Karate is an one of the popular open source unified test automation platform, that merges with API testing, performance testing, API mocking and UI/browser automation into one framework. Karate aims at making teams to write tests much faster and with less code while integrating into CI/CD pipelines deeply.

Image source: Karate labs. io

Features:

1. Use a concise, human-readable DSL based on Cucumber/Gherkin to write API tests without extra code overhead.

2. Supports JSON/XML assertions and low-code schema validations

3. Automatically convert your API tests into performance tests using Gatling integration

4. API mocking & virtualization using the same syntax as tests

5. Run tests in parallel to massively speed up execution for CI/CD pipelines

Ideal for:

Dev and QA teams who are looking for unified, open-source automation framework that blends with API, performance, mocking, and UI tests.

LoadNinja

LoadNinja is a one of the popular cloud-based load testing platform is known for using real browsers rather than simulated traffic. Its browser based “InstaPlay” record-and-replay experience allows teams to build and run realistic UI and API load tests quickly. It is aimed at accurate performance data through end-to-end user simulation, facilitates faster bottleneck detection and integration into CI/CD workflows.

Image source: Loadninja

Features:

• No manual correlation needed, just recording workflows in a real browser to replay them at scale for load testing.

• Adopts load tests into DevOps pipelines via REST APIs etc. for end-to-end test management

• Delivers a protocol-level UI for building API tests, including request chaining and validations, all without external tools like JMeter

• Provides real-time visualizations, browser navigation timings, VU Inspector and more for anomaly detection

• Browser instances to simulate load, capturing true rendering and JavaScript execution.

Ideal for:

Security teams and development teams who are looking for quick setup with no scripting, advanced analytics, and fast load test execution.

Katalon

Katalon is a one of the top test automation platform designed for both technical and non-technical teams. Its API testing capabilities are integrated within Katalon studio. It delivers a unified interface to simplify test creation, execution, and integration. The platform offers efficient, end-to-end API automation for GraphQL, REST, SOAP and more.

Image source: Katalon

Features:

• Support for All API architecture Styles such as REST, SOAP (1.2 support) and GraphQL

• Hybrid low code & full code test authoring with powerful AI-assisted parameterization to speed up script writing

• Validate JSON or XML responses against schemas directly within the test request editor

• Ability to write custom assertion logic to ensure payload compliance and data integrity

• Import existing API definitions and collections such as Swagger/OpenAPI specs, Postman collections, and WSDL files

• Run API tests alongside web and mobile tests and integrate with CI/CD pipelines for scheduled, repeatable runs.

Ideal for:

Projects with existing API definitions that utilizes import features to bootstrap tests quickly using tools like swagger, postman etc.

Bruno

Bruno is an open-source, git-friendly, offline-first API client. It is known for storing collections as plain-text files (using a simple markup called Bru) directly in your filesystem, enabling native Git-based collaboration, full control over your data, and privacy which means no cloud sync or user accounts by default.

Image source: Bruno

Features:

• Supports REST, GraphQL, and SOAP request types with full control and Dev tools to prettify JSON, convert JSON to YAML, decode JWTs, and inspect response timing

• OAuth2 auto fetch & automatic token handling

• Native git integration & collaboration from repositories (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.) in both Pro and Ultimate editions.

• Handle secrets securely using environment variables or integrate with Vault solutions.

• Plain text collections via Bru Lang makes them versionable and allows transparent teamwork via pull requests.

Ideal for:

Developers, security engineers and teams who prefer full control over their data and use Git-based collaboration, versioning, and uses API collections and PR based review.

Assertible

Assertible is one of the well known cloud based API and web service testing platform created for reliability and automation. It allows teams to build, run, and monitor HTTP based tests with configurable setup, assertive checks, and flexible integrations. The platform focuses on CI/CD support, specification syncing, and organizational collaboration. It also helps teams catch regressions at the earliest to ensure consistent API behavior.

Image source: Assertible

Features:

• Configurable HTTP tests with setup or teardown for effective multi-step flows

• Validate responses using a broad assertions library which are visually displayed in test results

• Sync with API specs like OpenAPI, Swagger, and Postman specifications.

• Schedule tests, trigger on deployments via REST APIs, and integrate with GitHub and more. GitHub status checks allow embedding test results directly into CI PR pipelines

• Manage variables, authentication, and rate limits per environment (e.g staging vs production).

Ideal for:

DevSecOps, cross functional teams looking for collaborative environment configurations and access via organizations.

Final Thoughts

The above 10 strong postman competitors and alternatives offer diverse strengths from low code scripting and real browser testing to Git based workflows and AI-powered automation which caters to teams focused on collaboration, efficiency, performance and simplicity.

Akto API Security platform is a perfect alternative of postman, as it offers all round reliable AI-powered API security that helps to discover, tests, protect and monitor your APIs continuously.

Book a API security demo and Start your AI-powered API security journey with Akto today!