Instead of Postman: Bruno
Use Bruno instead of Postman for most API work. Collections are plain-text files in your project folder, so they live in Git next to the code, and the app works offline with no cloud account. Postman's free plan now covers a single user, while Bruno's open-source edition costs nothing.
Both are for sending, testing and sharing HTTP API requests.
Why Bruno is better
- Collections are stored as files in a folder on your filesystem, in a plain-text format called Bru, so API changes are reviewed in pull requests like any other code.
- Bruno is offline-only and says it has no plans ever to add cloud sync, so requests and secrets stay on your machine.
- It costs less. Postman's free plan includes 1 user and its Team plan is $19 per user per month billed annually. Bruno's open-source edition is free, and its Pro and Ultimate plans are $6 and $11 per user per month billed annually.
- Moving over is built in. Bruno imports Postman collections and translates common script calls such as pm.test, pm.environment and pm.response automatically.
- The Bruno CLI runs the same collections in CI, so local and pipeline tests share one source.
When to keep Postman
Keep Postman if your organisation relies on its cloud features, such as shared workspaces with many viewers, mock servers, monitoring, its API catalog and governance tools, or its AI features. Postman rebuilt its platform in 2026 with Git-connected workspaces, so the Git gap is narrower than it was.
Switching
Export your Postman collections and environments and import them into Bruno, which converts requests and common pm.* script calls. Scripts that use Postman-only packages such as postman-collection, postman-runtime or newman fail and need rewriting, and npm packages used in scripts must be installed in the collection folder. Commit the folder to your repository and replace Newman in CI with the Bruno CLI.
Watch out
Bruno has no cloud sync by design, so collaboration depends on Git, which is harder for teams that do not use it daily. In the free edition the built-in Git screen cannot push, create branches or resolve merge conflicts, though you can use git directly. Data-driven testing and report generation are paid features, and Bruno is run by a small company funded by those tiers.
Also worth a look
- Hoppscotch An open-source API client that runs in the browser as well as on the desktop and can be self-hosted; pick it if your team wants a shared web workspace.
More newer, better API clients and testing tools
Sources
Judged on 2026-11-06. See every API clients and testing tools, or all 66 replacements.