Bruno vs Insomnia

Bruno is a Git-native client for exploring and testing APIs, supporting REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and WebSocket protocols. API collections are plain-text files kept in project repositories, where teams can version and review them with Git. Testing tools include assertions, scripts, collection automation, scheduled runs, and CI/CD integration. Users can create and switch between environments, use variables, and run JavaScript before requests or after responses. Bruno offers a desktop client, CLI, IDE extension, API documentation generator, and mock server using the same collection format. Collections can become interactive HTML documentation with code samples and a live playground. Collections, environments, and secrets remain on the user's device; Bruno says project data is not sent to its cloud. However, a startup HTTPS license check sends an IP address, license key, hashed device ID, and Bruno version. The free Open Source plan includes two workspaces and five OpenAPI syncs per month. Pro is $6 a month billed annually, and Ultimate is $11 a month billed annually. A 14-day Ultimate trial is available without a credit card.

Insomnia is an API collaboration platform for designing, testing, debugging, mocking, and governing APIs. Its client supports HTTP, REST, gRPC, GraphQL, WebSockets, SOAP, and SSE. Design workflows include OpenAPI spec-first work, live previews, and generation of collections, tests, and mocks. Mocks can be generated from collections, OpenAPI specifications, API responses, or natural-language descriptions, locally or in the cloud. The collection runner supports unlimited runs, JavaScript before-request and after-response scripts, chained requests, and CI/CD execution through Inso CLI. Insomnia also connects to HTTP and STDIO MCP servers, supports custom tool parameters, and provides MCP authentication event logs. API data can stay local, reside in a Git repository, or be stored in Insomnia Cloud with optional end-to-end encryption. Teams can share projects, collections, mocks, and design specifications with organization controls and real-time collaboration indicators. Essentials is free; Pro is $12 a month per user, and Enterprise is $45 a month per user. It supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use.