Bruno vs Thunder Client

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.

Thunder Client is a REST API client that runs inside VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. It lets users build, test and share API collections with a team, and validate responses through a graphical interface without scripts. Requests and client data are stored locally, with no cloud sync; collections can also be saved to a Git repository for collaboration. Paid plans add WebSocket, SSE and gRPC support, as well as the CLI and CI/CD integration, where CI/CD collection runs are unlimited. Starter includes 250 local collection runs per user monthly, Business 500, and Enterprise unlimited. Enterprise also connects to Azure Key Vault and AWS Secrets Manager and can store environment values encrypted; Free, Starter and Business store those values in plain text. The extension collects basic anonymized telemetry, which can be disabled in VS Code settings. The maker says it does not collect personal or request data. A 14-day trial is available by request to business email addresses. Paid plans are billed annually per user: Starter is $3/user/mo, Business $7/user/mo and Enterprise $16/user/mo.