Alternatives to Bruno
Offline-first git-friendly API client
Bruno ranks #1 of 6 in API clients, with an Alt Score of 100. It is licensed under MIT, freemium from Free and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Developers and teams building and testing APIs who want their API collections version-controlled and reviewable like code, rather than locked in a proprietary cloud account.
An open-source desktop API client for sending requests and organizing them into collections, similar to Postman or Insomnia. Collections are saved as plain-text .bru files in folders on disk instead of a database or cloud service. This means requests can be committed to Git, diffed, branched, and reviewed in pull requests alongside application code. It runs fully offline with no mandatory login or cloud sync.
You create collections of HTTP requests in the Bruno app, and each request is written to a .bru file in a folder structure on your filesystem. Because collections live as files in your project directory, you check them into your existing Git repo and use normal Git workflows (commit, branch, PR, merge) to share and version them with your team.
Why people leave Bruno
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the API clients checklist (16 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| API clients checklist | Bruno | Insomnia | Yaak | Hoppscotch | Postman | HTTPie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Collections & environments | ||||||
| Local-first storage (no forced cloud) | ||||||
| Git-friendly formats | ||||||
| GraphQL support | ||||||
| gRPC support | ||||||
| WebSocket support | ||||||
| Scripting / pre-request hooks | ||||||
| CLI runner | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| Team collaboration | ||||||
| OpenAPI import | ||||||
| Offline use |
Every fact and feature listed for Bruno is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License MIT verified 2026-07-08
[MIT](license.md)
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-08
Actively developed (frequent commits).
Majority of our features are free and open source.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-08
Open Source — Free, flexible, extensible. Designed by and for the crafty engineer.
https://www.usebruno.com/pricing -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-08
Open Source — Free, flexible, extensible.
https://www.usebruno.com/pricing -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux verified 2026-07-08
Bruno is available as binary download on our website for Mac, Windows and Linux.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
Collections & environments Yes verified 2026-07-08
Bruno stores your collections directly in a folder on your filesystem. We use a plain text markup language, Bru, to save information about API requests.
https://docs.usebruno.com/llms.txt -
Local-first storage (no forced cloud) Yes verified 2026-07-08
Bruno is offline-only. There are no plans to add cloud-sync to Bruno, ever.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
Git-friendly formats Yes verified 2026-07-08
You can use Git or any version control of your choice to collaborate over your API collections.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
GraphQL support Yes verified 2026-07-08
Bruno can send requests using GraphQL, an open-source query language and runtime for APIs.
https://docs.usebruno.com/send-requests/graphql/overview -
gRPC support Yes verified 2026-07-08
GRPC support is available from Bruno 2.10.0.
https://docs.usebruno.com/send-requests/grpc/overview -
WebSocket support Yes verified 2026-07-08
WebSocket support is available from Bruno 2.13.0.
https://docs.usebruno.com/send-requests/websocket/overview -
Scripting / pre-request hooks Yes verified 2026-07-08
write JavaScript code before sending a request (Pre-request)
https://docs.usebruno.com/scripting/introduction -
CLI runner Yes verified 2026-07-08
The Bruno CLI lets you run your API collections from the command line, which is ideal for automated testing and CI/CD pipelines.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-08
Majority of our features are free and open source.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md -
Team collaboration Yes verified 2026-07-08
Bruno's superpower is the ability to collaborate natively using version control systems like Git, CVS, etc, and platforms like GitHub, Gitlab, Bitbucket, etc.
https://docs.usebruno.com/git-integration/overview -
OpenAPI import Yes verified 2026-07-08
Import from OpenAPI File — valid OpenAPI 2.0 (Swagger 2.0) or OpenAPI 3.x spec
https://docs.usebruno.com/llms-full.txt -
Offline use Yes verified 2026-07-08
Bruno is offline-only. There are no plans to add cloud-sync to Bruno, ever.
https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/blob/main/readme.md
FAQ
Yes. Insomnia, Yaak and Postman have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Insomnia, Yaak and Hoppscotch — every license claim links its source.