Alternatives to HTTPie
Human-friendly HTTP CLI and desktop app
HTTPie ranks #6 of 6 in API clients, with an Alt Score of 55. It is licensed under BSD-3-Clause, freemium from Free and available on Windows, macOS, Linux and Web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Developers and API testers who want a faster, more readable alternative to curl for exploring and debugging HTTP APIs from the terminal.
A command-line HTTP client with simple, expressive syntax for building requests. It formats and colorizes JSON and other responses automatically, supports sessions, authentication, file uploads, and plugins. A desktop and web app companion (HTTPie for Web/Desktop) mirrors the CLI's usability in a GUI.
You compose requests using short, readable command-line arguments (e.g. http method key=value), and HTTPie sends the HTTP request and pretty-prints the response with syntax highlighting.
Why people leave HTTPie
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 | HTTPie | Bruno | Insomnia | Yaak | Hoppscotch | Postman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 HTTPie is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License BSD-3-Clause verified 2026-07-08
Copyright © 2012-2022 Jakub Roztocil <[email protected]> Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/httpie/cli/master/LICENSE -
Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-08
CLI fully free OSS; Desktop/Web freemium.
you can create an HTTPie account to unlock various benefits like: Unlimited spaces, Secure cloud backup of your data, Real-time sync across your devices
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/getting-started -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-08
you can create an HTTPie account to unlock various benefits
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/getting-started -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, Web verified 2026-07-08
HTTPie is the first API testing platform with clients for the Web, Desktop, and Terminal.
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop -
Status active verified 2026-07-08
HTTPie continuously improves the app and releases frequent updates with new features and bug fixes.
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/getting-started -
Collections & environments Yes verified 2026-07-08
Desktop app; CLI has no collections.
Collections are folders with ever-growing superpowers where you can store requests.
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/collections -
Local-first storage (no forced cloud) Yes verified 2026-07-08
HTTPie always persists your data in local storage, which allows you to work offline and incognito.
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/data-storage -
Git-friendly formats No verified 2026-07-08
Single JSON blob, not per-request flat files.
The format is versioned and comes with a JSON schema and TypeScript types.
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/data-storage -
GraphQL support Yes verified 2026-07-08
HTTPie has built-in support for crafting GraphQL requests
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/graphql -
gRPC support No verified 2026-07-08
Listed as unsupported.
gRPC requests ✘
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop -
WebSocket support No verified 2026-07-08
Listed as unsupported.
WebSockets ✘
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop -
Scripting / pre-request hooks No verified 2026-07-08
No native pre/post-request scripting.
Scripting ✘
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop -
CLI runner Yes verified 2026-07-08
HTTPie CLI is the canonical terminal HTTP client.
Expressive and intuitive syntax
https://httpie.io/docs/cli/main-features -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-08
CLI BSD-3-Clause; Desktop/Web app is not open source.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/httpie/cli/master/LICENSE -
Team collaboration No verified 2026-07-08
Real-time collaboration described as a future direction.
The importance of drafts will grow as HTTPie grows into a collaboration tool
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/spaces -
OpenAPI import No verified 2026-07-08
Import supports cURL/Postman/Insomnia/HTTPie JSON; OpenAPI not listed.
You can import cURL commands as requests into HTTPie
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/import -
Offline use Yes verified 2026-07-08
You can continue to work as usual when your computer is offline (or our cloud is temporarily down).
https://httpie.io/docs/desktop/data-storage
FAQ
Yes. Bruno, Insomnia and Yaak have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Bruno, Insomnia and Yaak — every license claim links its source.