The short answer. If the collection must live in Git alongside the code, Bruno or Yaak. If you want an offline client that stays out of your way, Hello HTTP. If you want the broadest protocol coverage including gRPC, Hello HTTP or Yaak. If you want an all-in-one workspace covering design, documentation, mock and test, Apidog. If you are already in the Postman or Insomnia ecosystem, staying is cheaper than migrating. The real dividing line is where the collection is stored, because that decides what happens to your work if the vendor changes.
This guide covers 10 api clients for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment. Last verified 2026-10-16.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apidog | API client | not published | not published | 2.8.49 |
| bruno | API client | Free | MIT | 4.2.1 |
| Cocoa Rest Client | API client | Open source | not published | 1.4.7 |
| Echolon | developer tool | not published | not published | — |
| Hello HTTP | HTTP client | Open source | Apache-2.0 | 1.9.0 |
| Insomnia | developer tool | Open source | Apache-2.0 | 13.3.0 |
| Postman | developer tool | Free | not published | 12.30.6 |
| Reqable | developer tool | Free | not published | 3.2.23 |
| Requestly | developer tool | Open source | not published | 26.6.29 |
| Yaak | developer tool | Open source | MIT | 2026.8.1 |
What actually decides this
- Where the collection lives. A file on disk is reviewable in a pull request and survives the vendor. A cloud workspace is shareable and disappears with the account. This decision outranks every feature comparison that follows.
- Offline or not. Some clients require a login before they open. That is a policy question as much as a technical one, and it is worth deciding before your team depends on one.
- Protocol coverage. REST, WebSocket, GraphQL including subscriptions, and gRPC are four different clients. A tool that supports all four has more surface area and more to learn.
- How it handles environments and secrets. Environment variables are easy; keeping a token out of a shared file is the actual problem. Look for whether the tool can hold a secret outside the collection.
Our picks
- bruno — Its record describes an offline-only, git-friendly open-source API client, which is exactly that requirement. Choose it when the collection has to be a file in your repository.
- Yaak — Its record describes a modern client supporting multiple protocols, offline usage and Git integration. Choose it when you want multiple protocols, offline use and Git integration in a modern client.
- Hello HTTP — Its record describes a portable client for REST, WebSocket, GraphQL and gRPC, which is the broadest coverage here. Choose it when you want REST, WebSocket, GraphQL and gRPC in one portable app.
- Echolon — Its record describes an open-source API client and Postman alternative, which is the direct replacement case. Choose it when you want an open-source Postman alternative.
- Apidog — Its record describes an all-in-one workspace covering all five, which is broader than a client and heavier. Choose it when you want design, documentation, mock, debug and test in one workspace.
- Cocoa Rest Client — Its record describes a free, open-source native app for testing HTTP and REST endpoints, which is the narrow free case. Choose it when you want a free native app for one job — testing HTTP and REST endpoints.
The apps
Apidog
Apidog is an API client for macOS. All-in-One workspace for API Design, Documentation, Debug, Mock, Test. Its pricing is not published.
Apidog is listed with current version 2.8.49.
Full profile and verified facts for Apidog →
bruno
bruno is an API client for macOS. Bruno is a offline-only, fast and git-friendly opensource API client. It is released under MIT. It is free.
What it does. Bruno is the Git-native API client for REST, GraphQL, gRPC and Websocket. A local and open-source solution to Postman. Fast, developer-first, and no cloud syncing.
bruno is listed with current version 4.2.1.
Full profile and verified facts for bruno →
Cocoa Rest Client
Cocoa Rest Client is an API client for macOS. Free, open-source, native Apple OS X app for testing HTTP/REST endpoints. It is open source.
What it does. A free, native Apple macOS app for testing HTTP/REST endpoints.
Cocoa Rest Client is listed with current version 1.4.7.
Full profile and verified facts for Cocoa Rest Client →
Echolon
Echolon is a developer tool for macOS. Open-source API client and Postman alternative. Its pricing is not published.
Full profile and verified facts for Echolon →
Hello HTTP
Hello HTTP is a HTTP client for macOS. Portable HTTP client for REST, WebSocket, GraphQL and gRPC, with no cloud and no account. It is released under Apache-2.0.
Strengths. Free and open source under Apache-2.0, with no account and no cloud workspace. Covers HTTP and REST APIs, WebSocket, GraphQL (including subscriptions) and gRPC in one client, rather than needing a second tool for subscriptions. It is a portable application, so it runs without installation and can be carried on a drive.
Trade-offs. The executables are not signed by a verified developer, because the author states there is no budget for a developer licence — so each OS will warn on first launch. According to the developer, the project describes it as built to address the author’s own daily needs, so breadth may favour one person’s workflow over yours. The README’s feature section points at screenshots and videos on the website rather than listing capabilities, so the feature surface is not documented in the repository.
Not for. People who need a code-signed executable out of the box — the builds are unsigned.
What it does. Tests HTTP and REST APIs, WebSocket, GraphQL including subscriptions, and gRPC. Portable application that runs without installation. Runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. Keeps your data local — the project states there is no plan to go cloud.
Hello HTTP is listed with current version 1.9.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Hello HTTP →
Insomnia
Insomnia is a developer tool for macOS. The most intuitive cross-platform REST API Client. It is released under Apache-2.0.
What it does. Leading Open Source API Development Platform for HTTP, REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and WebSockets.
Insomnia is listed with current version 13.3.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Insomnia →
Postman
Postman is a developer tool for macOS. GUI platform for API development. It is free.
What it does. Go faster from development to production with higher accuracy and fewer tokens.
Postman is listed with current version 12.30.6.
Full profile and verified facts for Postman →
Reqable
Reqable is a developer tool for macOS. Next-Gen API Development Tool, Advanced API Debugging Proxy and REST Client. It is free.
What it does. Enhance your API development with a powerful tool that combines HTTP(s) debugging proxy and REST client, for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.
Reqable is listed with current version 3.2.23.
Full profile and verified facts for Reqable →
Requestly
Requestly is a developer tool for macOS. Open-source, lightweight Git-Friendly API Client built for modern developers. It is open source.
What it does. Design, build and test APIs in one place. The Git-native API client, enterprise-ready, used by 300,000+ developers.
Requestly is listed with current version 26.6.29.
Full profile and verified facts for Requestly →
Yaak
Yaak is a developer tool for macOS. A modern API client supporting multiple protocols, offline usage, and Git integration. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Your requests on your machine, versioned with Git. Interact with any API using the app or agent-friendly CLI.
Yaak is listed with current version 2026.8.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Yaak →
How to choose
- Free of charge. bruno, Postman and Reqable — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. Cocoa Rest Client, Hello HTTP, Insomnia, Requestly and Yaak — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. Apidog and Echolon — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: Cocoa Rest Client, Hello HTTP, Insomnia, Requestly and Yaak (5 of 10).
Common mistakes
- Keeping a collection only in a cloud workspace with no export. The day the account lapses, the collection goes with it.
- Committing a token into the collection file because the environment file looked like the right place.
- Comparing clients on request-sending speed. The part that costs time is organising and sharing collections, not sending.
- Migrating a large collection for a feature you use twice a year.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Verified 2026-10-16.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these api clients?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 10 api clients: Apidog, bruno, Cocoa Rest Client, Echolon, Hello HTTP, Insomnia, Postman, Reqable, Requestly and Yaak. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these api clients free?
Pricing across this group: not published (Apidog and Echolon), free (bruno, Postman and Reqable) and open source (Cocoa Rest Client, Hello HTTP, Insomnia, Requestly and Yaak). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these api clients are open source?
Cocoa Rest Client (not published), Hello HTTP (Apache-2.0), Insomnia (Apache-2.0), Requestly (not published) and Yaak (MIT) are open source.
Do these api clients support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
Who should not use these apps?
Hello HTTP each list an audience they are explicitly not aimed at. Those notes come from the same verified records as the rest of this guide, and they are worth reading before you install anything.
When was this data last verified?
The facts in this guide were last confirmed on 2026-10-16. Every app page carries its own verification dates and source list, so you can check any individual claim.
