Due to its user-friendly design and extensive feature set, Postman has emerged as one of the most widely used tools for API testing. However, Postman is not the only solid option available for API testing today.
Many capable Postman alternative exist that can fulfill different API testing needs.
Testsigma
Testsigma is an innovative cloud-based API test automation platform that requires no coding or complex setup. It provides smart test recording and auto-healing capabilities to keep tests maintained. Customizable reports, CI/CD integrations, and collaboration features are included. Testsigma allows importing and exporting test cases in various formats like JSON, YAML etc. It supports mocking responses for different HTTP status codes and scenarios. A key benefit of Testsigma is the end-to-end testing support combining API, web, and mobile app testing in a single tool. The platform offers a free plan for up to 5 test cases.
IBM API Connect
IBM API Connect offers full lifecycle API management including developer portals, gateways, and comprehensive testing capabilities. It enables mocking APIs and data virtualization to simulate services for testing with over 25 predefined response templates. IBM API Connect includes an interactive console for sending requests and inspecting responses along with a code editor. It also allows importing OpenAPI specifications and provides detailed test reports with information on start and end time, response body, headers etc. IBM API Connect integrates with tools for defect tracking and automation.
Akana
Akana API Platform is an end-to-end API management solution with baked-in testing features. Akana enables full virtualization for mock testing scenarios to simulate error conditions. It provides SOAP and REST APIs to integrate automated testing frameworks. Akana also includes APIs for importing/exporting test data and executing tests on-demand from external systems. Detailed analytics and dashboards provide insights into test coverage, pass/fail rates and failures along with suggestions for improvement.
Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio is a free test automation toolkit ideal for less technical users. It provides an intuitive interface for API, web, and mobile testing without programming. Custom keywords simplify API test scripting using Selenium and Appium. Katalon Studio generates detailed customizable reports in different formats and integrations are available for CI tools. An active community of users provides support and shares custom libraries of keywords on the forum. It supports mocking responses and parameterizing test data.
Insomnia
Insomnia is an open-source API testing client built for usability. It streamlines the process of mocking, testing, and debugging APIs all within a single UI. Insomnia offers authentication using different schemes, code generation in languages like JavaScript, Python, dynamic variables and JavaScript scripting support. While lighter on advanced features compared to others, Insomnia excels at ad-hoc testing and exploration for developers. It is useful for prototyping and simple API testing cases.
Conclusion
While Postman remains a solid choice, alternatives to Postman also exist like Testsigma, IBM API Connect, Akana, Katalon Studio, and Insomnia. The right choice depends on your specific testing needs, resources, and environment. Evaluating multiple options against your requirements will enable you to find the best alternative to Postman to fit for your API testing strategy.