Karate vs Bruno

Karate8.9Visit Bruno8.6Visit

Higher score Karate #4 in API Testing Tools 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Karate

vs

Bruno #7 in API Testing Tools 8.6/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 6 features Visit Bruno

• Karate fits best

  Engineering teams building automated API test suites

• Bruno fits best

  Open-source teams wanting a modern API client

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Side by side

Feature	Karate 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Bruno 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.6
Ranking	#4 in API Testing Tools	#7 in API Testing Tools
Best for	Engineering teams building automated API test suites	Open-source teams wanting a modern API client
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$100/user/yr	$6/user/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Self-hosted, Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Email, Live chat, Community
Compliance	SSO/SAML	SOC 2, SSO/SAML
Integrations	40+ integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Karate 6/6 · Bruno 5/6
GraphQL support	✓	✓
SOAP support	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Scheduled runs	✓	✓
CI/CD integration	✓	✓
Mock server	✓	✓
Contract testing	✓	✓
Specs
Included requests	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Tests REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs with Gherkin-based authoring Combines mocks, contract testing, reports, and parallel execution Supports CI/CD, self-hosting, and Gatling performance testing	Supports HTTP, REST, GraphQL, SOAP, gRPC, and WebSocket requests Git storage, CLI reporting, mocks, and OpenAPI synchronization Free plan includes unlimited collection runner runs
Cons	Advanced IDE and Xplorer capabilities are split across paid tiers The Pro plan costs $640 per user per year Enterprise licensing uses custom commercial pricing	Open Source plan limits OpenAPI synchronization to five per month Mock servers are documented as a beta feature Desktop-focused rather than a web-based API workspace
Our verdict	Karate is an open-source test automation framework for developers and QA teams building automated suites for REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs. Its Gherkin-based syntax supports JSON and XML assertions, schema validation, data-driven scenarios,… Read the review →	Bruno is an open-source, local-first API client for developers and teams testing APIs. It supports HTTP, REST, GraphQL, SOAP, gRPC, and WebSocket requests across macOS, Windows, and Linux. Collections are stored as plain-text files on the… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Karate — where it wins

  • Tests REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs with Gherkin-based authoring
  • Combines mocks, contract testing, reports, and parallel execution
  • Supports CI/CD, self-hosting, and Gatling performance testing

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced IDE and Xplorer capabilities are split across paid tiers
  • The Pro plan costs $640 per user per year
  • Enterprise licensing uses custom commercial pricing

• Bruno — where it wins

  • Supports HTTP, REST, GraphQL, SOAP, gRPC, and WebSocket requests
  • Git storage, CLI reporting, mocks, and OpenAPI synchronization
  • Free plan includes unlimited collection runner runs

  Where it doesn't

  • Open Source plan limits OpenAPI synchronization to five per month
  • Mock servers are documented as a beta feature
  • Desktop-focused rather than a web-based API workspace

• Karate8.9/10 · Free plan

  A broad, automation-focused API framework with a valuable free tier and paid tooling add-ons.

  Visit KarateFull verdict →
• Bruno8.6/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A capable open-source API client for Git-based testing and CI workflows.

  Visit BrunoFull verdict →