Postman vs Hurl

Postman9.4Visit Hurl8.3Visit

Higher score Postman #1 in API Clients 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 6 features Visit Postman

vs

Hurl #8 in API Clients 8.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 6 features Visit Hurl

• Postman fits best

  Broad API development teams

• Hurl fits best

  Text-based CI API testing

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Side by side

Feature	Postman 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Hurl 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.3
Ranking	#1 in API Clients	#8 in API Clients
Best for	Broad API development teams	Text-based CI API testing
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$9/mo	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Browser extension	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome extension	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Tickets, Community, Docs	Docs, Community
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Postman 1/6 · Hurl 1/6
GraphQL support	✓	✓
gRPC support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
WebSocket support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Automated test runs	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
API documentation	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Team workspaces	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Available platforms	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, and MQTT requests Combines collections, scripting, testing, mocking, and specifications Runs scheduled collections and CI/CD workflows with Postman CLI	Chains requests and captures response values for later steps Validates REST, SOAP, GraphQL, JSON, XML, and HTML responses Creates text, JUnit, TAP, and HTML reports for CI/CD
Cons	Annual billing saves up to 25% compared to monthly Advanced governance and audit reporting start on Enterprise Postman is not open source	Command-line workflow is narrower than full graphical API clients Best suited to teams comfortable maintaining plain-text test files Focused on HTTP testing rather than broader API client workflows
Our verdict	Postman is an API platform for developers and teams building, testing, documenting, and collaborating on APIs. Its API Client sends and inspects requests across HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, and MQTT. Collections organize requests,… Read the review →	Hurl is an open-source command-line tool for developers and DevOps teams who define HTTP requests and tests in plain-text Hurl files. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is distributed as a single Rust binary powered by libcurl. The… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Postman — where it wins

  • Supports HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, and MQTT requests
  • Combines collections, scripting, testing, mocking, and specifications
  • Runs scheduled collections and CI/CD workflows with Postman CLI

  Where it doesn't

  • Annual billing saves up to 25% compared to monthly
  • Advanced governance and audit reporting start on Enterprise
  • Postman is not open source

• Hurl — where it wins

  • Chains requests and captures response values for later steps
  • Validates REST, SOAP, GraphQL, JSON, XML, and HTML responses
  • Creates text, JUnit, TAP, and HTML reports for CI/CD

  Where it doesn't

  • Command-line workflow is narrower than full graphical API clients
  • Best suited to teams comfortable maintaining plain-text test files
  • Focused on HTTP testing rather than broader API client workflows

• Postman9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad API workspace spanning requests, testing, mocking, specifications, and delivery workflows.

  Visit PostmanFull verdict →
• Hurl8.3/10 · Free plan

  A focused open-source choice for text-based API tests in CI/CD.

  Visit HurlFull verdict →