head to head · open source
Hoppscotch vs Insomnia
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars, 6,225 forks, 820 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Insomnia has 40,111 stars, 2,388 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hoppscotch leads on adoption by 101% (80,724 vs 40,111 stars). Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript under MIT; Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Hoppscotch has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Insomnia 6%. Insomnia was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (api, api-client, graphql, http-client), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Hoppscotch | Insomnia | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 40K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 2.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hoppscotch if
- You weight community size — 81K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Insomnia if
- You want the Insomnia feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Insomnia fits your workflow better
About Hoppscotch
Hoppscotch Open Source API Development Ecosystem Built with ❤︎ by contributors We highly recommend you take a look at the Hoppscotch Documentation to learn more about the app. Support Features ❤️ Lightweight: Crafted with minimalistic UI design. ⚡️ Fast: Send requests and get responses in real time. 🗄️ HTTP Methods: Request methods define the type of action you are requesting to be performed. GET Requests retrieve resource information POST The server creates a new entry in a database PUT Updates an existing resource PATCH Very similar to PUT but makes a partial update on a resource DELETE Deletes resource or…
read the full Hoppscotch overview →
About Insomnia
Insomnia API Client Insomnia is an open source, cross platform API client for GraphQL, REST, WebSockets, Server Sent Events (SSE), gRPC and any other HTTP compatible protocol. With Insomnia you can: Debug APIs using the most popular protocols and formats. Design APIs using the native OpenAPI editor and visual preview. Test APIs using native test suites and collection runner. Mock APIs using a cloud or self hosted mocking server. Build CI/CD pipelines using the native Insomnia CLI for linting and testing. Collaborate with others using the many collaboration features. And more including the ability to use 3rd…
read the full Insomnia overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hoppscotch or Insomnia more popular?
Hoppscotch has 80,724 GitHub stars and Insomnia has 40,111. Hoppscotch has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hoppscotch and Insomnia free?
Both are open source. Hoppscotch is licensed under MIT and Insomnia under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hoppscotch and Insomnia?
Hoppscotch is written in TypeScript and Insomnia in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Hoppscotch or Insomnia?
Choose Hoppscotch if you want the larger community (80,724 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Insomnia if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.