head to head · open source
Insomnia vs apidash
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars, 2,388 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. apidash has 2,949 stars, 1,054 forks, 209 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. Insomnia leads on adoption by 1,260% (40,111 vs 2,949 stars). Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; apidash is written in Dart under Apache-2.0. Insomnia has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, apidash 36%. Insomnia was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 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
| Insomnia | apidash | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Insomnia if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick apidash if
- You want the apidash feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and apidash fits your workflow better
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 →
About apidash
API Dash ⚡️ Please support this initiative by giving this project a Star ⭐️ API Dash is a beautiful AI powered open source cross platform API Client that can help you easily create & customize your API requests, visually inspect responses (full list of supported mime types) and generate API integration code (full list) on the go. Download API Dash can be downloaded from the links below: OS Distribution CPU/Architecture Download Link iOS/iPad App Store Link macOS .dmg Apple Silicon & Intel Link (Dev) Windows .exe 64 bit Link (Dev) Linux .deb amd64 Link (Dev) arm64 Link (Dev) .rpm x86 64 Link (Dev) aarch64 Link…
read the full apidash overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Insomnia or apidash more popular?
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars and apidash has 2,949. Insomnia has the larger community by that measure.
Are Insomnia and apidash free?
Both are open source. Insomnia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and apidash under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Insomnia and apidash?
Insomnia is written in TypeScript and apidash in Dart. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Insomnia or apidash?
Choose Insomnia if you want the larger community (40,111 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose apidash if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.