head to head · open source
Insomnia vs dev-proxy
Insomnia has 40,021 GitHub stars, 2,365 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. dev-proxy has 831 stars, 89 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Insomnia leads on adoption by 4,716% (40,021 vs 831 stars). Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; dev-proxy is written in C# under MIT. Insomnia has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, dev-proxy 11%. dev-proxy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | dev-proxy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 831 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 89 |
| 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 dev-proxy if
- You want the dev-proxy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and dev-proxy fits your workflow better
About Insomnia
Insomnia is an open source, cross platform API client built with Electron and TypeScript for developing and testing APIs across multiple protocols including REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, SSE, and gRPC. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux and is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license. The project serves as a direct open source alternative to Postman, offering similar core functionality without vendor lock in or mandatory cloud usage.
read the full Insomnia overview →
About dev-proxy
Dev Proxy is an open source, command line API simulator maintained under the .NET Foundation and written in C . It intercepts network requests, which means it works with any type of application and any technology stack rather than being tied to one language or framework. It is free to use and licensed under MIT, with the source living in the developer tools and API testing corner of the .NET ecosystem.
read the full dev-proxy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Insomnia or dev-proxy more popular?
Insomnia has 40,021 GitHub stars and dev-proxy has 831. Insomnia has the larger community by that measure.
Are Insomnia and dev-proxy free?
Both are open source. Insomnia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dev-proxy under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Insomnia and dev-proxy?
Insomnia is written in TypeScript and dev-proxy in C#. 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 dev-proxy?
Choose Insomnia if you want the larger community (40,021 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dev-proxy if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.