head to head · open source
Insomnia vs pactum
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars, 2,388 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pactum has 621 stars, 62 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Insomnia leads on adoption by 6,359% (40,111 vs 621 stars). Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; pactum is written in JavaScript under MIT. Insomnia has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, pactum 10%. Insomnia 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 | pactum | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 621 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 62 |
| 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 pactum if
- You want the pactum feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and pactum 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 pactum
PactumJS REST API Testing Tool for all levels in a Test Pyramid PactumJS is a REST API Testing Tool used to automate e2e, integration, contract & component ( or service level ) tests. ⚡ Swift 🎈 Lightweight 🚀 Simple & Powerful 🛠️ Compelling Mock Server 💎 Elegant Data Management 🔧 Extendable & Customizable 📚 Clear & Comprehensive Testing Style 🔗 Component, Contract & E2E testing of APIs Documentation This readme offers an basic introduction to the library. Head over to the full documentation at API Testing Integration Testing Component Testing Contract Testing E2E Testing Mock Server Need Help We use Github…
read the full pactum overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Insomnia or pactum more popular?
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars and pactum has 621. Insomnia has the larger community by that measure.
Are Insomnia and pactum free?
Both are open source. Insomnia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pactum under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Insomnia and pactum?
Insomnia is written in TypeScript and pactum in JavaScript. 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 pactum?
Choose Insomnia if you want the larger community (40,111 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pactum if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.