head to head · open source
Insomnia vs serenity-js
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars, 2,388 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. serenity-js has 621 stars, 153 forks, 88 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Insomnia leads on adoption by 6,359% (40,111 vs 621 stars). Insomnia is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; serenity-js is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Insomnia has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, serenity-js 25%. 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 | serenity-js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 621 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 153 |
| 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 serenity-js if
- You want the serenity-js 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 serenity-js 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 serenity-js
Serenity/JS A TypeScript native test automation framework that gives your Playwright Test, WebdriverIO, or Cucumber test suite the architecture it needs to scale. Website · Getting Started · Handbook · API Docs · Community What a Serenity/JS test looks like Tests read like specifications. Each Task ( Authenticate , Inventory , Checkout ) is reusable across scenarios, test runners, and integration tools. See the full implementation → Note: The username and password above are public demo values from saucedemo.com. In real projects, use environment variables or a secrets manager. Why Serenity/JS? → See the same…
read the full serenity-js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Insomnia or serenity-js more popular?
Insomnia has 40,111 GitHub stars and serenity-js has 621. Insomnia has the larger community by that measure.
Are Insomnia and serenity-js free?
Both are open source. Insomnia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and serenity-js under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Insomnia and serenity-js?
Insomnia is written in TypeScript and serenity-js 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, Insomnia or serenity-js?
Choose Insomnia if you want the larger community (40,111 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose serenity-js if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.