Top 4 Alternatives to Postman for API Testing in 2024

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enable communication between different software programs. APIs are like a waiter who presents the available meal to the customers and serves the preferred meal. Simply put, developers don’t have to generate the code that APIs present in the same way that customers don’t have to cook their own meals. API’s readymade tools allow developers to streamline the development process.

The effective functioning of APIs is essential for the smooth communication between connected applications. As stated in Salt Security’s report on API, 31% of the participants mentioned a privacy incident in their production APIs. Statistics from Statista reveal that on average, more than 20% of respondents experienced API breakages monthly.

For this reason, API testing is necessary to check the proper operation, security, and reliability of an API and also to prevent costly failures. It is possible to test APIs both manually or with automated testing tools. As manual testing is time-consuming and prone to human errors, using an automated testing tool saves time and allows reaching error-prone results.

Postman is one of the most popular tools not just for testing but also for managing the lifecycle of APIs. In this article, we will examine the advantages and disadvantages of Postman and then explore the top alternatives in the market.

Pros and cons of Postman for API testing

Postman provides a set of tools that aim at enhancing the API lifecycle, from building APIs to testing and managing them. Users from review platforms highlight its:

• Ease of use,
• User-friendliness,
• Extensive features.

However, Postman is not without shortcomings:

• Postman began as a REST client but now provides support for SOAP APIs. However, users highlight that using it for testing SOAP APIs is difficult and needs more flexibility and improvement. 
• A second critique directed at Postman is that it is resource-intensive and uses a lot of RAM, which negatively impacts the computer’s performance.
• In addition, Postman has limitations on code and script reusability features, which can make users create test scripts for each project separately.

Top Postman Alternatives

Businesses can choose the best available option in the market considering the ease of use, the user of the tool, and the kind of API tests that are required in their business processes.

Testifi PULSE

Sponsored

PULSE is an AI-powered testing tool that is developed by Testifi. Thanks to PULSE, it is possible to:

• Integrate with CI/CD pipeline,
• Prevent the potential effects of late testing through shift-left testing,
• Shorten the allocated time for the testing processes,
• Enable comparing the test results with previous results,
• Decrease the cost and effort up to +%50 percent.

Moreover, it provides a unique feature where it generates tests based on the API documentation.

Leading companies such as Amazon, Vodafone and BMW use Testifi services. 

Katalon

Katalon is a software quality management platform that provides API testing capabilities. . Katalon’s API testing solution:

• Supports REST, SOAP/1.1, and SOAP/1.2 requests,
• Eases testing processes through various data sources and databases,
• Enables to operationalize of test artifacts in different projects,
• Provides the collaboration of each team member through its low-code character,
• Allows reusing test scripts,
• Claims reducing the time to create tests up to 95% and the effort to maintain tests up to 90 percent,
• Provides its clients with free API testing courses.

ReadyAPI

ReadyAPI is a low-code API testing platform that provides its clients with flexible API testing options. ReadyAPI enables to:

• Create end-to-end tests,
• Protection of APIs through security scans,
• Test REST, GraphQL, SOAP, JMS, and JDBC services,
• Enhance test quality through automated test debugging,
• Integrate the API testing to the CI/CD processes.

It also provides a free trial version.

Tricentis Tosca 

Tricentis Tosca is an end-to-end testing tool that enables scanning APIs. For businesses, Tricentis Tosca:

• Makes running API tests possible for all team members through its no-code and model-based solution,
• Eases the building, management, and execution of API tests,
• Claims it can run 200 API tests in less than a minute,
• Enables to combine API and UI tests to create end-to-end testing,
• Elicits reusable API tests that can be used in various projects,
• Supports REST, SAP RFC, SOAP, and HTTP Cookie standards.

You can also explore our article on top API testing tools and our data-driven list of API testing software. If you have other questions about API testing, we can help: