Bruno vs Postman

Imagine your entire code is a single file, and you are forced to use a proprietary version control system to collaborate with your team. This is the reality of collection versioning in Postman. Collections are a single JSON file and at the end of the day versioning is controlled manually by someone managing your workspace, rather than through standardized processes. If you wouldn't accept this for your normal codebase, why would you accept it for API collections?

Stores your collections directly in a folder on your filesystem using a plain text markup language, Bru , to save information about API requests. You can natively use Git or any version control of your choice to collaborate over your API collections just as you would with code.

Requires you login and be online in order to use it.

Local desktop application. We don't even have the concept of a login or account.

Charges for more than 25 local collection runs per month. Not only does this not make sense because it's one of the only things that isn't running in their cloud, but 25 runs per month is no where near enough for a developer to get any real value out of Postman.

There is no limit. You can run collections infinite times until the heat death of the universe.

Has evolved into a bloated 'API management platform' that 90% of users never touch. This complexity attempts to justify a higher cost but forces you to pay for features you likely already have in other tools. Most developers just want to test APIs, not manage an entire platform.

Stays focused on being the best API client possible. Bruno does one thing exceptionally well - helping developers quickly validate and test API calls. No platform bloat, no feature creep, no paying for functionality you already have elsewhere. Just a fast, reliable tool that integrates seamlessly with your existing development workflow.

Requires you to use scripting to update post-response variables.

Supports declarative scripting to update your post-response variables using a simple expression.

Creates a separate workflow outside your development process. Developers must context-switch between their IDE, Git workflow, and Postman's interface. API testing becomes disconnected from the development lifecycle.

Integrates seamlessly with existing developer workflows. API collections are versioned, branched, and merged just like code. Developers can work on API tests using the same tools and processes they use for everything else, reducing context switching and improving productivity.

Stores your collections in their cloud.. along with requests, responses, variables, tokens, etc.. Scary

Stores your collections directly in a folder on your filesystem. This applies to everything you do in Bruno. It is completely local and you are the ultimate owner of your data.

Makes API requests using a proprietary proxy server. This means that you are not in control of your data. You are forced to use their proxy server to make API requests which exposes yet another security risk.

Makes API requests directly from your computer. You are in control of your data.

Forces you to manage API access and permissions in two places - your existing enterprise systems AND Postman's platform. This creates security gaps, administrative overhead, and potential compliance issues. Your security team now has to audit and manage permissions across multiple systems instead of leveraging your existing, proven access controls.

Leverages your existing Git-based security and access controls. No need to duplicate permission management - if someone has access to your repository, they have access to the API collections. This means one source of truth for security, easier compliance auditing, and seamless integration with your existing identity management systems.

Uses proprietary formats and cloud storage, making it difficult to migrate to other tools or maintain long-term access to your API documentation and tests. Your organization becomes dependent on Postman's platform and pricing decisions.

Uses plain text files in an open format that can be read by any text editor or version control system. Easy to migrate, backup, or integrate with other tools. You maintain complete control over your API testing assets regardless of which tools you choose in the future.

According to Postman's AI Terms, customers grant Postman "a worldwide, limited, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use and reproduce Customer's Inputs and Outputs in a deidentified manner for the purposes of training Postman's artificial intelligence models." This means your API requests, responses, test data, and variables can be used to train AI models.

Additionally, Postman uses third-party AI providers (Microsoft Azure OpenAI, OpenAI) and shares your data with them. The terms also state Postman is not responsible for AI outputs that "potentially violate nondisclosure agreements and/or other contractual and confidentiality obligations." This is a significant risk when testing sensitive APIs with confidential information.

Bruno is completely local-first with zero cloud dependencies. Your API collections, requests, responses, and test data never leave your computer. There is no AI training on user data, no third-party data sharing, and no cloud processing of your sensitive information. You maintain complete ownership and control of all your data.

Bruno's approach aligns with privacy-by-design principles - your data is yours alone, and we have no ability to access, analyze, or use it for any purpose.

Requires you to pay for collaboration. If you also want to secure your work inside of Postman, you'll quickly find it to be alongside the largest line items for developer tooling.

Free and open source. You can use git or any version control of your choice to collaborate over your API collections. While we do have commercial plans, they are reasonably and rationally priced based on the value an API client provides.

Requires integration with your existing development workflow as a separate system. API collections live outside your codebase, making it difficult to maintain consistency between your APIs and the tools that test them. Changes to APIs and their tests happen in different systems with different approval processes.

API collections live alongside your code in the same repository. This means API changes and test updates go through the same code review process, maintaining consistency and enabling true DevOps practices. No separate approval workflows or integration headaches.

From experience, deploying Postman across an organization commonly requires multiple full-time employees to manage the structure of workspaces, teams, permissions, and user onboarding. The platform's complexity creates an ongoing administrative tax that grows with your organization size. You're not just paying for licenses - you're paying for the people to manage the platform.

Requires virtually no administrative overhead. Since Bruno uses your existing Git infrastructure, user management, permissions, and collaboration happen through systems you already have and understand. No dedicated administrators needed, no complex workspace hierarchies to maintain, no ongoing platform management costs.