Why I Don’t Use Postman Anymore (And What I Use Instead)

I used to swear by Postman… until this changed everything.

Why I Don’t Use Postman Anymore (And What I Use Instead)

Postman is powerful — but bloated. Here’s why I made the switch to faster, simpler, and more developer-friendly alternatives for testing APIs.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
That’s what I used to think about Postman. For years, it was my go-to tool for API testing — reliable, feature-rich, and easy to use.
But then, it did break. Or rather, my patience did.

The Postman Problem: When Convenience Becomes a Chore

Don’t get me wrong — Postman is a solid product. But as my projects grew, so did my frustration.

Here’s what started to bother me:

Slow startup times: Waiting several seconds just to open the app became unbearable.

Memory usage: Postman is a resource hog. It often consumed over 1GB of RAM on my MacBook — just for testing a few endpoints.

Cloud pushiness: Constant nudging to create workspaces, log in, sync to the cloud — when all I wanted was to test a local Flask or Django API.

Clunky UX: Too many nested tabs, unnecessary clicks, and bloated UI for a simple use case.

What began as a productivity booster turned into a bottleneck. I realized I needed something leaner.

The Better Alternatives I Switched To

Here’s what I use now — and why each one trumps Postman for my workflow.

1. HTTPie — The Human-Friendly CLI

http GET http://localhost:8000/api/items Authorization:"Bearer <token>"

Clean syntax that feels like writing natural language.

No need to open an app — just run in the terminal.

Perfect for automation or scripting API tests.

Easily pipeable with other UNIX tools.

2. cURL (Yes, Seriously)

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"title": "Test"}' http://localhost:5000/api/posts

Pre-installed on most systems.

Powerful, flexible, and perfect for quick tests.

Great for CI pipelines or shell scripts.

3. VS Code REST Client Plugin

Write API requests directly in your .http files like this:

### Get all users 
GET http://localhost:8000/api/users 
 
### Create a new user 
POST http://localhost:8000/api/users 
Content-Type: application/json 
 
{ 
  "name": "Jane Doe", 
  "email": "jane@example.com" 
}

Everything lives in your codebase — version-controlled and portable.

No context-switching to a separate app.

Cleaner than Postman collections.

Works offline, without any login or sync.

4. Insomnia

If I must use a GUI tool, Insomnia is my fallback:

Sleek interface without the bloat.

Better performance than Postman.

Great for OAuth workflows and GraphQL testing.

My Workflow, Reimagined

Here’s how things changed:

| Task                   | Postman (Before)     | Now (After)                         | 
| ---------------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------- | 
| Test REST endpoint     | GUI, multiple clicks | `http` or `curl` in terminal        | 
| Save reusable requests | Collections          | `.http` files in version control    | 
| Auth token management  | Manually set headers | Scripts or environment variables    | 
| Team collaboration     | Shared workspaces    | Git + Markdown + REST client plugin |

I don’t feel locked in anymore. My API testing tools are now:

• Lightweight
• Scriptable
• Offline-friendly
• Integrated with my dev environment

Final Thoughts: It’s Not You, Postman — It’s Me

Postman isn’t a “bad” tool. For many teams, it’s still an excellent choice — especially if you rely heavily on API documentation, test automation, and cloud sync.

But for indie developers, backend engineers, or minimalists, Postman might be too much.

If you’ve ever felt that same bloat creeping in, maybe it’s time to explore these alternatives.

Have you ditched Postman too? What’s your favorite alternative?
Let me know in the comments — or better yet, share your workflow and help others make the leap.