Insomnia
Insomnia is a collaborative, AI-native API development platform by Kong Inc. that provides REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and MCP testing, mocking, and debugging tools for individual developers through a freemium model and for enterprises via a $45/user/month tier with Kong Konnect integration.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Insomnia does
Insomnia is a collaborative API development platform operated as a product line within Kong Inc., the API connectivity and service-mesh company. The product is an Electron-based desktop application supporting REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, Socket.IO, and SSE protocols, with a recently added native Model Context Protocol (MCP) client that targets AI-agent-driven API testing workflows. Its technical architecture centers on a unified client for API design, testing, mocking, debugging, and collaboration, supplemented by the Inso CLI for CI/CD automation across GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, and Vercel. Storage is configurable per workspace: 100% local, Git-backed, or cloud-synced with optional end-to-end encryption, giving organizations policy control over data locality.
The product is monetized through a three-tier freemium subscription model: a free Essentials tier with unlimited projects and Git Sync for up to three users; a Pro tier at $12 per user per month (annual billing) with unlimited users, RBAC, and expanded mock-server quotas; and an Enterprise tier at $45 per user per month (self-serve up to 50 users, larger deployments via direct sales) that adds native Kong Konnect integration, SSO/SAML/OIDC, SCIM provisioning, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and vault integrations with HashiCorp, AWS, Azure, and GCP. The go-to-market combines a product-led growth bottom-up funnel — no-login Scratch Pad mode, direct downloads for Mac/Windows/Linux, and a 39,803+ GitHub-star open-source community — with Kong Inc.'s enterprise sales motion for larger deployments. Insomnia claims adoption by "millions of API developers" and publicly lists Netflix, Nasdaq, Tesla, PayPal, Zillow, and Red Bull among its enterprise users. A 4,500+ community plugin ecosystem, the founder (Gregory Schier) brand, and 2026 Gartner Market Guide recognition in API and MCP Testing Tools round out the company profile.
Insomnia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Insomnia
- Legal name
- Kong Inc.
- Website
- https://insomnia.rest
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Insomnia is a collaborative, AI-native API development platform by Kong Inc. that provides REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and MCP testing, mocking, and debugging tools for individual developers through a freemium model and for enterprises via a $45/user/month tier with Kong Konnect integration.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Insomnia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Insomnia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS (Essentials Tier): Free tier providing unlimited Git Sync for up to 3 users, unlimited collections, environments, and collection runs. Includes 1,000 mock server requests per month, end-to-end encryption, custom linting rules, and AI features. Additional mock requests available at $10 per 25,000 requests.
- Pro Tier Subscription: $12 per user per month (billed annually, 15% savings) providing unlimited users, unlimited organizations, full Git Sync access, RBAC, and 10,000 mock server requests per month. Additional mock requests at $10 per 25,000.
- Enterprise Tier Subscription: $45 per user per month for self-serve up to 50 users; larger teams contact sales. Includes everything in Pro plus native Kong Konnect integration, SSO/SAML/OIDC, SCIM provisioning, storage controls, domain capture, enterprise support, SOC2 compliance, unlimited mock server requests, and custom payment options.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with essential API development features for individuals and small teams |
| Subscription | Annual | Team tier with unlimited users and advanced collaboration features |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise tier with full feature access, Kong Konnect integration, and dedicated support |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Insomnia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Insomnia is an AI-native collaborative API development platform built and distributed by Kong Inc. It provides a unified desktop and CLI solution for designing, testing, debugging, mocking, and governing REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, Socket.IO, SSE, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) APIs. The product is offered via a freemium model with Free, Pro ($12/user/month), and Enterprise ($45/user/month) tiers, and is trusted by millions of developers and enterprises including Netflix, Nasdaq, Tesla, PayPal, Zillow, and Red Bull.
Product overview
Insomnia is a collaborative AI-native API development platform by Kong Inc., offering a unified solution for API design, testing, mocking, debugging, and deployment. The platform architecture consists of Insomnia Core as the central collaborative API client, supplemented by Inso CLI for CI/CD automation, MCP Client for Model Context Protocol server testing, and native Kong Konnect integration for enterprise API governance. Storage options include Git Sync, Cloud Sync, and Local Storage for flexibility. The product serves individual developers through a free tier up to enterprise organizations with advanced security, SSO, and vault integrations. Pricing tiers are: Free (Essentials), Pro at $12/user/month, and Enterprise at $45/user/month.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Insomnia Core (API Client Platform)
Quantifiable outcome
- Eliminate manual API syncing and version mismatches through Kong Konnect integration
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Insomnia
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Insomnia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration14 records
AI capability5 records
Feature8 records
Insomnia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Kong KonnectcoreNative integration between Insomnia and Kong Konnect platform. Control planes and routes sync as Collections and Requests. Authenticates via Konnect PAT. Enables single source of truth for API definitions with automatic synchronization eliminating manual imports and test environment assembly.
- HashiCorp VaultcoreEnterprise tier integration for secrets management. Insomnia fetches secrets from HashiCorp Vault via CLI (op) plugin for secure credential handling in API requests.
- Azure Key VaultcoreEnterprise tier secrets management integration with Microsoft Azure Key Vault enabling secure API credential management.
- AWS Secrets ManagercoreEnterprise tier secrets management integration with AWS Secrets Manager for secure API credential management.
- GCP Secret ManagercoreEnterprise tier secrets management integration with Google Cloud Platform Secret Manager for secure API credential management.
- GitHubcoreInso CLI integrates with GitHub for CI/CD automation, enabling automated API testing and OpenAPI spec validation within GitHub Actions workflows.
- GitLabcoreInso CLI integrates with GitLab for CI/CD pipeline automation, supporting automated API testing and spec validation.
- Kong GatewaycoreInso CLI can generate API infrastructure configuration and publish specifications directly to Kong Gateway and Kubernetes Ingress Controller.
- OktacoreEnterprise SSO integration with Okta via SAML/OIDC for seamless single sign-on across Insomnia organizations.
- Community Plugin Developerscore4,500+ third-party developers building and maintaining plugins extending Insomnia functionality across themes, authentication, API integrations, and productivity tools.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Insomnia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Postman: The dominant API development client and collaboration platform, offering design, testing, mocking, and documentation across REST and GraphQL. Direct head-to-head competitor with Insomnia in nearly every category, including individual developer and enterprise tiers.
- Bruno: Open-source API client emphasizing local-first storage and Git-native collaboration, positioning as a privacy-friendly alternative to Postman. Competes directly with Insomnia's Git Sync and Local Storage value proposition among developer-centric users.
- Hoppscotch: Open-source API development ecosystem built initially as 'Postwoman,' offering REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and SSE testing in a web-native interface. Competes with Insomnia in the open-source, individual developer segment.
- HTTPie: API testing client known for its human-friendly CLI and modern UI, targeting developers who want a simpler, more intuitive interface than Postman. Overlaps with Insomnia's API debugging and testing use cases.
- Stoplight: API design-first platform with OpenAPI editing, mocking, documentation, and governance, serving enterprise teams that prioritize design and standardization. Competes with Insomnia's API Design and Enterprise feature modules.
- RapidAPI: API hub and testing platform (acquired Paw) that combines a marketplace for APIs with a developer client. Overlaps with Insomnia's API testing and discovery workflows for enterprise and SMB developers.
Broad incumbents
- Apigee (Google Cloud): Google Cloud's API management platform providing design, testing, analytics, and monetization at enterprise scale. A broad incumbent in the API lifecycle space that competes for enterprise tooling budget alongside Insomnia.
- SmartBear ReadyAPI: Enterprise API testing suite (including SoapUI heritage) covering functional, security, and load testing. Competes with Insomnia at the enterprise QA and testing procurement layer.
- Swagger (SmartBear): Open-source API tooling ecosystem (Swagger Editor, Swagger UI, Swagger Codegen) maintained by SmartBear. Competes indirectly via OpenAPI design tooling that overlaps with Insomnia's design-first workflow.
Emerging players
- Akita: Developer-focused API debugging and observability platform using eBPF to auto-discover API traffic. Emerging player addressing adjacent pain points (debugging/observability) that overlap with Insomnia's debugging capabilities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Insomnia social profiles
Digital presenceInsomnia compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Insomnia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Insomnia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Insomnia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Insomnia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Insomnia
What does Insomnia do?
Insomnia is an AI-native collaborative API development platform built and distributed by Kong Inc. It provides a unified desktop and CLI solution for designing, testing, debugging, mocking, and governing REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, Socket.IO, SSE, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) APIs. The product is offered via a freemium model with Free, Pro ($12/user/month), and Enterprise ($45/user/month) tiers, and is trusted by millions of developers and enterprises including Netflix, Nasdaq, Tesla, PayPal, Zillow, and Red Bull.
Is Insomnia a public or private company?
Insomnia is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Insomnia founded?
Insomnia was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Insomnia based?
Insomnia is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Insomnia make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription SaaS (Essentials Tier) is the primary driver. The others are pro Tier Subscription and enterprise Tier Subscription.
Who are Insomnia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Postman, Bruno, Hoppscotch, HTTPie, Stoplight and RapidAPI. Broad incumbents are Apigee (Google Cloud), SmartBear ReadyAPI and Swagger (SmartBear). Akita is listed as an emerging player.
Does Insomnia have an API?
Yes. Insomnia provides the Inso CLI (Insomnia CLI) for CI/CD automation, enabling developers to validate and lint OpenAPI specs, run automated API tests, and integrate testing into Git pipelines. The CLI supports GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, and Vercel integrations. Additionally, Insomnia offers MCP (Model Context Protocol) client functionality for AI agents to access collections and configurations directly. Developer documentation is at docs.insomnia.rest.