Step CI
Step CI is an open-source framework for automating testing of REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC APIs, serving software development and DevOps teams via a free CLI plus a custom-priced enterprise Support Plan.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersGermany, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Step CI does
Step CI is an open-source API testing framework founded in 2023 that enables software development teams and DevOps engineers to automate testing of REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC APIs from a single toolchain. The product is configurable via YAML, JSON, or JavaScript and supports multi-step workflows with captures and variables, schema validation (JSON Schema, XML, HTML, bytes), built-in authentication, conditional steps, templating, parallel execution, and combined functional, performance, load, and security testing. It is distributed via npm (`npx stepci init`), Docker, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and a Jest integration, with import support for OpenAPI specifications and (in development) Postman and Insomnia collections.
The core product is the open-source Runner and CLI released under the MPL License, distributed primarily through a product-led growth motion targeting individual developers and small teams. Adoption is signaled by 1500+ GitHub stars and an active Discord community. The company's commercial monetization is anchored on a single paid offering — a custom-priced Support Plan — that provides SLA-backed support, infrastructure setup, team training hours, prioritized bugfixes and feature requests, monthly security reports, and early access to features, with startup discounts available.
The company operates as an independent, privately held open-source project with no disclosed funding, parent company, or management team. Named logos displayed on the marketing site include Netflix, Google, Adobe, CapitalOne, Lego, Ledger, Lever, Pocus, Saleor, and Grafbase, which are most plausibly open-source users rather than disclosed paying Support Plan customers. The development team is reachable via [email protected]. Geographic location is listed as Germany with country listed as United States, indicating an international founding footprint, though no office locations are disclosed.
Step CI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Step CI
- Legal name
- Step CI
- Website
- https://stepci.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Step CI is an open-source framework for automating testing of REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC APIs, serving software development and DevOps teams via a free CLI plus a custom-priced enterprise Support Plan.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Step CI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Testing Tools
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design Services (541512)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- GraphQL, gRPC & Modern API Protocols (BPAMAOAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- CI/CD Pipeline Engineering & Automation (BPAEAKAB)
Keywords
Where Step CI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Germany
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Step CI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Open-Source Free Tier: Free open-source runner and CLI under MPL License with full core functionality including YAML/JSON/JavaScript configuration, REST/GraphQL/SOAP/trpc testing, request chaining, mock data, and parallel execution. Remains free forever.
- Commercial Support Plan: Paid support plan with SLA, onboarding, training hours for teams, prioritized feature requests and bugfixes, monthly security reports, and early access to new features. Set up on customer infrastructure. Discounts available for startups. Custom pricing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Open-Source (Free) - Full-featured free tier |
| Subscription | Monthly | Support Plan (Custom) - Enterprise support with SLA |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
Step CI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Step CI is an open-source framework for automated API testing and quality assurance across REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC protocols. The product offers test automation, security testing, performance testing, and load testing configured via YAML, JSON, or JavaScript, and runs locally, in Docker, or within CI/CD pipelines such as GitHub Actions and GitLab CI. A paid Support Plan adds SLA-backed support, onboarding, training, and prioritized feature/bugfix handling on top of the free open-source tier.
Product overview
Step CI is an open-source API testing framework offered as a single unified product with a free open-source tier and a paid support add-on. The core Open-Source Runner and CLI provides API test automation, security validation, performance testing, and load testing for REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC APIs, configured via YAML, JSON, or JavaScript. Users can optionally purchase a Support Plan for SLA-backed support, onboarding, training hours, prioritized bugfixes, and early feature access. The product operates via CLI commands and integrates with Node.js, Docker, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Jest.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Open-Source Runner and CLI The core open-source API testing framework providing test automation, security testing, performance testing, and load testing capabilities for REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC APIs. Configured using YAML, JSON, or JavaScript and executed via CLI on Node.js, Docker, or CI/CD environments. Targeted at software development and DevOps teams.
- Support Plan Paid support offering covering SLA-backed support, infrastructure setup, team training hours, prioritized feature requests and bugfixes, monthly security reports, and early access to new features. Includes everything in the open-source tier and is targeted at teams needing enterprise-grade reliability and onboarding assistance.
Companies that use Step CI
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Step CI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature11 records
Step CI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Node.jscoreNode.js library distribution via npm package manager. Primary deployment target for the stepci CLI tool. Enables 'npx stepci init' command for instant workflow creation.
- DockercoreDocker container distribution for platform-agnostic test execution. Allows running Step CI workflows in any containerized environment.
- GitHubcoreNative GitHub Actions CI/CD integration for automated testing in GitHub workflows. Repository hosted on GitHub with 1500+ stars and community discussions.
- GitLabcoreNative GitLab CI/CD integration for automated testing in GitLab pipelines.
- OpenAPI InitiativecoreImport capability from OpenAPI specifications to automatically generate API tests, reducing setup friction for OpenAPI users.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Step CI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hoppscotch: Hoppscotch is an open-source API development ecosystem (web, desktop, CLI, self-hosted) testing REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and SSE. Its open-source + self-hosted + multi-platform distribution mirrors Step CI's PLG and community-led motion.
- Katalon: Katalon is an AI-augmented test automation platform covering web, mobile, API, and desktop. Its API testing module competes with Step CI for QA-team budget, particularly for enterprise buyers seeking a unified testing platform.
- Insomnia: Insomnia (by Kong) is a cross-platform API client supporting REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and SOAP with plugin extensibility. It overlaps directly with Step CI on multi-protocol testing and is the second-largest target for Step CI's import tooling.
- Postman: Postman is the dominant API client and testing platform, offering REST/GraphQL/SOAP testing with collaboration features. It is the primary incumbent Step CI competes against, and Step CI's import paths from Postman collections position it as a direct migration target.
- Bruno: Bruno is an open-source API client that stores collections as plain-text files in a git-friendly format and runs via CLI. Its open-source, CLI-first, and CI/CD-friendly positioning makes it the closest head-to-head open-source competitor to Step CI.
- SoapUI (SmartBear): SoapUI and its commercial sibling ReadyAPI are long-standing API testing tools supporting REST, SOAP, GraphQL, and load testing. They represent the legacy enterprise-oriented incumbent in API testing that Step CI's multi-protocol scope also targets.
- Stoplight: Stoplight provides API design, documentation, mocking, and testing tools built around OpenAPI/Spectral. It competes with Step CI on the OpenAPI-importable, design-first API testing workflow that Step CI also targets.
- Newman: Newman is Postman's command-line runner for executing Postman collections in CI/CD. It overlaps directly with Step CI's CLI runner and CI/CD-native execution model, and is the most analogous competitor on the 'API tests in pipelines' use case.
Broad incumbents
- Apache JMeter: Apache JMeter is a long-standing open-source load and performance testing tool that overlaps with Step CI's performance/load testing features. It is a broader-incumbent open-source project rather than a direct functional testing competitor.
Emerging players
- Pact (PactFlow): Pact is an open-source contract testing framework for APIs and microservices. While focused on consumer-driven contract testing rather than general functional testing, it competes with Step CI for budget allocated to API quality in microservices architectures.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Step CI social profiles
Digital presenceStep CI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Step CI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Step CI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Step CI 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 Step CI
What does Step CI do?
Step CI is an open-source framework for automated API testing and quality assurance across REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and tRPC protocols. The product offers test automation, security testing, performance testing, and load testing configured via YAML, JSON, or JavaScript, and runs locally, in Docker, or within CI/CD pipelines such as GitHub Actions and GitLab CI. A paid Support Plan adds SLA-backed support, onboarding, training, and prioritized feature/bugfix handling on top of the free open-source tier.
Is Step CI a public or private company?
Step CI is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Step CI founded?
Step CI was founded in 2023.
Where is Step CI based?
Step CI is headquartered in Germany, United States, in the North America region.
How does Step CI make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Open-Source Free Tier is the primary driver. The others are commercial Support Plan.
Who are Step CI's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hoppscotch, Katalon, Insomnia, Postman, Bruno, SoapUI (SmartBear), Stoplight and Newman. Apache JMeter is listed as a broad incumbent. Pact (PactFlow) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Step CI have an API?
No public API is recorded for Step CI.
What industry is Step CI in?
Step CI's product category is Developer Testing Tools. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAOAK, GraphQL, gRPC & Modern API Protocols, with a secondary code of BPAEAKAB, CI/CD Pipeline Engineering & Automation. Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 7372.