In short
Insomnia, by Kong, is a desktop client for APIs with three storage options (Local Vault, Git Sync and Cloud Sync), API design documents, mock servers and the Inso CLI. HITOP is a smaller tool: an HTTP client and collection runner whose collections are YAML files in your repository, with no account.
Checked on 2026-11-01 against the pages listed under Sources.
Side by side
| HITOP | Insomnia | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free: CLI, web app, desktop builds on GitHub. Mac App Store app $4.99 and iOS $2.99, paid once | Essentials $0; Pro $12 and Enterprise $45 per user per month |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Account | None | The local Scratch Pad works without one; the project says accounts are needed for most capabilities |
| Storage | A folder of YAML files, one per request, or local app storage | Local Vault, Git Sync (free for up to 3 users) and Cloud Sync (optionally end to end encrypted), in any combination |
| CLI | hitop: one Rust binary (crates.io, static Linux builds, Docker image) |
Inso CLI (brew install inso, downloads, Docker image kong/inso): runs tests and collections, lints specs |
| CI reports | JUnit XML, a versioned JSON report and a self-contained HTML page | See the Inso CLI reference |
| CI integrations | GitHub Action bohdaq/hitop-action, GitLab CI template |
Inso in any pipeline |
| API design | No design or linting; OpenAPI 3.0 and 3.1 import, and sync with a newer spec that keeps your edits | Design documents, spec linting |
| Mock servers | None | 1,000 requests per month on Essentials |
| Protocols | HTTP everywhere. GraphQL (with schema completion) in the CLI and web app; WebSocket in the CLI and web app (a browser can't send handshake headers); gRPC, unary and server streaming, in the CLI. The desktop app gets all of them with its new UI (the web app in Tauri, in testing) | REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, Server-Sent Events, gRPC and other HTTP compatible protocols |
The difference in practice
With Insomnia's Git Sync the app manages the repository; with HITOP the collection folder is ordinary files that you commit with the rest of your code, and the format is a published spec. Insomnia covers more of the API lifecycle (design, linting, mocks). HITOP focuses on sending requests and running collections, in the terminal, in CI and in the browser.
Sources
- Insomnia pricing: https://insomnia.rest/pricing (plans, Git Sync for 3 users, Scratch Pad)
- Insomnia repository: https://github.com/Kong/insomnia (Apache-2.0, protocols, storage options, accounts)
- Inso CLI: https://developer.konghq.com/inso-cli/ (commands, install, Docker)
- HITOP: https://github.com/bohdaq/hitop (MIT)