Software Development · head to head
Cline vs Insomnia
Insomnia
Testing & QA
REST and GraphQL API client for development and testing
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Insomnia has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Cline enterprise tier pricing is gated behind a sales contact; only the open source free tier and usage based inference credits are self serve, as of August 2026.; Insomnia git Sync on the free tier covers up to 3 users only
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cline and Insomnia actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Cline
Nothing recorded that Insomnia does not also cover.
Only in Insomnia
- REST API Client
- GraphQL Support
- gRPC Support
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Slack
- Windows support
- MacOS support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cline
No use cases recorded yet. See the Cline review.
Insomnia
- Sending and debugging HTTP, GraphQL and gRPC requestsnot Cline
- Storing collections in Git rather than a vendor cloudnot Cline
- Mocking an API endpoint before it existsnot Cline
- Running collections in CI with the Inso CLInot Cline
- Environment management across staging and productionnot Cline
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cline
- Enterprise tier pricing is gated behind a sales contact; only the open source free tier and usage based inference credits are self serve, as of August 2026.
Insomnia
- Git Sync on the free tier covers up to 3 users only
- Mock servers are capped at 1,000 requests a month on free, then $10 per 25,000
- Role-based access control requires Pro at $12 per user per month
- SSO, SCIM and vault integrations are Enterprise only at $45 per user per month
- Working without an account is limited to the local-only Scratch Pad
Pricing, plan by plan
Cline
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Cline review.
Insomnia
Free- FreeFree
- REST, GraphQL, gRPC support
- Local data
- Pro$5/monthly
- Cloud sync
- Team collaboration
- Advanced features
- Team$30/monthly
- Team management
- Advanced analytics
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Cline if
Nothing in the data separates Cline from Insomnia on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Insomnia if
- You need rest api client.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Web.
- You also want graphql support.
Questions people ask
- Is Cline or Insomnia better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cline starts at On request and Insomnia at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cline or Insomnia?
- Insomnia has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cline and Free for Insomnia.
- Does Cline or Insomnia run on more platforms?
- Cline runs on Web. Insomnia runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Web.
- Can I use Insomnia for free?
- Yes. Insomnia has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cline starts at On request.
- What can Cline do that Insomnia cannot?
- Insomnia covers REST API Client, GraphQL Support, gRPC Support, GitHub.
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- Insomnia vs Zed
- Insomnia vs Amp
- Insomnia vs Codacy
- Insomnia vs DeepSource
- Insomnia vs Augment Code
- Insomnia vs Drizzle ORM
- Insomnia vs Flagsmith
- Insomnia vs Unleash
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- Insomnia vs Devin
- Insomnia vs Factory
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- Insomnia vs CircleCI
- Insomnia vs BrowserStack
- Insomnia vs BugHerd
- Insomnia vs Cypress
- Insomnia vs GitHub Actions
- Insomnia vs Playwright
- Insomnia vs Zephyr Scale