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APIs · head to head

REST Client VSCode vs Salt Edge

REST Client VSCode logo

REST Client VSCode

APIs

VSCode extension for making HTTP requests and testing REST APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Salt Edge logo

Salt Edge

APIs

Independent open banking aggregator covering Europe by PSD2 API and other markets by direct connection

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only REST Client VSCode has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: REST Client VSCode limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application; Salt Edge coverage outside regulated open banking markets is not all direct bank API, and connections that are not regulated interfaces break when a bank changes its systems, so a headline country count overstates the reliability you will actually experience.
  • They diverge on capability: REST Client VSCode covers REST Client, Salt Edge covers Account information.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which REST Client VSCode and Salt Edge actually diverge.

Attributes where REST Client VSCode and Salt Edge differ
AttributeREST Client VSCodeSalt Edge
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, API
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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 REST Client VSCode

  • REST Client
  • HTTP requests
  • Response viewing
  • VSCode
  • Environment variables
  • Custom headers
  • VSCode extension support

Only in Salt Edge

  • Account information
  • Payment initiation
  • Wide country coverage
  • Open Banking Gateway
  • Categorisation and enrichment
  • Consent management
  • Partner and white label
  • Sandbox

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

REST Client VSCode

  • API Developmentnot Salt Edge
  • API Gatewaynot Salt Edge
  • API Testingnot Salt Edge
  • API Documentationnot Salt Edge
  • Microservicesnot Salt Edge

Salt Edge

  • A lender operating across several European and non-EU markets that needs one aggregation contract rather than a different provider per countrynot REST Client VSCode
  • A fintech that wants an aggregator not owned by a card network because its use case competes with card productsnot REST Client VSCode
  • An accounting or treasury product that needs bank feeds in markets the large aggregators do not servenot REST Client VSCode
  • A bank that must publish PSD2-compliant APIs and would rather buy the compliance layer than build itnot REST Client VSCode

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

REST Client VSCode

  • Limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application
  • No support for WebSocket, gRPC, or other advanced protocols
  • No cloud sync or team server features; requires Git-based workflow

Salt Edge

  • Coverage outside regulated open banking markets is not all direct bank API, and connections that are not regulated interfaces break when a bank changes its systems, so a headline country count overstates the reliability you will actually experience.
  • Pricing is not published and is usage-based, so two providers cannot be compared without running both sales processes, and cost grows with the connected user base rather than with revenue.
  • Support and engineering are distributed across Eastern Europe and Canada, and buyers in other time zones report slower turnaround on connection-specific breakages than they get from a domestic provider.
  • PSD2 consent rules require customers to reauthenticate periodically, and Salt Edge cannot change that, so any product depending on continuous data must design for consent expiry and the drop-off it causes.
  • United States coverage is weaker than Plaid or Mastercard Open Banking, so a company with meaningful US volume ends up running two aggregators and normalising between them.

Pricing, plan by plan

REST Client VSCode

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the REST Client VSCode review.

Salt Edge

On request
  • Salt Edge Open Banking API$undefined/year
    • Account information and payment initiation
    • Coverage across 50 plus countries
    • Consent management and enrichment

Which should you pick?

Choose REST Client VSCode if

  • You need rest client.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want http requests.
REST Client VSCode review

Choose Salt Edge if

  • You need account information.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want payment initiation.
Salt Edge review

Questions people ask

Is REST Client VSCode or Salt Edge better?
Neither clearly leads. REST Client VSCode starts at Free and Salt Edge at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, REST Client VSCode or Salt Edge?
REST Client VSCode has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for REST Client VSCode and On request for Salt Edge.
Does REST Client VSCode or Salt Edge run on more platforms?
REST Client VSCode runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Salt Edge runs on Web, API.
Can I use REST Client VSCode for free?
Yes. REST Client VSCode has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salt Edge starts at On request.
What is REST Client VSCode best used for?
REST Client VSCode is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Salt Edge is typically brought in for.
What can REST Client VSCode do that Salt Edge cannot?
REST Client VSCode covers REST Client, HTTP requests, Response viewing, VSCode. Salt Edge covers Account information, Payment initiation, Wide country coverage, Open Banking Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

REST Client VSCode: How much does REST Client VSCode cost?

REST Client VSCode is completely free and open source. It is available on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace with no subscription or licensing fees.

Source
Salt Edge: Who owns Salt Edge?

It is independently owned, unlike Tink (Visa), Finicity (Mastercard) or Yodlee (Envestnet), which matters if your use case competes with the owner.

REST Client VSCode: What authentication methods does REST Client support?

REST Client supports Basic Auth, Digest Auth, SSL certificates, Azure AD, and AWS Signature v4 authentication for API requests.

Source
Salt Edge: Is all coverage direct bank API?

No. Inside PSD2 markets connections use regulated APIs; elsewhere coverage relies on direct connections whose reliability depends on the bank not changing its systems. Ask for a per-institution answer.

REST Client VSCode: Can I save and manage multiple requests?

Yes. REST Client supports multiple requests per file using ### delimiters, request history with auto-save, environment variables for different configurations, and code snippet generation for multiple programming languages.

Source
Salt Edge: Does it do payments as well as data?

Yes, payment initiation is supported in European markets where PSD2 applies.

REST Client VSCode: How do teams collaborate with REST Client?

REST Client requests are stored as text files that can be version-controlled in Git repositories. Teams collaborate by sharing requests through Git, making the API specs part of the codebase.

Source
Salt Edge: What does it cost?

Not published. Pricing is usage-based and quoted, though the sandbox is free.

REST Client VSCode: What protocols does REST Client support?

REST Client primarily supports HTTP/HTTPS and GraphQL. It does not support WebSocket, gRPC, or other advanced protocols available in desktop clients like Insomnia.

Source
REST Client VSCode: Is there cloud sync for REST Client requests?

No. REST Client has no built-in cloud sync or team server features. All collaboration and sharing relies on Git repository management.

Source
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