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APIs · head to head

REST Client VSCode vs Soketi

REST Client VSCode logo

REST Client VSCode

APIs

VSCode extension for making HTTP requests and testing REST APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: REST Client VSCode limited to Visual Studio Code; not available as a standalone application; Soketi maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive.
  • They diverge on capability: REST Client VSCode covers REST Client, Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where REST Client VSCode and Soketi differ
AttributeREST Client VSCodeSoketi
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryAPIsDeveloper Tools
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 REST Client VSCode

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

Only in Soketi

  • Pusher protocol compatibility
  • Presence and private channels
  • Horizontal scaling
  • App management backends
  • Webhooks
  • Prometheus metrics

What people use each for

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

REST Client VSCode

  • API Developmentnot Soketi
  • API Gatewaynot Soketi
  • API Testingnot Soketi
  • API Documentationnot Soketi
  • Microservicesnot Soketi

Soketi

  • A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot REST Client VSCode
  • Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot REST Client VSCode
  • A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot REST Client VSCode
  • A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot 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

Soketi

  • Maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive.
  • Dependency drift on Node and uWebSockets.js will eventually force you to fork or migrate, and that cost is unbudgeted at the point you adopt it.
  • There is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path.
  • Scaling beyond a single node needs Redis and careful configuration, and getting presence channels correct across nodes is a genuine source of subtle bugs.
  • It implements the Pusher protocol rather than tracking it, so any protocol feature Pusher adds later will not appear, and the compatibility guarantee slowly decays.

Pricing, plan by plan

REST Client VSCode

Free

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

Soketi

Free
  • SoketiFree
    • MIT licensed
    • Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
    • No vendor billing

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 Soketi if

  • You need pusher protocol compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want presence and private channels.
Soketi review

Questions people ask

Is REST Client VSCode or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. REST Client VSCode starts at Free and Soketi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, REST Client VSCode or Soketi?
REST Client VSCode starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does REST Client VSCode or Soketi run on more platforms?
REST Client VSCode runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use REST Client VSCode for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can REST Client VSCode do that Soketi cannot?
REST Client VSCode covers REST Client, HTTP requests, Response viewing, VSCode. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

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
Soketi: Is Soketi still maintained?

Barely. The maintainer has stated that available time is very limited and releases have been sparse; treat it as community-maintained.

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
Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.

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
Soketi: What does it cost?

Nothing in licence fees. It is MIT licensed; you pay for the server it runs on.

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
Soketi: What are people moving to?

Laravel Reverb for Laravel applications, and Sockudo, a Rust reimplementation, for others.

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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