Thunder Client

Lightweight REST API client built as VSCode extension

As of 30 August 2026, Thunder Client is free to use. Thunder Client is a fast and lightweight REST API client integrated as a Visual Studio Code extension. Softwr lists it under APIs. Thunder Client is launched in 2021, available on Web.

Visit siteVisit Thunder Client

Overview

What Thunder Client does

Thunder Client is a fast and lightweight REST API client integrated as a Visual Studio Code extension. It provides request building, testing, and collaboration features directly within your IDE.

What people use it for

API Development
API Gateway
API Testing
API Documentation
Microservices

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Thunder Client.

Paid plans are billed annually only: Starter is $3 per user per month and capped at a maximum of 10 seats, Business is $7 per user per month with 500 monthly collection runs per user, and Enterprise is $16 per user per month for unlimited runs

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Thunder Client

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Thunder Clientvs
Appwrite
Appwrite: Open-source Backend as a Service with REST API and SDKs
Thunder Clientvs
Hasura
Hasura: GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases
Thunder Clientvs
PocketBase
PocketBase: Open-source backend with REST API, real-time subscriptions and Admin UI
Thunder Clientvs
Sanity
Sanity: Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs

Pricing

What Thunder Client costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Free

REST client
Collection management
Local testing

Pro

$8 /mo

Cloud sync
Team collaboration
Advanced features

Capabilities

Features

REST Client
Environment variables
Response testing
VSCode
Integration with VSCode
GitHub
Integration with GitHub
Webhook support
Integration with Webhook support
VSCode extension support
Available on VSCode extension
Web support
Available on Web

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

How much does Thunder Client cost?

Thunder Client publishes a free plan at no cost, then Starter at $3, Business at $7 and Enterprise at $16, all priced annually.

Source

Is Thunder Client free?

Yes, there is a free plan. It is used through the Thunder Client extension for VS Code, available from the marketplace, with limits applied compared with the paid tiers.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Thunder Client

Company: Thunder Client
Based in: Global

Timeline

Thunder Client over time

Launch2021-03-31
Thunder Client extension launches
Source

Keep looking

Where to go from Thunder Client

Best APIs software for

Compare Thunder Client with

Other APIs software

REST Client VSCode
VSCode extension for making HTTP requests and testing REST APIs
Free plan12 researched notes
PocketBase
Open-source backend with REST API, real-time subscriptions and Admin UI
Free plan9 researched notes
Appwrite
Open-source Backend as a Service with REST API and SDKs
Free, then $15/mo14 researched notes
Hasura
GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases
Free, then $5/mo9 researched notes
Sanity
Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs
Free, then $15/mo13 researched notes
Bruno
Open-source IDE for API exploration with git-friendly collections
Free, then $6/mo12 researched notes
Paw
Full-featured REST client for macOS with powerful scripting and testing
From $99/one-time11 researched notes
Swagger/OpenAPI
API specification and documentation framework using OpenAPI standard
Free plan9 researched notes
HTTPie
Command-line HTTP client with intuitive interface and syntax
Free plan11 researched notes
Prisma
Modern ORM and API client for Node.js and TypeScript
Free plan12 researched notes
RapidAPI
API marketplace and management platform for discovering and publishing APIs
Free plan6 researched notes
10x Banking
Cloud-native core banking platform built for large incumbent bank migrations
Pricing on request11 researched notes
Brite Payments
Instant account to account payments and payouts across Europe
Pricing on request11 researched notes
Bud Financial
Transaction enrichment and customer intelligence for banks, built on UK open banking data
Pricing on request13 researched notes
Episode Six
Payment processing and ledger platform deployable on premise or in your own cloud
Pricing on request11 researched notes
Kong Gateway
Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic
Free plan9 researched notes
Bruno
Open-source IDE for API exploration with git-friendly collections
Free, then $6/mo12 researched notes
Swagger
API design and documentation platform for building, testing, and managing APIs
Free plan7 researched notes

Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Thunder Client, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

Best APIs software alternatives

View all APIs software