# Postman 17 Hacker News commenters recommended Postman and 35 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Widely used API client for sending requests and sharing collections, with built-in AI; critics say the free plan keeps shrinking and pricing keeps tightening. ## Why people recommend it - Built-in AI and MCP server (2 comments): "I only realised there was a Postman MCP server after battling through that ordeal and eventually making all the tedious edits myself." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346668)) "postman has AI that can write little scripts that visualize responses however you want" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46100406)) - Good for complex API work (2 comments): "For that, tools like Postman make sense." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47708849)) "postman is great for complex stuff" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47702963)) - Everyday tool for teams (2 comments): "VS Code, Slack, Postman, Obsidian.. I use this software every day" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48805511)) "my Postman (and Insomnia) preferring colleagues" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46801697)) ## What people warn about - Paywalls and shifting free-plan limits (6 comments): "Every other API-testing tool seems to have evolved into a bloated, cloud-first, subscription-based "service"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46848500)) "Postman has quietly removed free multi-user collaboration and limited the free plan to a single user" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945260)) "paywalls, feature gating, and pricing complexity become almost inevitable, even with good intentions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47111190)) - Heavy memory use and slow startup (3 comments): "each of those is going to require an additional GB or two of memory on every staff member's computer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46153990)) "the use of electron is definitely a bad thing in terms of cold-start time and memory at idle" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48008269)) "the x86 version of Postman somehow got installed on my M1 and it was slow like a dog" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48392253)) - Drifted from its original API testing focus (2 comments): "it's a massive change and deviation from its original purpose as an API testing and documentation tool" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46905156)) "Postman has turned from something that's bad, that I put up with, to something that's god awful that I simply refuse to engage with." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48236844)) - Clunky UI for bulk or scripted testing (2 comments): "I sit there fiddling with the UI five or ten times instead of just putting it into a loop in a real program" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46799049)) "wanted it work in a slightly different way and be able to do some bulk testing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47024678)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Bruno API client](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bruno.md): 11 recommend - [Voiden](https://hackerapproved.com/p/voiden.md): 9 recommend - [Slumber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/slumber-tui-http-client.md): 9 recommend - [Kvile](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kvile.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.postman.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Postman", https://hackerapproved.com/p/postman/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).