**Local-first: your data stays with you: **Insomnia stores everything on your machine by default. No forced cloud sync, no account needed just to send a request. This is helpful if privacy or working in a regulated environment is a priority for you

**Free for teams + Git-based sync: **Postman’s free plan is now mostly for solo use, with team features behind a paywall. Insomnia, on the other hand, offers free unlimited cloud collaboration, so teams can work together without restrictions. It also supports small teams collaborating for [free using Git sync](https://insomnia.rest/pricing)free using Git sync. You can connect your own Git repos (GitHub, GitLab, etc.) and manage your API work just like code, with branches, pull requests, and full version control.

**Built for modern workflows (AI-ready): **[Insomnia 12](https://konghq.com/company/press-room/press-release/kong-releases-insomnia-12-to-accelerate-api-and-mcp-development-with-ai-powered-testing-and-collaboration)Insomnia 12 comes with built-in support for testing AI workflows (like MCP) and can even generate mock APIs using simple text prompts. It works with both cloud and local AI models.

**Flexible with plugins: **You can extend Insomnia using [_plugins _](https://insomnia.rest/plugins.)_plugins _to match your workflow, instead of being limited to built-in features.

**Lightweight and faster: **Insomnia generally uses less memory and feels faster. If you’re running other dev tools, this can make a noticeable difference

**More cost-effective: **Insomnia offers a free and open-source version, along with paid plans, often making it more affordable than Postman. For example, need external vault integration to retrieve secret values automatically when sending requests? This is available out-of-the-box with Insomnia Enterprise, whereas Postman charges an additional $29/user/month. 

This guide walks through every step: exporting from Postman, importing into Insomnia, verifying your data, and understanding how scripts translate between the two tools.

**Prerequisites**

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• - [Insomnia Desktop App](https://insomnia.rest/download)Insomnia Desktop App (latest version recommended) 
• - [Enterprise plan or Enterprise trail](https://insomnia.rest/pricing)Enterprise plan or Enterprise trail to explore bulk import.
• - Your Postman collections and environments ready for export

*📌 Important: Multi-project import is turned off by default in Insomnia and is primarily available for Enterprise users. To enable Bulk Import access, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or Account Executive. Once enabled, you'll see the "Bulk Import Projects" option in the import dialog. *

To begin the import process in Insomnia, you must first export your projects from Postman. If you have already exported the projects, you can proceed directly to the Import section.

You have two options for exporting: the Postman UI or a CLI-based approach.

**Option A: Export via the Postman UI**

Click your avatar in the Postman header, then click Settings. Click the Account tab, then Export Data.

Exporting from the Postman UI can be slow and tedious, especially if you have dozens of workspaces. You may need to request the export, wait for it to finish, and then wait for an email to download your files.

**Option B: Export via the **[_**Postman Exporter**_](https://www.npmjs.com/package/organize-postman-export)_**Postman Exporter**_** CLI (Recommended for Bulk)**

For large-scale migrations, the command-line approach is far more efficient. Using the Postman Exporter, you can bypass the manual UI and export all workspaces into a local folder instantly.

# Install the Postman Exporter
npm install -g postman-exporter

# Export all collections from a workspace
npx organize-postman-export export --api-key YOUR_POSTMAN_API_KEY

*Replace **`your_postman_api_key`** with your actual API key. This will dump all collections and environments into a local folder, ready for import.*

You can choose whichever method you prefer. Either way, importing them into Insomnia will be quick and easy.

Now that you have your exported files, let's bring them into Insomnia. Navigate to Preferences → Data → Import Projects.

Select the folder containing all your Postman exports. Click Import.

Insomnia will scan the directory, provide a preview of all collections and environments, and upon confirmation, import everything automatically. 

Each Postman workspace maps to a dedicated Project within Insomnia, preserving your organizational structure. 

• - After importing your data into Insomnia, it’s essential to review everything to ensure the migration from Postman was successful.
• - Start by opening the imported project and verifying that all collections, folders, and requests are present and structured as expected. 
• - Next, check your environment variables by selecting the imported environment from the dropdown in the request panel and confirming that all variables and their values have been carried over correctly. 
• - To validate functionality, send a test request, preferably one that relies on environment variables  and ensure that the variables resolve properly and the response is as expected

**Review Script Compatibility:** One of the most powerful features of Insomnia's import is automatic script conversion.

When Insomnia imports Postman collections that contain pre-request scripts or test scripts, it automatically converts the Postman-specific syntax (e.g., `pm.environment.set()`, `pm.environment.get()`) into Insomnia's native scripting format.

Example — Postman syntax: 

// Test the 200 success status code for correct authentication
pm.test("Status code is 200 (Authentication Successful)", function () {
    pm.response.to.have.status(200);
});
pm.test("Authenticated field is true", function () {
    var jsonData = pm.response.json();
    pm.expect(jsonData.authenticated).to.be.true;
});

After import — Insomnia equivalent:

// Test the 200 success status code for correct authentication
insomnia.test("Status code is 200 (Authentication Successful)", function () {
    insomnia.response.to.have.status(200);
});
insomnia.test("Authenticated field is true", function () {
    var jsonData = insomnia.response.json();
    insomnia.expect(jsonData.authenticated).to.be.true;
});

*💡 Pro Tip: Insomnia handles approximately 95% of script conversions automatically. However, it's always a good idea to do a quick manual review of complex scripts to ensure everything looks correct. Edge cases with advanced Postman sandbox APIs may need manual adjustments.*

That’s it! Simple and straightforward. By following this guide, you can move your entire Postman setup to Insomnia and start testing right away.

Migrating to Insomnia is a smart step toward a smoother API workflow. It offers a clean interface, solid collaboration features, and flexible extensions. You can switch easily without losing your collections, environments, scripts, or workflows. Once you get used to it, Insomnia can help you work faster and manage APIs more efficiently. 

Give it a try and see why more developers are choosing tools that fit the way they work. Get started for free! 

[Download Insomnia](https://insomnia.rest/download)Download Insomnia, [explore the documentation](https://konghq.com/blog/engineering/why-kong-insomnia-is-developers-preferred-api-client#:~:text=Explore%20the%20Documentation)explore the documentation, and check out this [YouTube playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg_AhYkg50vjSRTMwV90In-SFpkbiwfPO)YouTube playlist for best practices.