My stack
    Thunder Client preview

    Thunder Client Review and verdict 2026

    Lightweight API client inside VS Code for testing endpoints and simple collections.

    Thunder Client

    ToolTrim Verdict
    4.4/5
    Very good

    Thunder Client shines for solo developers or small teams testing simple REST APIs; for GraphQL or complex scenarios, Postman offers more.

    Visit websiteExplore around Thunder Client

    Pricing verified on

    Our take

    Understanding Thunder Client.

    Lightweight API client inside VS Code for testing endpoints and simple collections.

    Practical uses

    • Test a local REST API during development.
    • Debug API integration in a small team.
    • Automate API tests in CI/CD.

    Pros and cons

    What Thunder Client does especially well — and the limits to anticipate.

    Pros

    • Free for personal use.
    • Very lightweight and fast, no IDE context-switch.
    • Native VS Code and JetBrains integration.
    • Transparent, reasonable pricing for teams.

    Cons

    • Limited to 25 requests per collection in free version.
    • Fewer features than Postman for complex cases.
    • Smaller ecosystem than Postman.

    Thunder Client: when it makes sense.

    Thunder Client shines for solo developers or small teams testing simple REST APIs; for GraphQL or complex scenarios, Postman offers more.

    Keep if

    You regularly test REST APIs.. You prefer working in your IDE without switching apps.

    Challenge if

    You need GraphQL or complex cases.. You want a rich graphical interface.

    Our verdict on Thunder Client.

    Why this verdict

    Very good

    Thunder Client is hard to replace short-term, a free tier to test before paying, clearly documented use cases.