Hurl vs Restfox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Hurl
Run and test HTTP requests with a plain text format
VS
Restfox
Offline-first browser and desktop REST API client
| Feature | Hurl | Restfox |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,131 | ★ 2,739 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Postman, Insomnia | Postman, Insomnia |
Why pick each one
Choose Hurl if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 19.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Choose Restfox if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Hurl or Restfox better?
Neither is universally better. Hurl has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Hurl and Restfox free and open-source?
Yes. Hurl is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Restfox under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hurl and Restfox with Docker?
Hurl: check the project docs for container support. Restfox: yes.