Hurl vs Scalar

Comparing two open source alternatives to Postman and Paw and Apidog and Thunder Client . Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

Hurl

Apache-2.0

Run and test HTTP requests with plain text — a simple yet powerful command-line tool for API testing.

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Scalar

MIT

Scalar is an open-source API platform:　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　🌐 Modern Rest API Client　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　📖 Beautiful API References　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　✨ 1st-Class OpenAPI/Swagger Support

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Side-by-side comparison

	Hurl	Scalar
License	Apache-2.0	MIT
Self-hostable	No	No
GitHub Stars	18,951	15,109
Forks	726	854
Open Issues	198	104
Last Commit	May 28, 2026	May 26, 2026
First Released	Aug 25, 2020	Aug 16, 2023
Categories	API Development & Testing Tools	API Development & Testing Tools
Tags	#API #api client #cli #testing #curl	#API #api client #rest #http client

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