iTerm2 vs Postman
The ultimate side-by-side head-to-head analysis for 2026.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — iTerm2 is free, Postman is free tier available.
- How to start: iTerm2 is free, Postman is free tier available.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. We do not publish a quality score, because we do not have one we can stand behind. They cannot tell you which tool fits your workflow — the sections below are there for that. How we score tools.
iTerm2
Postman
Category
Developer Tools
Developer Tools
Base Price
Free
Free tier
Public API
No
Yes
Mobile app
No
No
Open source / self-hostable
Yes
No
SSO (SAML)
No
Yes
Choose iTerm2 if:
Mac users who spend real time in a terminal.
Choose Postman if:
Backend Developers, QA Engineers, and Frontend Coders.
iTerm2: pros & cons
- Free and mature
- Split panes and session restore
- Deeply configurable
- macOS only
- Configuration surface is large
- Interface is functional rather than modern
Postman: pros & cons
- Universal Standard: The most widely accepted and used API tool in the industry.
- Scripting Power: Write automated tests for every API request using JavaScript.
- Documentation: Transform your collections into stylish API docs with one click.
- Mock Servers: Allow frontends to keep working even before the backend is ready.
- Resource Usage: The desktop app can consume quite a bit of RAM during heavy work.
- UI Bloat: For those just wanting to send a simple request, the UI can be overwhelming.
- Cloud Reliance: Some collab features require data to be held on Postman's servers.
Our verdict on iTerm2
The long-standing default on macOS, and still free. Newer terminals win on polish, not capability.
Our verdict on Postman
An essential tool that every developer working with APIs must have on their machine.