Hoverfly

What Hoverfly is

Hoverfly is an API simulation and mocking platform, with Hoverfly Cloud providing a hosted way to test without depending on live API services. It supports HTTP/S services such as REST, SOAP, XML, JSON, and GraphQL. Teams can capture and replay API traffic, build simulations from OpenAPI specifications, and match requests using methods, headers, parameters, and bodies. Simulations can delay responses, inject errors or faults, and change replies. A command-line interface supports scripted configuration and integration into testing processes. The maker identifies performance testing, functional testing, and development as primary uses. Hoverfly Cloud plans start with Developer at $10 a month, including two API simulation instances, 20 requests per second per instance, and a 14-day free trial without a credit card. Professional costs $30 a month and includes five instances plus latency and random failure simulation. The underlying Hoverfly framework is open source under the Apache 2 license, with no GUI, and can be run locally or within a user's infrastructure. Cloud support is available by email and support portal, with a guaranteed response within one business day during stated hours.

Who it suits

Hoverfly Cloud suits development and testing teams that need to exercise API-dependent systems without relying on live services. It is also relevant to teams seeking performance, functional, or development testing workflows, while the open-source framework provides a no-GUI option for local or self-hosted use.

Limits

The Developer plan includes two API simulation instances and 20 requests per second per instance. Professional includes five instances; Enterprise capacity is customizable and can reach up to 2,000 requests per second per instance, with load-balanced clusters.

Getting started

1. Visit https://hoverfly.io/ to access Hoverfly Cloud.
2. Choose Developer for a 14-day free trial without a credit card, or review the Professional and Enterprise plans.
3. Use the Cloud CLI for scripted configuration and testing-process integration.
4. For local or self-hosted use, obtain Hoverfly or hoverctl binaries for macOS, Linux, or Windows.
5. Docker and Kubernetes installation are also described in the documentation.

Verdict

Choose Hoverfly Cloud if your team needs hosted API simulation for development, functional testing, or performance testing, with traffic replay and configurable simulated behavior.