Kreya

Kreya is a desktop API client for exploring, testing, and automating work across several protocols. It suits developers and teams who want API requests, testing, and CI/CD workflows together. The free plan is useful for individuals, but its request-history cap makes Pro the practical choice for repeat testing.

Overview

Kreya brings gRPC, REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events into one client. That range is valuable when a project spans API styles; a team focused on only one protocol may not need the breadth.

Projects are stored as structured JSON designed for Git diffs, reviews, and versioning. Kreya also imports Postman and Insomnia collections, HAR, cURL, gRPCurl, and grpc web curl data, which can ease a move from existing tools. The reusable authentication vault covers OAuth 2.0, OIDC, Basic, API keys, mTLS, AWS SigV4, Kerberos, NTLM, and JWT Profile.

The maker says app data stays on the device and calls Kreya privacy-first. Its privacy policy also says the app and CLI collect anonymized telemetry. Kreya is not open source, and secret manager integration is marked as coming soon. Those are meaningful considerations for teams with strict privacy or credential-management requirements.

Key features

• Protocol and definition coverage: Work with five API styles and watch or import OpenAPI specs, GraphQL schemas, and protobufs. This is particularly useful for teams maintaining APIs from evolving definitions.
• Automated testing: Scripted and snapshot tests can run from a headless CLI in CI/CD, with JUnit reports. That supports pipeline-based checks rather than limiting API work to manual requests.
• Git-oriented projects: Structured JSON makes project changes suitable for diffs and review, helping teams version API work alongside other code.
• Authentication: The vault's broad set of reusable auth methods accommodates varied services, but it does not yet integrate with secret managers.

Kreya has no mock server, so teams that need to simulate services should look elsewhere.

Pricing

Kreya uses a freemium model, with a 10-day trial and paid plans from $5/user/mo. Free costs nothing for individuals, but request history is limited to the latest request. That cap makes it suitable for exploration, not for keeping a useful trail of prior calls.

Pro costs $5 a month, billed monthly. It adds scripting and testing, collections and scripts, snapshot testing, a full-featured CLI, and email support. For developers who need repeatable tests or CI/CD use, these capabilities make Pro the relevant tier. Pro support has a maximum reaction time of 48 business hours.

Enterprise has custom pricing and is aimed at organizations. It includes license administration, priority support, offline licensing, and unlimited-user flat-rate pricing. Its maximum support reaction time is 24 business hours. Free support is via GitHub and email on a best-effort basis; Pro and Enterprise also offer GitHub and email support. The 10-day trial provides a short evaluation period before choosing a plan.

Platforms

Kreya runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It is a desktop client rather than a web application.

Who it's for

Kreya is a strong fit for developers working across multiple API protocols who want imports, reusable authentication, tests, and pipeline automation in one client. Git-oriented project files also suit teams that review and version API changes. It is less suitable for users who need a mock server, open-source software, secret-manager integration, or request history beyond the latest call on the free tier.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Broad protocol support and imports from several established formats reduce friction in mixed API environments.
• Pro: Scripted and snapshot tests, a headless CLI, and JUnit reports support automated CI/CD checks.
• Pro: Structured JSON projects are designed for Git diffs and reviews.
• Con: The free plan retains only the latest request, limiting its usefulness for ongoing work.
• Con: Secret manager integration is not yet available, and the product is not open source.
• Con: There is no mock server.

Alternatives

For an open-source gRPC client, consider Evans, which is free and supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. grpcui is a free alternative with Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted platforms. ProtoCall has a free tier for GitHub imports and manually created workspaces, and runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and web.

Bandura offers a free tier for personal and commercial use, with no account, paid seats, or feature tiers. FintX has a free, open-source plan with unlimited gRPC clients and request import and export. grpcmd is a free gRPC tool for sending requests, starting a server, reflection, method discovery, and JavaScript scripting. Mediator is a free, cross-platform GUI gRPC debugging proxy under Apache-2.0. For gRPC load testing, ghz is a free open-source CLI and Go package; its complementary web application is in beta.

Explore more options in gRPC Tools, API Testing Tools, and API clients.

Verdict

Choose Kreya if you need one desktop client for varied API protocols and value Git-friendly projects, testing, and CI/CD automation. Its strongest case is the combination of broad coverage and pipeline-ready tests; look elsewhere if you need a mock server, secret-manager integration, or a free plan with longer request history.