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REST Client for VS Code vs Thunder Client: catalog facts
REST Client for VS Code	Thunder Client
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Freemium A free tier is available. Paid licences add team and advanced features.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Requests stored as plain text .http files Responses shown directly in the editor	Runs inside the editor, so no second application to switch to Collections stored as repository files instead of a cloud account
Requires Visual Studio Code Focused on HTTP requests rather than full API test suites	Team features and some collection capabilities require a paid licence Tied to VS Code and JetBrains editors
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.