Postman: From API Client to “Everything App”
Postman just announced its March 2026 updates, and it’s a massive change and deviation from its original purpose as an API testing and documentation tool.
In my opinion, the evolution of Postman, from a simple tool running locally to assist developers to build and test APIs into a complex cloud-based platform is a textbook example of how a tool can evolve from being a focused solution to a bloated pile of features that try to do everything, becoming a completely feature-creeped product.
From the use’s prospective, this is a classic case of an application that tries to lead to a complete vendor lock-in. The integration of so many new features that deeply integrate into your workflow makes it increasingly difficult to leave them without incurring significant costs.
What’s Changing in Postman March 2026?
From what i am reading in their blog post, Postman is making a big push into becoming an all-in-one platform for building and deploying AI-powered APIs.
They main new features include:
AI Agent Builders:
Instead of coding your own AI logic, they want you now to use their visual “Agent” blocks to create AI workflows without writing code
API Portfolio
A centralized place to manage all your APIs, data sources, and AI models within Postman essentially trying to become your “source of truth” for your company’s data
MCP Servers
Managed cloud servers to host your APIs directly through Postman keeping you locked into their infrastructure.
Internal Terminal
Instead of been able to use your own local environment, they want you to run code directly inside their app!
What used to be a tool for testing APIs is trying to become the place where you build them!
Why This Kills Innovation
By using these features, you are trading your Algorithmic Core for a Data Highway owned by a vendor that can change the rules at any time. Here’s why
this is dangerous:
Severe Feature Bloat and Performance Issues
Postman is moving far beyond its roots as an API client by adding internal terminals, code editors, and AI Agent builders.
System Latency
Users frequently report that the application has become resource-heavy. With the addition of local and CI mock servers and built-in editors, the memory footprint continues to grow, causing lag when handling large collections.
UI Complexity:
The “Unified Workbench” tries to cram collections, environments, mocks, and flows into one view. For developers who just want to test a simple endpoint, the interface is now cluttered with “cloud” features and prompts they don’t need.
Dependency on the third party pricing and policies:
Every “Agent” you build in Postman is a piece of code you don’t truly own. If they change their pricing or limit their “Free” tier (which they recently did), your core business logic is held hostage.
Integration Complexity
Postman is trying to do everything creating a bloated experience and an Integration Debt meaning that you are investing time and resources into learning their specific way of doing things instead of focusing on building your own unique solutions.
Cloud Lock-in
By hosting your APIs on their MCP Servers, you are giving up control over your infrastructure. If Postman decides to discontinue a service or change its terms, you may find yourself scrambling to migrate your entire setup.
Limited Customization
While visual “Agent” builders are great for quick setups, they often lack the flexibility and customization that coding your own solutions provides. This can stifle innovation as you are limited to what Postman allows you to do.
The Bottom Line
Innovation cannot be outsourced and Postman’s is designed to make you a tenant in their ecosystem; you as the architect of your own business processes should be aware of the risks of giving away control to a third party and avoid it as much as possible.
Starting to depend on their AI Agents and MCP Servers means you are giving away control of your core business processes which can become a huge risk for the long term success of your company.
The solution is to avoid using these new features as much as possible and stick to simpler approaches (like for example scripts calling curl and jq to verify the API’s instead of solution as heavy as postman) that give you full control over your code and data.
If you disagree with my points, that’s fine, but at least be aware of the risks you are taking by depending on a third party for your core business processes .
If you agree with my points but you are thinking that your dependency on Postman is already too big, then it’s time to start planning your exit strategy now before it’s too late.
