A mockapi.io alternative without the 1-project, 4-resource wall

mockapi.io is the polished incumbent of hosted mock REST APIs, and its core idea is right: define resources, get seeded fake data, hit real CRUD endpoints. But the free plan stops at 1 project with 4 resources, and you can't try anything before signing in — with GitHub or Google OAuth only (no plain email option). Model one small app with users, posts, comments, likes and settings and you're already over the limit, staring at "You have reached project/resource limit for a free plan" and a $5/month upgrade.

Mockbird does the same job with room to breathe: no signup for your first project (anonymous, claimable later), 20 resources per project, 20 projects per free account, 1,000 records per resource, 10,000 requests per project per day. And because both tools speak the same query-parameter dialect, switching is mostly a base-URL change.

The 60-second switch

# one curl, no signup — a whole seeded e-commerce backend
curl -X POST https://HOST/api/projects \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"name":"shop","preset":"ecommerce"}'
# → {"id":"abc123","adminKey":"KEY", ...}   ← save both

curl https://HOST/m/abc123/products?limit=3
# → 3 seeded products, realistic fields, CORS on

Prefer clicking? This link creates the same project in your browser — no account, no OAuth.

Or define your own schema, mockapi.io-style, one resource at a time:

curl -X POST https://HOST/api/projects/abc123/resources \
  -H 'X-Admin-Key: KEY' -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"tasks","seed":25,"fields":[
        {"name":"content","type":"sentence"},
        {"name":"completed","type":"boolean"},
        {"name":"userId","type":"refId"}]}'

Your mockapi.io query strings mostly work unchanged

mockapi.io and Mockbird use the same primary parameter names, so fetch calls copied out of a mockapi.io project keep working:

mockapi.io	Mockbird	Notes
`?page=2&limit=10`	`?page=2&limit=10`	identical (also `_page`/`_limit` json-server aliases)
`?sortBy=title&order=desc`	`?sortBy=title&order=desc`	identical (`orderBy`/`sortby` spellings → use `sortBy`)
`?search=hello`	`?search=hello`	identical — any-field match (`filter=` alias → use `search`)
`?title=hello` (field filter)	`?title=hello` (exact) or `?title_like=hello` (substring)	`_like` is case-insensitive substring — same semantics as theirs. Bonus they don't have: `?price_gte=100`, `_lte`, `_gt`, `_lt`, `_ne` range filters
`?p=2&l=10` shorthands	—	use the full `page`/`limit` names
`/users/1/tasks` nested	`/users/1/tasks`	GET + POST nested; update/delete via flat `/tasks/:id`
`https://TOKEN.mockapi.io/tasks`	`https://HOST/m/PROJECT/tasks`	the actual switch

Try the shared demo project right now — every one of these is live:

curl 'https://HOST/m/demo/products?page=2&limit=3'
curl 'https://HOST/m/demo/products?sortBy=price&order=desc&limit=3'
curl 'https://HOST/m/demo/products?search=garden'
curl 'https://HOST/m/demo/products?category=sports'
curl 'https://HOST/m/demo/products/1/reviews'

List responses include an x-total-count header (exposed via CORS) so pagination UIs work without an extra count call.

What mockapi.io doesn't have at any price

Failure simulation. mockapi.io has no way to force an error or a slow response. Add ?mock_status=500 or ?mock_delay=3000 to any Mockbird URL and test your spinners and error states — guide.
Request inspector. The last 50 requests per project (method, path, query, headers, body) in the dashboard — see exactly what your frontend sent.
Custom routes. /health, /config/:key, wildcard bins, templated responses — any endpoint, not just resources.
GraphQL. The same data behind a typed GraphQL endpoint with GraphiQL built in.
Mock JWT auth. /auth/login, /auth/register, /auth/me, real signed tokens, optional protected mode — guide.
Exports. OpenAPI 3.0, Postman collection, TypeScript types / Zod schemas, json-server db.json — your mock is never locked in.
Imports. Already have an OpenAPI spec, db.json, CSV, or Postman collection? POST it and get a live seeded mock.
Snapshots. Save/restore named data states for deterministic tests.

Honest comparison

	mockapi.io free	Mockbird
Signup required	yes — GitHub/Google OAuth only	no (anonymous projects; free signup to keep them)
Projects	1	20 per account (anonymous: per-IP daily cap)
Resources per project	4	20
Records	100 per resource	1,000 per resource
Query params	page/limit/sortBy/order/search	same, plus `_expand`/`_embed`/`select`/`q`
Error/delay simulation	no	`?mock_status` / `?mock_delay`
Request log	no	last 50 w/ headers
GraphQL / OpenAPI / Postman / types export	no	yes, all four
Visual schema editor	excellent — drag-and-drop relations UI	simpler dashboard; schema via JSON or curl
Response reshaping	paid feature — custom envelopes	free: `?mock_envelope=data` or a JSON template with `"$data"`/`"$total"`, per request or as a project-wide default (docs)
Paid tier	$5/month (20 projects, 50 resources)	free while in beta

Written by the Mockbird maker — bias disclosed. Where mockapi.io wins: its visual schema designer with drag-to-connect relations is genuinely nicer than our dashboard, and its faker-method picker is more granular. Free-tier figures (1 project / 4 resources, $5/month upgrade) verified July 2026 from mockapi.io's site and app. If you're happy inside those limits, mockapi.io is a solid tool.

Full API reference in the docs. More guides: free mock API tools compared · json-server, hosted · mock API for React. Create your API →