The Three Tools Everyone Compares
When you need to inspect a webhook, three tools come up repeatedly in search results and Slack channels:
- webhook.site — the most widely known, been around longest
- RequestBin — the Pipedream-hosted evolution of the original RequestBin (now at
requestbin.com) - WebhookWhisper — the newer entrant built specifically for the forwarding-plus-inspection use case
All three give you a public HTTPS URL that captures incoming HTTP requests. That's where the similarities end. Let's break down exactly what each tool does and doesn't do.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | webhook.site | RequestBin | WebhookWhisper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free public HTTPS URL | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No signup required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time event inspection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Forward to localhost | No (paid only) | No | Yes (free) |
| Persistent URL (survives restart) | No (guest) | No (guest) | Yes (Starter plan) |
| Event history retention | ~500 events | 100 requests | 14 days (Starter) |
| Event replay | No | No | Yes |
| Automatic retry on failure | No | No | Yes |
| Multiple forwarding targets | No | No | Yes |
| Delivery log with status codes | No | No | Yes |
| Custom response (scripting) | Yes (Pro) | No | No |
| Built-in test payload sender | No | No | Yes |
| Free tier forwarding events/day | 0 (forwarding is paid) | 0 | 50 events/session |
| Starter plan price | $9/mo | N/A | $6/mo |
webhook.site — Best For: Quick Inspection, Custom Responses
What it does well
webhook.site is the gold standard for quick, no-signup webhook inspection. The URL is available instantly and the real-time request viewer is clean. It also has a unique feature: you can write custom response scripts (JavaScript) that return dynamic HTTP responses to the sender — useful if you're testing a system that reads the webhook response body.
The free tier is generous for pure inspection: up to 500 requests stored per URL, with a 7-day URL lifetime.
Where it falls short
Forwarding to localhost is a paid feature (Pro plan at $9/mo). There's no built-in retry logic, no delivery log (you can't see what HTTP status your handler returned), and no event replay. The free URL expires after 7 days, which means you need to update your Stripe/GitHub webhook settings every week during development.
For teams doing active local development of webhook handlers, webhook.site becomes expensive quickly — and the lack of forwarding in the free tier is a real gap.
RequestBin — Best For: Basic Capture and Inspection
What it does well
RequestBin (now hosted by Pipedream at requestbin.com) is similar to webhook.site at the basic level: free public URL, real-time request inspection, headers and body displayed. The Pipedream integration is a plus if you're already using Pipedream workflows — you can pipe incoming webhooks into a workflow with no code.
Where it falls short
RequestBin is firmly a capture-and-inspect tool. It doesn't forward to localhost, doesn't retry failures, doesn't have an event replay function, and caps free event history at 100 requests. For pure inspection it's adequate; for active webhook handler development it's missing the core feature you need.
WebhookWhisper — Best For: Local Development and Team Testing
What it does well
WebhookWhisper was built around the forwarding use case that webhook.site and RequestBin don't address in the free tier. The core loop it solves:
- Get a public HTTPS URL (free, instant, no signup)
- Register it with Stripe, GitHub, Shopify, etc. — once, permanently
- Set a forwarding rule to
http://localhost:3000/webhooks/handler - Every incoming event is captured, logged, and relayed to your local handler with retry on failure
The delivery log shows the HTTP status your local server returned, the response body, and round-trip time for every delivery attempt. When your handler returns 500, you see it immediately and can replay the exact payload after fixing the code — without waiting for the provider to retry.
The built-in test payload sender fires authentic Stripe, GitHub, or Shopify payloads at your endpoint with one click — no real transactions or provider accounts needed for initial handler development.
Where it falls short
WebhookWhisper doesn't support custom response scripting (webhook.site's standout feature). If you need your webhook endpoint to return a dynamic response body, webhook.site is the right tool. WebhookWhisper always returns 200 to the sender and handles the forwarding separately.
Which Tool Should You Use?
Use webhook.site if:
- You need to inspect a one-off request quickly with no setup
- You need custom dynamic responses from the webhook endpoint
- You're willing to pay $9/mo for forwarding features
Use RequestBin if:
- You're already on the Pipedream platform and want workflow integration
- You only need basic capture/inspect and don't need forwarding
Use WebhookWhisper if:
- You're building a webhook handler and need events relayed to
localhost - You want automatic retry and a delivery log to debug failed handler responses
- You need event replay to re-test payloads after fixing bugs
- You want the forwarding features without paying for a Pro plan
- You're working in a team and want everyone to see incoming events at a shared URL
The Local Development Gap
The biggest difference between these tools is what happens after you receive a webhook. webhook.site and RequestBin both stop at capture — you see the event in the browser, and that's it. Getting the payload to your local handler still requires manual effort: copy the JSON, write a script to replay it, or use a separate CLI tool.
WebhookWhisper closes that gap. The event travels from the provider (Stripe, GitHub, etc.) to WebhookWhisper's public URL, is logged with full headers and body, and is immediately forwarded to your localhost handler with all original headers preserved — including signature headers like Stripe-Signature and X-Hub-Signature-256.
If your handler fails (500, timeout, connection refused), WebhookWhisper retries and logs each attempt. When you've fixed the bug, replay with one click. The whole loop takes seconds instead of minutes.
Migration From webhook.site
If you're currently using webhook.site and want to switch:
- Create a free WebhookWhisper endpoint — sign up here (or use guest mode instantly)
- Replace the webhook.site URL in your provider's webhook settings with your new WebhookWhisper URL
- Add a forwarding rule pointing to your localhost handler
- Your existing test flow works immediately — no other changes needed
The forwarding feature that's behind a paywall on webhook.site is free on WebhookWhisper's guest mode (50 events) and included in the Starter plan ($6/mo) with no event limit.
If you're specifically looking for a webhook.site alternative, we've written a dedicated comparison page with more detail.
Summary
| If you need... | Best tool |
|---|---|
| Quick one-off inspection, no setup | Any of the three |
| Custom dynamic response from endpoint | webhook.site |
| Pipedream workflow integration | RequestBin |
| Forward to localhost, retry, replay | WebhookWhisper |
| Team-shared endpoint with delivery logs | WebhookWhisper |
Try WebhookWhisper free — no account needed, no CLI to install. Your first endpoint is live in under a second.