diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4161d62..9f662fd 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -30,8 +30,9 @@ go get github.com/netboxlabs/diode-sdk-go
 
 ### Example
 
-* `target` should be the address of the Diode service, e.g. `grpc://localhost:8080/diode` for insecure connection
-  or `grpcs://example.com` for secure connection.
+* `target` should be the address of the Diode service.
+  * Insecure connections: `grpc://localhost:8080/diode` or `http://localhost:8080/diode`
+  * Secure connections: `grpcs://example.com` or `https://example.com`
 
 ```go
 package main
diff --git a/diode/client.go b/diode/client.go
index 4e4dd7c..db1a58c 100644
--- a/diode/client.go
+++ b/diode/client.go
@@ -54,7 +54,12 @@ const (
 	defaultStreamName = "latest"
 )
 
-var allowedSchemesRe = regexp.MustCompile(`grpc|grpcs`)
+var (
+	// ErrInvalidTargetScheme is returned when the target URL does not start with a valid scheme.
+	ErrInvalidTargetScheme = errors.New("target should start with grpc://, grpcs://, http:// or https://")
+
+	allowedSchemesRe = regexp.MustCompile(`grpc|grpcs|http|https`)
+)
 
 // loadCerts loads the system x509 cert pool
 func loadCerts() *x509.CertPool {
@@ -70,12 +75,19 @@ func parseTarget(target string) (string, string, bool, error) {
 	}
 
 	if !allowedSchemesRe.MatchString(u.Scheme) {
-		return "", "", false, errors.New("target should start with grpc:// or grpcs://")
+		return "", "", false, ErrInvalidTargetScheme
 	}
 
 	authority := u.Host
 	if u.Port() == "" {
-		authority += ":443"
+		switch u.Scheme {
+		case "grpc", "http":
+			authority += ":80"
+		case "grpcs", "https":
+			authority += ":443"
+		default:
+			return "", "", false, fmt.Errorf("missing port with unsupported scheme: %s: %w", u.Scheme, ErrInvalidTargetScheme)
+		}
 	}
 
 	path := u.Path
@@ -83,7 +95,11 @@ func parseTarget(target string) (string, string, bool, error) {
 		path = ""
 	}
 
-	tlsVerify := u.Scheme == "grpcs"
+	tlsVerify := false
+	switch u.Scheme {
+	case "grpcs", "https":
+		tlsVerify = true
+	}
 
 	return authority, path, tlsVerify, nil
 }
diff --git a/diode/client_test.go b/diode/client_test.go
index 5c9a607..b796a16 100644
--- a/diode/client_test.go
+++ b/diode/client_test.go
@@ -63,6 +63,20 @@ func TestParseTarget(t *testing.T) {
 			tlsVerify: true,
 			wantErr:   nil,
 		},
+		{
+			desc:      "valid HTTP target",
+			target:    "http://localhost:8081",
+			authority: "localhost:8081",
+			tlsVerify: false,
+			wantErr:   nil,
+		},
+		{
+			desc:      "valid HTTP target with tls",
+			target:    "https://localhost:8081",
+			authority: "localhost:8081",
+			tlsVerify: true,
+			wantErr:   nil,
+		},
 		{
 			desc:      "valid target empty path on grpc://localhost:8081/",
 			target:    "grpc://localhost:8081/",
@@ -81,11 +95,11 @@ func TestParseTarget(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		{
 			desc:      "invalid scheme in target",
-			target:    "http://localhost:8081",
+			target:    "ftp://localhost:8081",
 			authority: "",
 			path:      "",
 			tlsVerify: false,
-			wantErr:   errors.New("target should start with grpc:// or grpcs://"),
+			wantErr:   ErrInvalidTargetScheme,
 		},
 		{
 			desc:      "invalid target",
@@ -317,14 +331,14 @@ func TestNewClient(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		{
 			desc:                    "invalid target",
-			target:                  "http://localhost:8081",
+			target:                  "ftp://localhost:8081",
 			appName:                 "my-producer",
 			appVersion:              "0.1.0",
 			clientID:                "client-id-123",
 			clientSecret:            "client-secret-456",
 			clientIDEnvVarValue:     "",
 			clientSecretEnvVarValue: "",
-			wantErr:                 errors.New("target should start with grpc:// or grpcs://"),
+			wantErr:                 ErrInvalidTargetScheme,
 		},
 		{
 			desc:                    "missing clientID and clientSecret",