The Technology space is changing at a phenomenal pace, with more software flooding the marketplace, where each one is playing a different role to make our lives easy.
Almost every industry is adapting to digital challenges and pushing its digital transformation strategies. It is kicking in the demand for better and more robust software tools.
A software tool can fulfill its intended role only if it is bug or defect-free. We use manual testing and Automation testing tools to identify and fix code errors. In recent years, automation testing tools have taken an unprecedented lead over conventional testing tools or methods.
The global Automation testing marketplace size is expanding like wildfire and it is expected to grow from $20.7 billion in 2021 to $49.9 billion by 2026.
It is going to witness a healthy CAGR of 19.2% during this forecast period. The Automation testing market is increasing due to the fast acceptance of innovative and emerging technologies.
More importantly, it is also true it is quite difficult to select the best testing tools for your organization.
In this blog, we will provide some insight into top automation testing tools, their benefits, and some tips to consider while choosing a top automation testing tool in the market.
Let’s understand what Automation Testing is. It is a software testing approach that involves specialized software testing tools and scripts.
Here the test cases are automatically executed without any human interference by using scripts or tools, the obtained outcomes are matched with the expected results to ensure no bugs or code errors remain in the software.
Good automation testing tools have made the entire testing process effortless. This testing approach ensures all repetitive testing tasks are performed automatically without spending too much time and effort.
Selenium is certainly the most popular and widely used automation testing tool in the world. It is an open-source tool, that supports all modern operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and macOS.
It is compatible with all popular browsers such as Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
Selenium WebDriver is utilized to create automation test scripts, and then these scripts could be distributed across multiple environments.
Selenium IDE works as an extension for Firefox and Chrome that enables android and ios developers to produce bug reproduction scripts with ease.
Selenium supports multiple programming languages, like PHP, JavaScript, Perl, Ruby, Perl, Java, C#, Python, etc.. to develop test scripts.
Selenium Grid enables developers to test cases on multiple machines remotely and manage them all from a central point.
Pricing
It is freely available.
Testsigma is an all-inclusive cloud-based automated testing platform for modern and agile software testing requirements. It is an Artificial Intelligence-driven automation testing tool that is suitable for mobile application testing, web application testing, and API automation testing.
It supports cross-browser testing, regression testing, data-driven testing, and continuous testing. It also enables developers to create and execute test scripts across all modern browsers on iOS, Android, and desktops.
It offers detailed results of every test script in real-time. The integrated reporting feature allows you to observe and concentrate on the top-priority test cases.
You can use its test management feature to handle user requirements, create test plans, and prioritize test cases.
Testsigma can be integrated with CI/CD, bug tracking tools, and other collaboration tools, such as Jira, Bugzilla, and Jenkins, that ensure effective bug tracking. It is suitable for startups, developers, SMEs, or QAs.
It allows developers to create test scripts in simple English using its NLP-based test authoring.
Pricing
Testsigma provides a 30-day free trial version. It comes in three pricing plans, where the Basic plan costs $299 a month, the Pro costs you $399 for a month, and the Enterprise plan could be customized as per your requirements. Testsigma also offers a unique plan for start-ups, that costs only $99 per month.
Appsurify TestBrain is a superfast automation testing software that claims to have accelerated testing ten times faster than other tools.
It executes automated test cases if developers make any changes in the code, and that’s why it is ideal for QA’s and developers who test an application frequently to identify bugs and errors.
Appsurify TestBarin can identify the code failures caused by crumbling test cases and isolate them from the main code source. This tool also raises an alert if any change is made to the code, which might cause a high-risk situation later.
Appsurify TestBrain supports all modern programming languages and allows seamless integration with multiple testing environments and 3rd party components. It could be used in both cloud environments and self-hosted environments. You might be interested to read a detailed guide on the cost of app development.
Pricing
Here we have two editions available for the users – Enterprise and Professional. The Enterprise edition could be customized as per your business requirements and that decides the final price. Whereas the professional edition could be availed at only $10 per month.
LambdaTest is among the most popular automation and manual testing tools in the world. It allows you to perform both automated and manual cross-browser testing of your local-hosted and public-hosted web applications on almost every operating system and browser.
It can easily integrate with the project management tools, bug logging tools, and CD/CI pipeline. It enables developers to log errors and bugs immediately in real time.
It also offers a geolocation testing feature that allows us to test applications from any geographical location.
It supports cross-browser testing on the reliable and secure Selenium Grid. It allows testing via multiple test scripts simultaneously, which reduces the overall time taken for the testing process to a great extent.
Pricing
LambdaTest provides free access to its Lite plan, which offers limited features. It offers a Live version, that costs $15 per month. It also offers two other popular plans – Web & mobile browser automation and Web automation.
The web automation version costs $199 per month, whereas Web & mobile browser automation could cost $99 per month. LambdaTest offers an Enterprise plan that comes with several advanced features.
Telerik Test Studio is a web and desktop-based automation software. It helps you to perform all sorts of testing and deliver an application with superior-quality standards. T
Telerik Test Studio offers the Record/Playback feature, that allows you to perform automation testing faster and more efficiently.
All you need is to record a test first, followed by the development of a test case using automated playback, and then execute it on multiple browsers.
Telerik Test Studio comes with several built-in elements such as patent-pending element detection, multi-mechanism element search, and a centralized object repository, that can help you to minimize the overall test maintenance efforts and costs.
It offers a comprehensive dashboard, that enables you to monitor the application quality using test results and performance reports.
Telerik Test Studio supports all modern programming languages, such as AJAX, ASP.NET, HTML, Silverlight, and JavaScript. It can be used by resources with minimum coding experience.
Pricing
It offers various licensing options that are suitable for any type of organization. You have to pay $2499 for Test Studio Web and Desktop license, whereas the Test Studio Ultimate license could be availed at $3,499. It also offers a Runtime add-on licensing at just $349.
WATIR is free to use and open-source automation testing software. It makes testing accessible by supporting various modern browsers such as Opera, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
Watir allows users to capture the snapshots of testing, and it also allows you to measure page performance using its exceptional performance object. Watir Webdriver enables you to test web applications and UI applications.
You can integrate it with other test frameworks like RSpec and Cucumber. The primary goal of Watir is to assist you to create test scripts on Selenium quickly and efficiently.
Pricing
Free.
QMetry Automation Studio is a unified automation testing tool that enables you to perform automated testing on mobile apps, web apps, desktop apps, and APIs. It allows developers to use other automation tools, such as Appium and Selenium to ensure reusability and testing efficiency.
You can easily integrate QMetry Automation Studio with cloud testing platforms, while it could be used with CI/CD tools, such as Jenkins and Bamboo.
It can perform automation testing on multiple platforms such as mobile devices, desktops, web services, and native mobile platforms.
It allows test case and test script creation in various programming languages, like Java, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript. Further, it can work with other platforms, like TestNG, JUnit, Jasmine, Cucumber, and Robot.
QMetry Automation Studio allows us to reuse the previously created automated test scripts. It gives you the freedom to execute multiple test scripts simultaneously.
It offers unprecedented flexibility as it could be integrated with various test management tools, defect management tools, ALM tools, and DevOps automation tools without any hassles.
Pricing
It offers a free trial for 30 days to all users, where basic features could be used. To get customized pricing plans, you must contact their product specialists, who can design a plan according to your business requirements.
TestComplete is a comprehensive automation testing software used for testing desktop, web, and mobile applications. It is an AI-aided tool that has scriptless flexibility and unmatched script. It acts as a storefront for robust and scalable Graphical User Interface (GUI) tests.
It can automate UI testing across various application platforms, such as Windows 10, Java, WPF, and .Net. TestComplete offers an unprecedented advantage, where it allows developers to reuse tests for frameworks like React and Angular.
It allows you to create and automate User Interface tests on Android and iOS devices without jailbreaking the devices. You can easily integrate Test Complete with other tools, such as Jenkins, Jira, Git, and Azure DevOps.
It is equipped with “The object recognition engine”, which helps you to detect bugs proactively and fix them immediately.
Pricing
TestComplete offers a free version, which users can avail of it for 30 days. The TestComplete Base plan costs $6,095, and you can select between web, mobile, or desktop. The TestComplete Pro plan comes with all the features and it costs $9,479.
Micro Focus UFT is an Artificial Intelligence-powered automation testing software that performs testing on web apps, desktop apps, mobile apps, and scaled enterprise-grade applications.
It allows testers to create automated functional tests in a short period, and it enhances the test resiliency and coverage up to large extent, which makes test maintenance easy.
Micro Focus UFT is developed to conduct functional and regression test automation on multiple applications and environments. It was known as QuickTest Professional earlier and later it was rechristened into Micro Focus UFT.
It is an AI-aided tool, that helps you to execute a huge number of test cases within a short period. It allows parallel testing that assists in performing test execution at a rapid pace. It allows easy integration with the DevOps toolchain for constant testing by eradicating bottlenecks.
Pricing
It offers a 60-day free trial for all users. Later, users can upgrade to the Enterprise plan that could be customized according to their testing needs.
Katalon Studio is an all-in-one testing tool used for conducting automation tests for APIs, desktop apps, web apps, and mobile apps. It is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows operating systems.
It supports full-fledged testing on iOS devices, Android devices, web applications, and API services on all modern web browsers.
More than 65,000 organizations have put their confidence in Katalon Studio, due to its robust and scalable features. It can easily generate test scripts for all platforms and operating systems, and it allows resources with minimal experience to create automated tests.
It can be integrated with CI tools, like Bamboo, Azure, CircleCI, Jenkins, and Jira.
Pricing
It offers a free version that supports test case creation testing desktop apps, mobile apps, web apps, and APIs. It comes with two licenses – Floating and Node-locked. The Floating license costs $1,689 per year, whereas the Node-locked license costs $839 per year.
Katalon Runtime Engine comes in two licenses – Floating at $1,319 per year and Node-locked at $599 per year.
Using automation tools or software for the testing process is beneficial for the software development team in multiple ways, as follows:
Software Automation testing tools can capture and detect defects and bugs in the early stages of the software development lifecycle.
It saves a lot of time and cost to fix them at later stages. These testing tools allow the development team to fetch the user feedback for every single test case executed rapidly.
If there is any modification in the application source code, the test case can automatically execute to determine bugs and errors that occurred due to the changes made.
Different Automation testing tools offer enhanced accuracy if we compare them with manual testing. In conventional methods or manual testing, minor errors may exist even if an agile or experienced professional performs it.
The Test cases generated by top automation tools are far more precise and accurate, and these tools also ensure no single error or defect remains in the software code.
In the conventional and manual testing approach, it is quite challenging and tricky to execute lengthy test cases. However, with automation testing, it is easy to execute lengthy and complex test cases.
Hence, we can say that automation testing tools enable us to increase test coverage. It ensures a software product is tested thoroughly to meet the best quality standards.
Due to extensive test coverage, software automation testing ensures the high performance and quality of software applications.
In the Automation testing approach, testers can seamlessly execute multiple test cases simultaneously on various platforms, which ensures higher application performance.
In the manual testing approach, it is quite complex to execute repetitive test cases. Testing an application repetitively increases the cost of software development.
On the other hand, automation testing proves to be cost-saving in the long run because automated test scripts can be executed rapidly and could be reused anytime.
We have a plethora of software test automation tools available in the market. However, selecting the suitable one is a tricky and daunting task.
You can consider the below parameters while looking for an automation testing tool for your organization.
Always choose an automation testing tool that performs well with all available environments and platforms. However, we have few tools that support only specific platforms or environments. Therefore, it is important to carry out in-depth research about the tool’s compatibility before selecting it.
You should choose an automated testing tool, that must support all types of testing, such as unite testing, load testing, functional testing, regression testing, etc. You must make sure that your tool should allow you to perform all types of testing based on your business requirements.
Several tools come with add-ons, that enhance their functionality, but that comes at extra cost, hence you must make appropriate provisions to accommodate such tools.
You must select an automation testing software, that is not limited to a specific operating system. Though it is difficult, you must choose a tool that should be compatible with all the modern OS available in the market. The tool should also support several Operating System configurations and previous versions, as per business needs.
Well, the cost is an important factor when selecting an automation testing tool. You must check if a testing tool is providing you with enough features at the cost it is being offered. You also need to consider other factors such as add-on cost, upgrade cost, or support cost in the future.
A capable automation testing tool must offer multiple methods to execute a similar task. Few tools support only scripting to generate automated test cases, but that may provide challenges for inexperienced resources of your team.
Hence, look for an automation tool, that enables all the team members to generate and execute the tests easily and efficiently, irrespective of their technical experience.
The automation testing tool must support multiple data formats to fetch and feed data. It should fetch data from multiple sources, such as XML files, Excel, or JSON files.
It should also allow you to intake the data from various database management such as Oracle, MS-SQL, or MySQL. It should also allow you to fetch and prepare reports in Excel, XML, HTML, or MHT formats.
In this fast-paced and digital era, automation testing tools have become a critical component to deliver scalable, reliable, and robust, software applications. Everyone wants to avail of an errorless and defect-free software application, as it enhances the end-user experience and improves application popularity as well.
Automation testing tools give you higher test coverage and offer lesser test execution time while ensuring higher software product quality. Automation testing tools also help you to reduce the overall time for development and enable you to deliver software products within the given timelines.
We have listed the 10 most popular automation testing tools along with their features and price, and we are pretty much sure that this blog will assist you while choosing a suitable one for your organization.