There is a constant expectation and need for better speeds and efficiencies in software testing owing to the ever-growing competition in markets, and this is where automated testing tools come to the rescue of organizations across the globe. Organizations are increasingly relying on the automated route for conducting tests to save valuable time and to bring about greater levels of efficiency in the work that cannot be achieved solely by undertaking manual testing.
With a host of testing automation tools now flooding the market, it can become tricky to choose the right one that best accommodates the project requirements and budget considerations. We have carefully curated a list of what we consider to be the Top automated testing tools that QA teams across various organizations can make use of, for effectively conducting automated testing for their software and apps.
Before we dive into the list, it is essential to point out that the list covers the most popular and widely used test automation tools that are available in the market. It includes an assortment of products, with some being open source and others being licensed tools, and some covering specific testing needs, while others having a wider coverage in terms of test types, testing environments, etc.
Organizations will have to do their own analysis and strategizing for the successful deployment of the tools we will mention, which in turn, will depend on certain pertinent questions, some of which include:
- Who exactly will be using the testing tool?
- How easy is it to understand, learn and run the tool?
- Does the tool fit into the budget allocated for the overall project? Also, whether the tool features justify the price being charged?
- Will there be a requirement to learn complex scripting languages or can tests be created intuitively with ease?
- What integrations with the existing software and tools is supported?
- What is the extent and quality user support in case of technical issues, queries and questions?
Here is our list of the top automated testing tools for the year 2022:
- KATALON STUDIO
- SELENIUM
- APPIUM
- BQURIOUS
- CUCUMBER
- LAMBDATEST
- MICRO FOCUS UNIFIED FUNCTIONAL TESTING
- IBM RATIONAL FUNCTIONAL TESTER
- WORKSOFT
- TEST COMPLETE
Let’s look at the features, functionality, and benefits of the above tools in a little more detail:
Katalon studio
This is an automation tool that provides support for web, mobile, API, and desktop (windows) application testing. The software can be deployed by users on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, and the most prevalent browsers and devices. Katalon Studio has been created to provide both codeless test creation for beginners, and extension in the testing experience when being used by experts via the manual and scripting modes.
Katalon Studio provides support for smooth integrations for CI/CD tools like Jenkins, Bamboo, and Gitlab among others. Besides this, it has a pool of reusable test cases, keywords, and test objects. Groovy is the scripting language incorporated within Katalon, with the additional facility of importing external libraries written in Java.
One of the major advantages of Katalon studio is the vast community of Katalon users and their forums which can be utilized by potential users in seeking guidance while using the platform.
For basic individual testing, the software is free, though it has very limited features. For advanced and more complex levels of testing needs for teams and organizations, they have an enterprise extension which is priced at $76 per month.
Selenium
This is an open-source automation tool and is one of the most popular and widely used ones when it comes to web application testing. Selenium offers support for automation for a host of operating systems like Windows, Linux, etc., and a number of browsers including Chrome, Firefox, etc. along with headless browsers.
The Selenium suite includes three tools namely, Selenium Web Driver, Selenium IDE, and Selenium Grid. The programming languages that are supported by this platform include Java, C#, Python, Ruby, PHP, etc. It provides support for the parallel execution of tests as well as integration with other testing tools.
Selenium is a one-of-a-kind testing tool in the sense that it forms the base for most of the other testing software in the market. There are no license fees for using the Selenium framework for your automated web testing requirements.
Appium
This is one of the most commonly used automation tools in the case of mobile application testing. Appium is an open-source framework for automated testing of native, hybrid as well as mobile web apps. It makes use of the Selenium Web Driver protocol to allow users to create their test scripts for mobile applications in Android, iOS as well as Windows.
This tool utilizes vendor-provided automation frameworks. It supports scripting in multiple languages like Python, Java, Ruby, C#, JavaScript, and PHP. Appium has emerged as the top choice for testing automation of mobile applications, an added advantage being that it is available for use, free of cost.
Bqurious
This is an end-to-end test automation solution on the cloud. It supports the entire test lifecycle including testing automation, management, and maintenance. The BQ platform supports testing for web, mobile, windows, and SAP. Additionally, it provides out-of-the-box support for APIs and enterprise apps such as Salesforce, Temenos, Oracle, etc. With BQ, one can experience seamless integration with external tools like HP QC, Rally, Jira, and CI/CD tools like Bamboo, Jenkins, etc. In addition, it integrates with third-party cloud lab providers like Saucelabs, Perfecto, Browserstack, etc. for test execution at scale.
This platform has a special AI-driven BQ genie that allows for business users with no technical knowledge as well as manual testers, who want to dip a toe into testing automation, to create automated tests.
This is licensed software with an annual subscription model.
Cucumber
Cucumber has been designed as behavior-driven development (BDD) tool. It is available for most of the mainstream programming languages such as Java, Ruby, Lava, Scala, and Groovy among others.
The test cases can be written in the plain English language, as Cucumber makes use of the Gherkin code, which ensures that even business users can understand and employ Cucumber, without the need for prior knowledge of coding. It can easily integrate itself into other software such as Selenium, Watir, etc. It is important to note that Cucumber only supports the web environment.
Organizations often look to integrate Cucumber into their Selenium framework for improved ease of understanding of the Selenium test scripts. This tool is helpful for bridging the gap between the team members possessing technical knowledge and the members who are more on the business side of things.
Cucumber Open is the open-source tool, while the extensions and additional support are found in the paid version: CucumberStudio, which is priced starting at $28 per month.
Lambdatest
This is a cloud service for testing automation. It provides a reliable and secure online Selenium grid with 2000+ real browsers, operating systems, and devices on the cloud. The Lambdatest platform has the potential to enable faster parallel testing. Organizations frequently use Lambdatest for testing the cross-browser and cross-device compatibilities of their products.
It provides for integration with other testing software and CI/CD tools as well. The feature of geo-targeting, geo-blocking, and geo-localization available in Lambdatest makes it quite appealing.
They offer scalable prices for their testing platform, starting from $19 per month for running a single parallel test.
Micro Focus Functional Testing
Formerly known as QuickTest Professional (QTP), the Micro Focus UFT is amongst the top tools preferred by organizations for automating their cross-platform functional and regression tests. UFT is an AI-powered tool that assists in test creation, execution, and maintenance. It supports the VB script for the scripting of tests.
The pool of applications and environments that can be automated using UFT is quite large and includes web, desktop, SAP, Java, Oracle, mobile, Salesforce, mainframes, Citrix among many more. It supports data-driven testing.
It is licensed software that can be customized and purchased by organizations.
IBM Rational Functional Tester
The Rational Functional Tester or RFT, as it is popularly known, is a commercial testing automation software designed by IBM and it covers functional, regression, GUI, and data-driven testing for organizations. The tool supports two scripting languages, namely, Java and Visual Basic .Net. A highlight of RFT is that it integrates extremely well with IBM Rational Quality Manager, which is a test management tool.
One unique feature of RFT is Storyboard testing which simplifies test creation and representation by allowing for visual editing through application screenshots. RFT supports a host of applications including web-based, .Net, Java, SAP, and emulator-based applications as well.
This is licensed software.
Worksoft Certify
This is a testing automation software specially designed to provide a code-free end-to-end continuous testing experience for enterprise apps like SAP, Oracle, Workday, etc. One of the advantages of Worksoft Certify lies in its usability for technical and non-technical users alike. It works on building a library of test objects and artifacts that can easily be reused, thus, saving time and effort. Worksoft also enables continuous testing to support Agile + DevOps practices.
Another feature of Certify is that it can be integrated into an SAP project at any level in the development cycle- implementation, degradation, or maintenance.
Widely popular among organizations, it has been considered to be the gold standard for the automation of SAP.
Worksoft Certify is available for use as a free version, as a manual version, and as a premium floating license.
Test Complete
This features as a top tool for the automation of testing desktop, mobile, and web applications. Test Complete facilitates the creation and running of functional UI tests which can be written in multiple scripting languages such as Java, Python, VBScript, and others. One can build automated tests for UI elements by using its record and replay function, making the entire process simpler.
Test Complete allows for the running of parallel functional tests and provides access to 1500+ testing environments comprising of various browsers, operating systems, and devices. This can be leveraged to bring down the testing cycle time and improve coverage and quality. This tool can easily integrate with other tools CI/CD tools as well as other SmartBear applications. It is a paid testing tool.
Organizations have at their disposal all these automation tools that encompass a large variety of testing types, environments, and license prices2. In the end, organizations have to choose the most appropriate one that meets the business’ end goals vis-à-vis software and application development.