Best Automation Testing Tools for 2023
The need for faster delivery of high-quality software (or "rapid quality") requires organizations to find solutions with agile, continuous integration (CI) and DevOps methodologies. Test automation is an important part of these aspects. The latest World Quality Report 2018-2019 reveals that test automation is the biggest bottleneck to achieving "rapid quality" as it is an enabler for the successful adoption of Agile and DevOps.
Test automation cannot be achieved without good tools. Because they determine how automation is performed and whether the benefits of automation can be realized. Test automation tools are key components in the DevOps toolchain. The current test automation trend has grown in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to provide advanced capabilities for test optimization, intelligent test generation, execution, and reporting. It is necessary to understand which tools are best suited to take advantage of these trends.
These top automation testing tools are considered to best solve the automation challenges in the coming years. Select the tools included in this list from the following criteria:
- Support API and service testing
- Offers some AI/ML and analytics capabilities
- Visibility and Maturity
Top 5 Automation Testing Tools for 2023
1.Selenium
Selenium is a household name in test automation. It is considered the industry standard for automated testing of web application user interfaces. According to the Test Automation Challenge Survey, nearly 9 out of 10 testers use or have used Selenium in their projects.
For developers and testers with programming and scripting experience and skills, Selenium offers a lot of flexibility not found in other test automation tools and frameworks. Users can write test scripts in multiple languages (such as Java, Groovy, Python, C#, PHP, Ruby, and Perl), and these scripts can run on multiple system environments (Windows, Mac, Linux) and browsers (Chrome, Firefox, IE and headless browsers).
Selenium recently released its first alpha version of Selenium in April 2019. The release of the official version of Selenium4 has not yet been determined; currently, Selenium 4 is officially released. But you can expect that this version will have many improvements and rich features.
To use Selenium effectively, users must have advanced programming skills and spend a lot of time building the automation frameworks and libraries required for automation. This is a major shortcoming of Selenium, which can be solved with integrated tools like Katalon Studio.
License: Open Source
2. Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio is a powerful and comprehensive automation solution for testing API, web, mobile and desktop application testing. It also provides a rich feature set for these types of tests and supports multiple platforms including Windows, macOS and Linux.
Utilizing Selenium and Appium engines, Katalon Studio provides a unique integration environment for those testers who have difficulty integrating and deploying different frameworks and libraries to use Selenium and Appium, as well as those who are already familiar with these engines.
Katalon Studio has won the Gartner Peer Insights Client Award for Software Test Automation with over 450 positive reviews, which once again proves that the tool is now one of the biggest in the market.
Highlights of the tool include:
- Complete feature set for test automation of API/Web services, web and mobile applications
- Support both SOAP and RESTful API and service testing
- Hundreds of built-in keywords for creating test cases
- Can be used for automated and exploratory testing
- Test capabilities can be extended through plugins on the Katalon Store, and insights into reports on Katalon TestOps
License: Free
3. UFT
UFT is a popular commercial tool for testing desktop, web and mobile applications. It has been extended to include a set of functions for API testing. By supporting multiple platforms for the target application under test (AUT), UFT provides a convenient option for testing AUTs that can run on desktop, web, and mobile devices.
UFT provides several advanced functions for intelligent object detection, image-based object detection and correction. In May 2019, Microfocus has released the latest version of UFT (v14.53) with new features and enhancements
Features of this tool include:
- Intuitive user interface for creating, executing and reporting API tests
- Support for generating API tests from WADL documents
- Test actions, activities and parameters can be visualized in diagrams
License: From $3,200 per year.
4. TestComplete
This year, TestComplete continues to top the list for its robust, comprehensive web, mobile and desktop application testing capabilities. Testers can write test scripts using JavaScript, VBScript, Python or C++ Script.
Like UFT, TestComplete features an object recognition engine to accurately detect dynamic user interface elements. The engine is especially useful in applications with dynamic and frequently changing user interfaces.
The latest TestComplete version 14.2 includes native integration with Jenkins to speed up CI/CD processes, support for web testing components such as Shadow DOM and custom elements, and support for all latest browser versions and mobile platforms.
Testers can easily use TestComplete's record and playback features, such as Katalon Studio. They can insert checkpoints into test steps to verify results. As a SmartBear product, TestComplete can be easily integrated with other products offered by SmartBear.
Licensing: From $9,114 per user per year
5. SoapUI
SoapUI is not a test automation tool for web or mobile application testing; however it can be a go-to tool for testing APIs and services. It is a headless functional testing tool specially designed for API testing.
SoapUI supports REST and SOAP services. API automation testers can use the open source version or the professional version. The professional version has a user-friendly interface and some advanced features such as assertion wizard, form editor and SQL query builder. SoapUI is a tool of the ReadyAPI suite provided by SmartBear.
The tool offers a fairly comprehensive feature set for API testing with many advanced features, including:
- Drag and drop, click to easily generate tests
- Powerful data-driven testing using data from files and databases
- async test
- Scripts can be easily reused
- Create a mock service using RESTful mocking
Additionally, SoapUI recently brought SoapUI Pro's API Explorer feature to the open source version, allowing developers and testers to immediately debug their API's responses.
Licensing: SoapUI is packaged and distributed as two editions, Open Source and Pro. The latter starts at $659 per year.
Note that SoapUI and Postman are just two representatives of several top API testing tools on this list. To learn more about the comparison between these tools, see this article.
6. IBM Rational Functional Tester（RFT）
IBM Rational Functional Tester is a test automation tool designed to test applications developed using different languages and technologies such as Web, .Net, Java, Visual Basic, Siebel, SAP, PowerBuilder, Adobe Flex and Dojo Toolkit. It is also a data-driven testing platform for functional and regression testing.
RFT provides a feature called "Storyboard Testing", which can visualize and edit tests using natural language and application screenshots. RFT's ScriptAssure feature enables testers to generate test scripts that adapt to changes in the AUT's user interface. RFT can also be integrated with other IBM application lifecycle management tools such as IBM Rational Team Concert and Rational Quality Manager.
License: Commercial
7. Tricentis Tosca
There are continuous testing platforms that provide comprehensive toolsets to support most, if not all, testing activities, from test design and test automation to test reporting and analysis. Tricentis Tosca is one of them.
The tool has many features such as dashboards, analytics, integration and distributed execution to support continuous integration and DevOps practices. Moreover, it provides a user-friendly interface and rich feature set that can be used to design, implement, execute, manage, optimize API tests.
Some other highlights of this tool:
- Can be easily integrated as a key part of the DevOps process
- API testing can be performed on browsers, mobile devices and platforms
- Multiple protocols and standards enabled, including HTTP JMS, AMQP, Rabbit MQ, TIBCO EMS, SOAP, REST and IBM MQ
- A good set of test reporting and analysis functions
Tricentis claims to significantly reduce regression testing (in weeks to minutes). However, this claim needs to be carefully verified by the testing team.
License: Commercial
8. Ranorex
Having been around for many years, Ranorex offers a comprehensive and professional set of features for web, mobile, desktop and API testing. Leveraging its experience in desktop-based test automation, Ranorex has advanced features for UI element identification, editing and management.
Like Katalon Studio, Ranorex's friendly and intuitive GUI, record/playback and script generation features make it easy for testers to automate testing.
Testers can integrate Ranorex with Selenium Grid for distributed testing as well as parallel test execution.
Licensing: Add-ons from 690 Euros, advanced licenses from 2290 Euros.
9.Postman
Postman is another automation tool designed for API testing. Users can install this tool as a browser extension or desktop application on Mac, Linux, Windows. It is popular not only among testers for API test automation, but also among developers who use the tool to develop and test APIs. In fact, it is a development environment for developing and testing APIs.
Some highlights of this tool:
- Comprehensive feature set for designing, debugging, testing, documenting and publishing APIs
- Friendly and easy-to-use user interface
- Support for automated and exploratory testing
- Accepts Swagger and RAML API formats
- Requests and Answerers can be packaged and shared with team members
License: Commercial
10. Apache JMeter
JMeter is an open-source tool designed for test loading and performance measurement - two features for which JMeter is well known. However, the tool is now also used for API and service testing, especially API performance. JMeter is the third most popular test automation tool, cited by 25% of respondents in the "Test Automation Challenges" survey.
Highlights of the tool include:
- Lightweight with an easy-to-use user interface
- Test results can be replayed
- Supports CSV files to set values of API parameters
- Supports integration with CI tools such as Jenkins. JMeter is commonly used as part of CI and DevOps toolchains
License: Open Source
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The list of top tools here is not exhaustive. But it represents the best of the best tools that are mature, popular, and offer the ability to use AI/ML to solve the challenges organizations face in delivering "rapid quality". This list also includes only supporting API and service testing is critical to a successful Agile and DevOps transformation.
The testing tool you choose should not only meet your current needs, but also focus on potential trends and improvements. A decent tool should support basic optimization, automation of test case and data generation, smarter solutions, and analytics.
As the opportunity grows, more tools will be introduced; even with test automation levels as low as 14% to 18% in organizations (WQR report). Also, it will be exciting to see how existing and upcoming tools apply AI/ML to meet future challenges. API and service testing is also a trend that should be further developed in the future.
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