Keeping up with release cycles and ensuring your product is up to par when it comes to quality is no longer a “nice-to-have” – it’s an absolute necessity and a core component of every successful software development process. Automation helps teams deliver better software faster by reducing repetitive manual tests, improving overall test coverage, and getting the team faster feedback on what needs to change.
With so many test automation tools on the market, it’s hard to know where to start looking. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, so “best” will truly depend on your team’s specific needs and goals. It’s important to explore the landscape, understand the options that are out there, and find what will empower your team to build high-quality software.
Tricentis
Tricentis, founded in 2007, offers a broad portfolio of testing tools. They cater to large enterprises with complex testing needs, providing solutions from mobile to mainframe. Tricentis is known for its established brand and strong reputation, particularly in industries like financial services and healthcare. However, their tools can be costly and complex, with fragmented user interfaces that pose integration and collaboration challenges.
- Pros:
- Established brand and strong reputation
- Broad portfolio of testing tools
- Caters to large enterprises with complex testing needs
- Cons:
- Cost and complexity of tools can be detractors
- Fragmented tools with separate UIs, leading to integration and collaboration challenges
- Disjointed AI, with AI built for specific tools in its portfolio
SmartBear
SmartBear provides a wide range of software testing tools. Their TestComplete tool requires development expertise for core functionality and lacks a built-in scheduler. While SmartBear is improving integrations, their reporting capabilities are limited, and accessibility testing requires an add-on. TestComplete also necessitates integration with Selenium Grid or SmartBear BitBar for cross-browser and parallel testing.
- Pros:
- Wide range of testing tools for API, UI, and performance testing
- Large user base with a deep pool of knowledge
- Provides free and open-source versions of some tools
- Cons:
- Fragmented tools, leading to collaboration challenges and inefficiencies
- Poor UI with outdated interfaces and steep learning curves
- Core functionality requires development expertise
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- Limited reports and analytics for debugging
Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio offers a comprehensive test automation solution with a focus on fast test creation and execution. It supports web, API, mobile, and desktop testing and provides AI-driven features for test generation and optimization. Despite these capabilities, Katalon's test types cannot be combined, its user interface is considered poor, and support is not included in all license types. Users have also reported that it "felt like Selenium with lipstick on it.”
- Pros:
- Freemium model attracts budget-conscious users
- Supports web, API, mobile, and desktop testing
- Offers AI-driven test generation
- Cons:
- Test types cannot be combined
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- Support not included in all license types and documentation is subpar
- Weak support for CI/CD integration
- Painful installation for mobile testing
Applitools
Applitools specializes in AI-powered visual testing, supporting web, mobile, and native app testing. They have a strong market presence and integrate with tools like Selenium, Cypress, and Puppeteer. However, Applitools has limited support for low-code, API, accessibility, and performance testing. Additionally, its visual testing may miss layout or structural changes, and the platform is optimized for developers and technical QA, lacking democratization and collaboration features.
- Pros:
- Strong emphasis on visual testing and AI capabilities
- Supports web, mobile, and native app testing
- Developer-friendly with integrations
- Cons:
- Limited support for low-code, API, accessibility, and performance testing
- Visual testing may miss layout or structural changes
- Complex dependency installation for web and mobile testing
Selenium and Playwright
Selenium and Playwright are widely used open-source frameworks for browser-based UI testing, primarily targeting developers. While highly customizable and offering a vast library of third-party plugins, these frameworks require coding expertise and lack auto-healing capabilities, leading to ongoing test maintenance. Users also need separate solutions for mobile, API, accessibility, and reporting.
- Pros:
- Open source, free, and highly customizable
- Tests run extremely fast
- Huge library of third-party plugins and community support
- Cons:
- Require coding expertise
- No auto-healing, leading to test maintenance
- Users are required to build and host the infrastructure
- Need separate solutions for mobile, API, accessibility, and reporting
AccelQ
AccelQ provides AI-powered codeless test automation, purpose-built for ERP systems like Salesforce, SAP, and ServiceNow. It offers a unified platform for API, web, and mobile testing and has a strong partner network. However, AccelQ's test creation and maintenance workflow is clunky, slow, and manual. It is primarily designed for ERP testing and has only recently expanded into customer-facing applications.
- Pros:
- Expansive capabilities (web, mobile, API, manual tests, AI)
- Purpose-built for ERP (Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, MS Dynamics, etc)
- Strong partner network and RBAC support
- Cons:
- Clunky, slow, and manual workflow for test creation and maintenance
- Built for ERP testing, only recently expanded into customer-facing apps
- Limited case studies with real logos
BrowserStack
BrowserStack provides a platform for testing web and mobile applications across a wide range of browsers and devices. They have a large user base and offer strong mobile testing functionality, with progress in using GenAI for test step generation. Despite these strengths, BrowserStack's low-code offering for web apps is basic, auto-healing is limited, and there is no mobile app testing, though they have a strong device farm offering. Their API functionality is also very basic, and they lack CI/CD integrations.
- Pros:
- Great for manual testing across on-demand devices
- Strong visual assertions, visual testing, recording of test runs
- Strong mobile testing functionality
- Making headway with GenAI for test step generation
- Cons:
- Low-code for web apps is a new investment and very basic
- Auto-healing is very basic (they have a weak approach to selectors)
- No mobile app testing, though they have a strong device farm offering
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- Missing CI/CD integrations
Functionize
Functionize focuses on AI test automation, offering features like test generation and SmartFix to help repair broken tests. They provide cross-browser testing and support various testing types, including web, mobile, desktop, API, email, SMS, and more. However, Functionize has limited documentation, requires installing agents/snippets in the source code for test generation, and lacks branching/version control. Their trainer is a Chrome plugin, which can lead to conflicts, and local tests are hard and paid for. The user experience has also been described as "mind-blowingly weird”.
- Pros:
- Trainer uses plain English for Natural Language Processing
- Offers test generation and TestGPT (autonomous testing)
- SmartFix helps fix broken tests
- Cross-browser testing in parallel + any browser version + region
- Cons:
- Limited docs/evidence of TestGPT
- Test generation requires installing agents and snippets in source code
- No branching or version control available
- UX leaves a lot to be desired
mabl: A Modern Approach to Test Automation
mabl offers a modern approach to test automation, designed to address the challenges and limitations of traditional tools. mabl empowers everyone to contribute to quality with its low-code/codeless test creation, making testing accessible to both QA teams and developers. Its AI-powered stability reduces test maintenance, a significant advantage over tools that struggle with flaky tests and require constant script updates.
mabl provides a truly unified platform for web, mobile, and API testing, enabling teams to combine test types and share assets within the same plan. The product is built on leading open-source frameworks – Playwright, Appium, and Postman, so its support of OS is engrained in the tools. It also includes non-functional testing such as performance and accessibility. mabl shines when it comes to team collaboration, offering granular roles, branching, and unlimited cloud concurrency. Furthermore, mabl provides comprehensive data and diagnostics for debugging, with one-click integration to Jira for defect reporting. mabl also allows unlimited local test runs, enabling developers to get feedback directly from their workstation or CI tools.
- Pros:
- AI-Powered Stability
- Effortless Scaling
- Low-code/codeless test creation
- Unified platform for web, mobile, and API testing
- Built on leading open-source frameworks
- Includes non-functional testing
- Strong team collaboration features
- Comprehensive data and diagnostics for debugging
- Unlimited local test runs
- Cons:
- mabl is a newer company, so its features are evolving as the company grows.
