Top Performance or Load Testing Tools


Performance testing is conducted to know how an application responds under extreme load. Such tests are performed using metrics like speed, scalability and stability. Choosing the right performance or load testing tool can offer a wide range of beneficial features. Besides, it also eliminates massive cost and time consumption associated with the manual testing process.

Types of performance tests

An application or software goes through several tests to determine its performance. Not all tools support all types of performance testing. Therefore, you may have to determine what type of testing you require and choose the tools as needed.

Load testing

Load tests help testers to determine the workload produced by an app under normal conditions. It measures the response time of the app and identifies possible bottlenecks that can hinder the app’s performance.

Stress Testing

In this test, a software/application is exposed to extreme workload or traffic. This is done to identify the point at which the app can no longer withstand any additional load.

Spike Testing

Spike testing tells you how an app will respond to different workload. Testers introduce different workloads to an app and monitor its response.

Endurance Testing

In endurance test, testers expose the application to a specific amount of traffic for a long time to monitor how well the app is handling them.

Volume Testing

This is done to check the data processing capacity of an app. The application is subjected to a massive volume of data while testers evaluate its efficiency and performance.

Scalability Testing

In this type of testing, testers gradually increase the user load in software to determine how efficiently its scales up to a large workload.

Volume Testing

It refers to a testing process where the app is fed with large volumes of databases to determine its processing capability.

Best Performance Testing Tools

There is a wide range of free and commercial performance testing tools available online, each having its own special features. We have handpicked some of the best testing tools for you−

LoadNinja

LoadNinja is a performance testing tool specially designed for load testing. The most notable part of this app is that it allows you to run load tests without creating scripts. It comes with amazing debug features.

The tool enables you to identify issues instantly, debug in real-time while recording client-side interactions simultaneously. You can replace real load emulators with real browsers and generate actionable metrics on the go.

It allows you to enhance your testing coverage without dialling down the test quality. It cuts the testing time in half by eliminating repetitive tasks like script scrubbing, script translation and dynamic correlation.

Key features

  • Scriptless load tests
  • Real-time debugging
  • Cloud-based hosting
  • Supports HTTPS, HTTP, Java, SAP GUI Web, Google Web Toolkit, Oracle and Websocket

Apache JMeter

JMeter is an open-source performance and load testing tool for analyzing and measuring the performance of an extensive range of software. As a java-based application, JMeter easily integrates with the test plan to create function test plans and load test plans. You can stimulate various concurrent users as well as simulate real-time scenarios. Apart from load testing, JMeter is also a great tool for stress testing and stability testing.

Key features

  • Support multiple load injectors managed through a single controller
  • User-friendly interface- Requires fewer scripting efforts
  • Support all java-based apps
  • Supports protocols such as HTTPS, HTTP, XML, SOAP, FTP, etc.

WebLOAD

WebLOAD is an ideal industrial-scale performance testing tool that can accommodate complex and heavy user load requirements. The load testing tool allows you to generate real-life load scenarios at complex systems and receive in-depth performance insights. Besides integrated with multiple technologies, the tool shows seamless compatibility with several tools.

You can load the database from both cloud and private systems to conduct load and stress testing on a web-based software of your choice.

Key features

  • Support integration with tools such as selenium, Jenkins, etc
  • Deployment support for on-premise and cloud systems
  • Supports all major web technologies
  • Automatically detects bottlenecks
  • Easy to create a flexible test environment

LoadView

Loadview is one of the most sought-out performance testing tool supporting advanced load testing features. This fully managed load and stress testing tool allows you to conduct testing in real browsers, delivering close emulation of real users, thereby offering highly precise data. Its vast cloud-based infrastructure facilitates quick and easy test deployments within minutes. Just by using your application or website, you can create multi-step scripts via user interaction simulations.

Key features

  • Easy creation of codeless test scripts
  • Supports Java, flash, ruby, PHMP, Silverlight, and ruby, etc.
  • One-click share of reports and performance metrics
  • Instant identification of bottlenecks

Silk Performer

Silk performer another enterprise-level stress and load testing tool that allows application testing with thousands of concurrent users. Without developing any complex infrastructure, the tool enables QA teams to launch peak load performance test over 50 locations worldwide.

It also comes with a powerful root-cause analysis feature that allows you to isolate problems and make sound decisions. As a result, you get high-quality data with minimum test cycles. The tool supports a wide range of workload scenarios and load conditions, thereby offering performance measurement internally and from an end-user perspective.

Key features

  • Allows virtual user simulation with minimal hardware requirements
  • Supports up to six workload models
  • Allows stress testing with server-side diagnostics
  • Supports protocols like HTML, HTTPS, HTTP, SMTP, POP, FTP, LDAP, .NET, XML and many more.

StresStimulus

StressStimulus is an all-inclusive load testing tool for websites, mobile phones and enterprise software. QA teams can run web performance and scalability tests by emulating thousands of physical users via cloud and on-premise load generators. The tool simultaneously analyzes server information to check the app's performance bottlenecks and web speed issues in real-time. It comes with a user-friendly interface with an end-to-end test wizard, offering testers a visually captivating walkthrough of the whole testing process. Since it supports native app frameworks, it cuts down major time consumption for mobile app load testing.

Key features

  • Support both cloud and on-premise testing
  • End-to-end test wizard covering all steps of the testing process
  • Supports multiple languages
  • Supports script exports to visual studio test format

Conclusion

All the tools mentioned above are some of the most used performance testing tools available online. Before choosing a testing tool, you must consider several factors such as protocol support, hardware & software requirements, tool vendor support, training cost, including the licensing cost. Besides, you must understand that you cannot rely on a single tool. You may have to use multiple tools for a complete testing result.

Updated on: 13-May-2021

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