Top 10 Most Popular Software Testing Tools

The demand for delivering software faster is growing. With organizations adapting to Agile and DevOps methodologies, it is inevitable that the software must be delivered faster with good quality. According to the World Quality Report 2018–2019, test automation will be the biggest bottleneck to deliver “Quality at Speed,” as it is a facilitator of successful Agile and DevOps implementation. Software testing cannot be appreciated without good tools since they determine how test automation is performed. With AI and ML coming into the picture, the current generation of tools are offering advanced capabilities, intelligent test execution, and comprehensive reporting. Keeping these factors in mind, let’s look at some of the go-to tools in the market.

Below are some of the most widely used software testing tools listed in no particular order.

Selenium

Selenium is one of the oldest and most popular tools in test automation. It is the go-to tool for web application testing and a great tool for frequent testing. Selenium Webdriver, a web automation framework, can be used to execute powerful browser-based regression automation tests. Many organizations prefer Selenium because the tool is compatible with various programming languages and can be integrated with testing frameworks. What makes this superior over others is that it is open-source and can be easily integrated with other tools and frameworks.

UFT/QTP

Unified Functional Test (UFT), formerly known as Quick Test Professional (QTP), is a leading cross-platform test automation tool. UFT provides regression and functional test automation for software applications and environments. It can be used to automate desktop, mobile, web, net, SAP, ActiveX, Flex, Delphi, Java, Oracle, Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, PeopleSoft, Siebel, Stingray and many other applications. UFT is a preferred tool because of its distinguishing features such as being a keyword-driven framework, business process testing, robust checkpoints, XML support, and test results.

Katalon Studio

Katalon Studio is another popular open-source test automation tool for the web and mobile environment. Katalon works on top of Appium and Selenium, thus enhancing the features of those tools like user-friendly IDE, object repository, object spy and browser plugin. It can also be integrated with other tools like qTest, Kobiton, Jira, Git, Slack, and many more. Katalon Studio comes with a free version and paid option for businesses and enterprises support services.

Silk Test

Silk Test is a test automation tool from Microfocus used for automated functional and regression testing. It is known for its speedy, efficient and high-quality test automation. It supports cross-browser testing and mobile testing. The key feature of SilkTest is it provides collaborative test design environment via keyword-driven testing.

Squish

Squish has become the latest sensation in test automation. It is the number one choice for organizations when it comes to GUI test automation worldwide. This commercial GUI and regression testing tool is known for its powerful IDE and comprehensive support for major GUI technologies. Squish is a 100% cross-platform tool with full support for all mobile, desktop, web and embedded platforms.

TestComplete

TestComplete is a functional test automation platform developed by SmartBear. TestComplete gives software testers the ability to create automated tests for web, Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android applications. SmartBear claims TestComplete to be the easiest to use when it comes to automated UI testing. The highlight of this tool is that it can execute parallel regression tests with automation builds and create stable regression tests. It can automatically schedule and run regression tests without human intervention. It also cuts down the testing time and training costs significantly.

Ranorex

Ranorex is an all-in-one GUI test automation tool from Ranorex Studio. Ranorex is used for end-to-end testing on mobile, desktop and web application. The smart object recognition feature, which can automatically detect any change in the UI, is the standout feature of this tool. Other prominent features include early bug finding, reusable code modules, easy test recording, seamless integration with other tools, and the easy-to-use editor. It has a robust reporting feature and it is easy to use for beginners with a codeless click-and-go feature. It is also used for cross-browser testing.

Appium

Appium is another popular open-source mobile test automation tool for all native, hybrid, and mobile web apps for iOS and Android. Appium is a great choice for test automation framework as it can be used for all these different app/web types. It is considered the  best mobile test automation tool in the market right now. It is customizable and can be used according to our requirement.

SoapUI

As the name indicates, SoapUI is a widely used open-source test automation tool for SOAP and REST APIs. SoapUI is a functional testing tool explicitly designed for API testing by SmartBear. It is known for its asynchronous testing, reusable scripts, and powerful data-driven testing. The tool comes with an open-source and premium version. The premium version has some advanced features like SQL query builder, assertion wizard and form editor.

EggPlant

EggPlant is a black-box GUI test automation tool. For software testers, Eggplant offers an assortment of test automation tools utilizing which you can perform various types of testing. There is EggPlant Functional for functional testing and EggPlant Performance for load, stress and performance testing. It can also be easily integrated with popular test management tools. With a single test script, EggPlant can create multiple device scenarios.