Today, the international market is highly competitive, with many companies offering the same products and services. Therefore, testing the product before delivering it becomes the utmost necessity for any company. Every enterprise should test its products thoroughly to ensure their highest quality. Many small and medium-sized business houses do not pay much heed to the testing process and suffer in the end. Therefore, they should emphasize the testing and come up with the best products that will help retain customers.
Like any other business, software developing companies should also test their products to maintain premium quality. They should run the test automation on their products to deliver quality at speed. However, enterprises should also focus on using the right tool for test automation. This is important because the process of test automation and its effectiveness entirely depends on the tool’s performance.
This article shall help readers learn about the seven best automation testing tools for developers. These tools support API and services testing. Besides, they offer certain AI/ML and analytics features. Finally, all these test automation tools are top-rated amongst users, and they deliver robust results. Therefore, being a developer, you should learn about these tools thoroughly to increase your software’s efficiency.
Top 8 Automation Testing Tools for Developers
1. Selenium
Almost every developer is familiar with the name ‘Selenium,’ which defines its popularity. It is a good automation testing tool that meets industry standards very well. This tool can test the automation of a web application’s user interface, thus helping developers immensely. Selenium is highly flexible and easy to use for developers having programming skills and experience. It has some premium features that many other test automation tools and frameworks lack.
This tool allows users to code in various languages, including Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, Perl, C#, and Groovy. These codes can run on numerous operating systems such as Windows, Linus, and Mac and browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc. The latest version of this tool is Selenium 4.0.0 Alpha 7, and it was released in November 2020. This version is more robust and allows the W3C standardization.
The new feature present in the latest version of Selenium allows developers to use the same code for all popular browsers. This is possible since Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Edge follow the W3C standard protocol. Besides, developers need to master programming skills and build automation frameworks and libraries to use Selenium efficiently.
2. LambdaTest
A developer must use the perfect automation testing tools to utilize the full potential of the testing environment. In the present software industry, there are thousands of tools available in the market. However, many software giants consider LambdaTest to be a revolution in the automation testing industry. You can use LambdaTest to perform automated testing in the Selenium environment. It allows you to perform all your tests on a secure, scalable, and reliable cloud-based Selenium grid. Developers can also use the scripts to perform automated testing of the web applications on thousands of Browsers and operating systems. Presently millions of companies use LambdaTest to perform automation testing of their web applications. The testers can use this platform to develop, test, and deliver high-quality web applications in a short period.
LambdaTest allows the developers to reduce the test cycles by running parallel test sessions. The one-click bug logging feature ensures that you can log a bug directly from LambdaTest to various work management tools. The quick automated screenshot testing verifies the responsiveness of all the visual aspects of a web application. So, we can conclude that LambdaTest is your one-stop solution to all cloud-based automated testing needs.
3. Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio is a feature-rich test automation tool widely used by developers worldwide. It allows testing API, Web, desktop, and mobile applications significantly. Moreover, this tool supports automation software testing on numerous operating systems such as Linux, macOS, and Windows. Katalon Studio holds the benefits of the Selenium and Appium engines. However, it does not make users integrate various frameworks and libraries required for using these two test automation tools.
Katalon Studio offers a familiar environment for developers and testers. Moreover, its premium features make it one of the key players in the automation testing market. This tool supports test automation of API, mobile, and web apps. Additionally, it facilitates SOAP and RESTful for testing API and services. This tool has a large number of in-built keywords that allow creating test cases effortlessly.
Developers and testers can deploy this tool for automated and exploratory testing. Moreover, it supports BDD Cucumber to display test cases in common languages. Users can extend the testing ability of the tool through plugins available on the Katalon Store. Besides, they can also check the quality reports on the KatalonTestOps platform.
4. UFT One
UFT One, also known as UFT, is a widely-used commercial test automation tool for desktop, Web, mobile, and RPA applications. This tool is extended with fine features to test API efficiently. UFT One provides suitable options to test the target Application Under Test (AUT) on desktops, Web, and mobile devices. It supports multiple operating systems for the AUT. Moreover, this tool provides numerous advanced features for detecting smart objects, image-based objects, and rectification.
The latest version of UFT, v15.0.2, was released in November 2020. It consists of the latest features to enhance the testing process and increase its robustness. Moreover, this version also reduces the testing time without affecting the quality of the process. UFT One develops a more platform-oriented test using the suggested object steps available in the AI Transformation Assistant. It uses ParallelRunner to execute numerous API and GUI tests simultaneously.
UFT One can track and report the Wi-Fi condition, thermal state, and disk space available in the Record & Run settings. Additionally, this test automation tool can support automatic page checkpoints for browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Therefore, UFT One is a great automation testing tool for testers looking for effortless software testing.
5. TestComplete
TestComplete is a familiar name in the list of the top automation testing tools for developers. It has powerful features that allow testing applications on Web, mobile, and desktops efficiently. This tool will enable testers to write test codes in JavaScript, C++ Script, Python, and VBScript. Moreover, it has an object recognition system that can identify dynamic user interface elements without an error.
The engine present in TestComplete is highly effective for testing applications having dynamic and frequently changing user interfaces. Its latest version, 14.72, was released in January 2021 and contains extraordinary test run and web testing features. This test automation tool has self-healing, enhancing the AI-based algorithms to find a replacement object using its image.
Two other features of this tool, namely, record and playback, helps testers immensely. These features are similar to the ones present in the Katalon Studio and allow users to test effortlessly. Moreover, they can insert checkpoints in between the steps for testing to verify the outcomes. SmartBear offers TestComplete, and thus, users can incorporate it with other products from the same company.
6. SoapUI
Unlike the previous tools, SoapUI is not a tool for automation testing for Web or mobile applications. However, it is an excellent choice for testing API and services. This is a headless functional tool created for testing API. It supports REST and SOAP services, and developers can either use its open-source or pro version. Moreover, they can get a user-friendly interface in the pro version along with some premium features.
These features are assertion wizard, SQL query builder, and form editor. SmartBear is also the presenter of SoapUI, which falls under the ReadyAPI suite. This tool has impressive API testing features and allows users to initiate tests through drag and drop and point and click. Additionally, it supports data-oriented testing using data from files and databases.
SoapUI allows reusing the testing scripts and supports asynchronous testing. This tool also creates mock services through RESTful mocking. The latest open-source version of the tool has the API Explorer feature, earlier found in the pro version only. Therefore, developers and testers can use this version to debug API responses quickly.
7. IBM Rational Functional Tester (RFT)
IBM Rational Functional Tester is the perfect choice for testing applications created using various languages and technologies like Web, Visual Basic, Siebel, .Net, Dojo Toolkit, etc. Moreover, it is a data-oriented testing platform supporting regression and functional testing. This tool can detect data at the early stage and has Advanced ScriptAssure technology.
IBM RFT allows visual editing using screenshots which provides a visual and storyboard format for displaying test actions. Therefore, developers can use frequent user interface changes and eliminate the increase of maintenance charges. This tool has the Test Scripting feature to help users choose between Java and Visual Basic .NET easily. Moreover, developers can integrate this tool with other software that will facilitate collaborative application lifecycle management.
The latest version of this test automation tool, RFT V10.1.0, was released in July 2020. It contains some excellent features and fixes for bugs present in the earlier versions. Additionally, this version presents an improved unified report for Functional, Compound, and Web UI tests.
8. Tricentis Tosca
Tricentis Tosca is one of the continuous testing platforms offering top-class toolsets to support most testing actions. It provides test designs, test automation, test reports, and analytics. This test automation tool has numerous premium features like analytics, dashboards, distributed executions, and integrations that support continuous integration and DevOps processes.
Developers get a user-friendly interface in Tricentis Tosca. Therefore, they can design, incorporate, manage, execute, and optimize API tests effortlessly. Moreover, this tool can run API tests on numerous browsers, operating systems, and mobile devices. It supports multiple protocols and platforms such as HTTP(s) JMS, SOAP, IBM MQ, TIBCO EMS, REST, etc. Tricentis Tosca has exceptional features for test reporting and analytics.
Developers can use this tool to automate UI test cases depending on a mock-up instead of using codes. Additionally, it supports API protection configuration in the API Connection Manager. Moreover, users can access the signature security feature to sign numerous parts of a message. Finally, the latest update of this tool introduced the first version of Project NEO, which allows the virtual execution of automation testing.
Wrap Up
The list of automation testing tools is quite long and comprises numerous popular names. However, the seven names mentioned above stand out in the crowd with their unmatchable features and abilities. We hope the readers find this article helpful in selecting the most efficient test automation tool.
