Best test automation tools 2022
comprehensive list

The first minute of usage of any software product is probably the most crucial for its success. That’s why they should work correctly and consistently across all modern browsers and platforms. This will help organizations establish their reputation in customer markets and become more competitive. Having that in mind, an automation testing process should be on your radar. However, selecting the right automation testing tool is a challenging task. Luckily, you can make the selection process a little simpler with this Best Test Automation tools list.

Overviews of the 15 best test automation tools

Here’s a brief description of each test automation solution, showing what it does best and showcasing some features.

Cypress.io

Cypress is a JavaScript-based framework that provides an entirely new architecture for QA testing. When running internally, it delivers an ecosystem with full and easy access to the code and allows QA engineers to keep under control the entire testing process. This maximizes the efficiency of the QA process and delivers more consistent and accurate results.

Key features:

• It provides a simple and intuitive interface, everyone with basic programming knowledge can set up and master this tool for automation with ease.
• It allows teams to debug directly from tools like ChromDev tools.
• When running from the CLI, it automatically captures screenshots or records the testing process on video.
• It provides real-time loads if any change has happened.
• Powered with useful utilities, it simplifies and speeds up writing tests.

Best suited for:

• End-to-end tests
• Integration tests
• Unit tests
• Functional testing

Playwright

Playwright provides an event-driven architecture and supports multiple languages, including TypeScript, Java, Javascript, Python, and .NET. It opens up ample opportunities for QA teams to produce more concise scripts as well as enables them to migrate existing codebases with ease.

Key features:

• It has a great user experience, Safari support, and built-in “auto waiting” functionality that covers all your testing needs.
• It offers excellent reporting capabilities designed to let QA teams run reports on testing.
• It provides CI/CD support and any modern platform integration.
• It generates pdf files and emulates browsers of mobile devices that eliminates spending on a variety of devices.

Best suited for:

• Cross-browser testing
• E2E testing
• Web testing
• Mobile testing
• API testing
• Parallel testing

Cucumber

Cucumber supports multiple programming languages, such as Java/C#/.NET/Ruby/ FLEX/Python that simplifies the testing process for software engineers. In addition, it allows engineers to create human-readable tests written in Gherkin language. This improves collaboration and boosts communication among non-technical specialists.

Key features:

• It provides simple test script architecture and has a focus on an end-user experience.
• It includes an early defect detection function to identify errors quickly and fix them.
• There is no need to have technical knowledge for writing behavior scenarios for web apps.

Best suited for:

• Implementation of BDD testing
• Agile testing

Testomatio

Testomatio test management system provides both automated and manual testing capabilities in one environment. Additionally, it allows QA engineers to produce smart test cases as well as edit and execute them with ease. Teams can also use ready-to-use templates for designing test cases to boost the testing process. With real-time test results, reporting, and analytics tools, tech and non-tech stakeholders are always in the know about what is going on in the QA testing process and ready to make any changes if there is a need.

Key features:

• It enables teams to create a test plan and follow a test strategy.
• It allows teams to organize testing scenarios through the BDD format.
• It provides synchronization for automated tests.
• It can be integrated with CI/CD tools like Jira, Jenkins, Bamboo, and CircleCI. It comes with real-time reporting and analytics.

Best suited for:

• Automation and manual testing
• Agile testing
• Implementation of BDD testing

TestRail

Powered with an intuitive web-based user interface, TestRail tool allows QA teams to produce test cases, better manage test runs as well as the entire QA process. Additionally, it provides real-time insights into the testing progress and drives productivity with personalized to-do lists, notifications, etc.

Key features:

• It provides detailed test case execution, control, and monitoring.
• It can be seamlessly integrated with JIRA and Jenkins.
• It offers real-time test case progress tracking.

Best suited for:

• Agile testing
• Mobile testing
• Web testing

Katalon Studio

Being a user-friendly and versatile tool for automated test generation, it supports Java and Groovy language and helps QA engineers overcome common challenges in web UI test automation as well as create, execute and view reports for automated tests

Key features:

• It doesn’t require a huge effort to set up and use.
• It provides flexible modes so that team members with different knowledge and skill set can create test cases quickly and easily.
• It offers in-built templates to keep the object repository, test cases, and custom keywords.

Best suited for:

• Data-driven testing
• API testing
• Desktop app testing
• BDD testing
• Regression testing

Azure DevOps

As a cloud-based service, this tool powers the DevOps pipeline at any scale. It helps development teams to make continuous integration (CI) automated and provide continuous delivery that works for any programming language or cloud.

Key features:

• It provides a great experience for users and easy-to-use test environments.
• It can be integrated with a great number of extensions and additional packages.
• It supports Java/Node/PHP/.NET/Python languages.
• It offers detailed testing reports and easy customization.

Best suited for:

• Agile testing
• Regression testing
• Mobile testing
• Web testing

Jenkins

Written in Java, Jenkins is a continuous integration tool that opens up ample opportunities for development teams to provide continuous development, testing, and deployment of newly created codes.

Key features:

• It provides easy configuration and installation.
• It offers a rich plugin ecosystem and customization capabilities to serve any needs.
• It supports most environments as well as cloud-based architecture, including Amazon, Azure, Google, and IBM Cloud.

Best suited for:

• Agile testing
• API testing
• Mobile testing
• Web testing

Gitlab

Being an open source code repository and complete DevOps platform, it supports the entire DevOps lifecycle and provides rich functionality to perform automated testing. Additionally, it enables teams to better collaborate when working on all project-related tasks, including project planning, source code management, and security.

Key features:

• It provides easy configuration and high-level source code security.
• It comes with a built-in CI/CD feature that helps development teams to identify, build, test, deploy and monitor applications through the CI/CD pipeline.
• It offers feature-rich issue tracking capabilities.

Best suited for:

• e2e testing
• Mobile testing
• Web testing

Postman

When it comes to application programming interface development, Postman is a great tool for API testing. Additionally, it provides automated testing that helps development teams to improve the CI/CD pipeline and make sure the software solution works as expected.

Key features:

• It is user-friendly and easy to use.
• It supports all types of HTTP requests and provides version controls.
• It helps teams visualize API lifecycle through the reporting dashboard.

Best suited for:

• API testing
• Regression testing

Browserstack

Being a cross-browser testing platform, Browserstack allows development teams to integrate tools for automated, visual, and live testing. Additionally, it enables DevOps teams to test mobile applications and websites without hosting them in public environments.

Key features:

• It provides cross-browser testing options.
• It allows QA teams to utilize cloud-based real-time devices for testing.
• It has built-in security compliances.

Best suited for:

• Regression testing
• Mobile testing
• Web testing

k6

Written in Go and JavaScript, k6 has a focus on testing back-end infrastructure. Additionally, teams can use it when starting performance testing in their continuous integration pipelines.

Key features:

• It offers a clean scripting API.
• It provides orchestration through the REST API.
• It provides distributed and cloud execution.

Best suited for:

• Load testing
• Performance testing
• API testing

Selenium Webdriver

Integrated with the WebDriver API, this Selenium’s component enables to use a variety of programming languages, including Java, C#, Python, PHP, Perl, and Ruby to create test scripts for a web application. Working across multiple OSs such as Linux/ UNIX/Mac/Windows, it allows QA engineers to produce test cases on Windows and execute them on Mac.

Key features:

• It offers multi-language compatibility and provides multi-browser support.
• It provides simple architecture and real-life interaction.
• It supports HtmlUnit and directly talks to the browser.

Best suited for:

• API testing
• Web testing
• Mobile testing

LambdaTest

LambdaTest drives cross-browser compatibility testing and helps teams perform live interactive testing in real browser environments. Additionally, it can be integrated with the desired project management, CD/CI pipeline, and bug logging tool.

Key features:

• It provides ease of use, clean UI, and navigation.
• It reduces the time required for the testing process by performing multiple test scripts simultaneously.
• It offers Selenium testing on cloud-based infrastructure.
• It supports all programming languages and delivers detailed reports on test runs.

Best suited for:

• Live testing
• Mobile app testing
• API testing

Test automation tools comparison 🛠️

Which automation testing tool is in demand?

When it comes to automation testing tools, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are multiple criteria to consider, including usability, key features, setup and integrations, customization, cost, etc. Since there are so many available automated QA tools on the market, we’ve presented above the ones we think are best for various testing needs.

Bottom line: Are you over the first hurdle?

Opting for automating testing is a huge step for any organization. When evaluating and comparing automation testing tools, it’s essential to take time. Looking for the right test automation tool can be a long process, but putting the research in now and properly outlining your goals and expectations is a must to meet with success and drive a great ROI.