For improving software, especially websites, performance testing tools are essential. Why? Because user experience, conversions, and, ultimately, your financial line are all affected by performance. This is something the market is well aware of.

Performance testing is a type of non-functional testing used to see how well an application performs under load. The tests look at speed, stability, and scalability, among other things. A variety of tests can be conducted with the correct performance testing services. Performance testing is as important as user testing.

In this top tools list, we present to you the top 17 performance testing tools to ensure your product’s smooth performance.

1. SmartMeter.io

SmartMeter.io offers many advanced testing functions. It will be instantly familiar to any of its users because it is built on JMeter. In SmartMeter.io, creating a test is a breeze. Without coding, you can create test scenarios by simply clicking in an embedded browser. There's also no need for a proxy server or a browser plugin.

It includes reports that are automatically generated and include all pertinent information regarding the test and its outcomes. The results include auto-evaluated approval criteria, data, a graph comparison tool, and multiple test run trend analysis.

Key Features:

• In embedded browsers, create easy-to-use test scenarios.

• Create advanced test reports with complete and detailed test results automatically.

• Performance testing may be easily integrated into your continuous integration process.

• Ensures that insufficient resources in the test environment aren't the cause of long response times.

• Installs generators on several machines to create a huge number of virtual users from various regions.

Cost:

Packages start at $39 per month.

2. Artillery.io

Artillery.io is a cloud-native solution that operates on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Your data and code remain on your systems and within your security perimeter.

Security and compliance requirements are inherent in complex systems. Artillery Pro runs on your own servers and can be integrated with your existing security, compliance, and governance systems.

Your cloud, your environment, with complete control over how you build up integrations, whether it's via IAM, VPC, Systems Manager, or anything else.

Key Features:

• Cloud-native: Increase the number of queries per second in your tests. The race will take place in 13 different geographical zones.

• Operates in your own AWS account and integrates with current security and compliance systems.

• There is no infrastructure to maintain, and there are no ongoing fees.

• There is no infrastructure to maintain, and there are no ongoing fees. easily test services within the VPC border.

• Price that encourages frequent, high-volume use.

• Your previous scripts will continue to work seamlessly after new upgrades.

Cost:

Packages start at $1119 per month.

3. SolarWinds Performance Monitoring

SolarWinds Performance Monitoring helps you get a clearer picture of your app's and network service's performance. It enables you to swiftly identify the root cause of a problem and remedy it.

Using the actionable information provided by this performance testing tool, you can reduce network downtime. Furthermore, this software provides detailed network performance testing as well as continuous device and network availability monitoring.

Key Features:

• Support for cloud and on-premises databases that are cross-platform

• Machine learning is used to discover anomalies.

• With index and query tuning advisers, you can get expert help.

• Monitoring VMware vSphere performance

Cost:

You can request a quote on their website.

4. Httperf

Httperf is a high-performance testing tool for monitoring and assessing web service and web application performance. This is mostly used to evaluate the performance of HTTP servers.

This testing tool's main goal would be to count the number of answers generated by this specific server. This generates HTTP GET requests from the server, which can be used to summarise the service's overall performance.

Key Features:

• A powerful, high-performance tool for creating micro- and macro-level benchmarks.

• The capacity to create and maintain server overload.

• HTTP/1.1 and SSL protocols are supported.

• Performance measurements and extensibility to new workload generators.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

5. LoadStorm Pro

LoadStorm Pro is a robust load testing solution for mobile and web apps. This cloud testing tool enables you to quickly determine app scalability, create browser recordings, upload them, and parameterize them for testing.

It's also one of the most cost-effective and controllable load-testing products on the market. They provide easy-to-understand data with graphs to evaluate app performance, including response time, error rates, and users.

Key Features:

• You don't need to buy any hardware or download any software, and you have complete control over all of your experiments, including traffic distribution across the globe. It is entirely cloud based.

• LoadStorm makes use of the computing capacity of cloud servers to execute load tests with up to 1,000,000 concurrent VUsers. This saves both time and money for your testing crew.

• LoadStorm PRO does not require any downloads or a lengthy installation process.

• You may test from any computer with an internet connection thanks to the cloud platform.

Cost:

You can request a quote on their website.

6. Flood Element

Flood Element developed this open-source solution to aid in simulating user behaviour through real-time browser load testing. It is an open-source Playwright that makes use of a web-based load testing tool. The option of typescript is used to create scripts.

You can use it against your Web app by opening a browser and interacting with page components in the same way that your consumers do. This method can aid in the detection of user-facing performance issues.

It's written in the same style as a functional test script, but with Flood Element, you can instantly execute load testing scripts on as many Cloud nodes as you wish.

Key Features:

• Working at a higher level of abstraction makes it much easier to make the queries you need to simulate people in your app.

• Without test data, load testing is akin to employing lorem ipsum in production. Without test data, load testing is akin to employing lorem ipsum in production.

• Thousands of instances of Chromium, Firefox, or Webkit are launched by Element to produce load.

• Create a number of virtual users, each running a browser instance and ramping up and/or down for a set period of time to perform load testing on a small scale locally.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

7. CloudTest

CloudTest, by Akamei, is a website, mobile app, API, and other performance testing tool. The cloud platform can be used as a virtual testing facility by users or developers. Through the CloudTest tool, developers can do cost-effective performance and load testing on the cloud platform.

This CloudTest is capable of allowing several people to access the website at the same time. It also raises website traffic so that users can see how the site performs under stress and under excessive demand.

Key Features:

• Setting parameters, variables, and validations, as well as reusing and combining tests, requires no coding.

• Test cases can be dragged and dropped. Create fictitious people and scenarios.

• Test production volumes from locations throughout the world that are representative of your user base.

• With real-time statistics, you may adjust loads during testing or mimic promotions and outages.

• Built-in dashboards with a single view Combine data from third-party monitoring technologies with analytics.

Cost:

You can request a quote on their website.

8. Loader.io

Loader.io is a free cloud-based performance and load testing tool for your web apps and APIs that can handle thousands of simultaneous connections, to undertake simple cloud-based performance and load testing.

Simply register your application and begin the test via the API or web interface, and allow them to mimic connections for a set amount of time.

Loader.io allows you to keep track of your stress or load tests in real time and share the results with your peers. It has an interactive data display with graphs and statistics that you may access at any time and from any location.

Key Features:

• To register your app for testing, use the web interface or API.

• Generate graphs and statistics to share whenever and wherever.

• For quick and easy testing, use the internet.

• Load testing should be a part of your deployment process.

Cost:

Paid packages start at $100 per month.

9. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is a Node module that allows you to manipulate Chrome or Chromium using the DevTools Protocol. Puppeteer is configured to run full (non-headless) Chrome or Chromium by default, although this can be changed.

The demand for client-side performance measures has never been greater, as most modern apps use javascript-heavy front-ends.

Puppeteer can be used to gather web performance statistics such as a page load trace, a dev tools trace with screenshots, runtime performance metrics, and more.

Key Features:

• Form submission, UI testing, keyboard input, and other tasks can all be automated.

• Create an automated testing environment that is up to date. Use the newest JavaScript and browser features to run your tests in the latest version of Chrome.

• To aid in the diagnosis of performance issues, create a timeline trace of your site.

• Experiment with Chrome Extensions.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

10. Predator

Predator is the first tool of its kind, a comprehensive solution that manages the entire life cycle of load testing APIs, from creating and managing existing performance tests to scheduling and on-demand testing, and finally viewing the test results in a highly informative and real-time built-in report.

Predator has no restriction on the number of virtual users that may be used in a test; it also supports distributed load testing out of the box, allowing a limitless number of virtual users to attack your servers.

Key Features:

• Predator is integrated with all platforms and is entirely cloud based.

• It can be installed with just one click.

• Supports an infinite number of load generators that generate multiple load runners simultaneously.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

11. nGrinder

nGrinder is an enterprise-level performance testing tool that automates the construction of test scripts, the execution of tests, the monitoring of your website and applications, and the generation of test results. It creates test scenarios with numerous agents using a Jython script.

It's an open source stress testing solution that offers integrated test environments and eliminates inconvenient aspects of the procedure. It's based on The Grinder and offers particular architectural improvements as well as more accessible test runs.

Key Features:

• You can assign pre-install agents, deploy them over multiple network areas, and test them in multiple places.

• Manage scripts by integrating Subversion and measuring stress on computers by monitoring agent status.

• It can use custom libraries to extend tests indefinitely and allow concurrent testing without displaying any inefficiencies.

• It can operate on Docker and preserves backward compatibility.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

12. Tsung

Tsung is another free open-source program that anyone who wishes to load test HTTP websites can use. Tsung provides a number of performance-related features, including the ability to monitor a client's CPU consumption, memory usage, and network traffic.

Tsung is arguably the most limited of the tools on the list in terms of data it gives. Like the other free performance testing tools, it has a steeper learning curve.

Key Features:

• High Performance. The load can be dispersed among a cluster of client machines for high performance.

• A probability distribution can be used to randomise user think-times and arrival rates in order to simulate realistic traffic.

• During a test, a built-in Web dashboard allows you to view statistics in real time.

• The CLI is a command-line interface.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

13. Apica

Apica lets you test the scalability of all your apps, uncover performance bottlenecks, and provide exceptional customer experiences that exceed your end-users' ever-increasing expectations.

Through a network of over 50 locations across the world, Apica provides flexible self-service and full-service load testing capable of testing more than 2 Million concurrent users. Throughout the development lifecycle, test on demand or automate testing.

Key Features:

• Apica allows you to confidently test high-traffic applications by simulating user behaviour from all across the world, including mainland China.

• Without writing any code, Apica's powerful scripting tool allows you to effortlessly construct scripts for complex website load testing situations.

• Check each release against benchmarks to confirm that your digital service meets your scalability needs.

Cost:

You can request a quote on their website.

14. Locust

Locust is a highly distributed and scalable performance testing tool that allows you to easily mimic a large number of users by running tests across numerous workstations.

Furthermore, because it has been battle-tested, the tool is durable and can easily bear big loads, even during peak traffic. It employs simple and clear coding without the need of clumsy user interfaces or complex XML. Instead, you can use Python to create simple programs.

Key Features:

• In code, define user behaviour. There's no need for clumsy user interfaces or excessive XML. It's just code.

• Locust allows you to execute load testing across numerous machines, allowing you to simulate millions of users at the same time.

• Using PyPI's pip, it's simple to set up.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

15. Gatling

Gatling is another open-source load testing tool that has a high reputation among free performance testing tools. Gatling is a French firm with a team of skilled developers who are well-versed in load testing.

Gatling, like most other free load testing tools, has a steep learning curve so if you're looking for the quickest and easiest way to load test, that's something to think about.

16. LoadNinja

You can quickly construct scriptless advanced load tests with LoadNinja by SmartBear, cut testing time in half, swap out load emulators for actual browsers, and get useful, browser-based data, all at ninja speed. It is simple to record client-side interactions, troubleshoot in real-time, and spot performance issues right away.

Key Features:

• 60% lessen the time spent creating test scripts.

• Create a load using thousands of actual browsers.

• Utilize the VU Inspector and Debugger to analyze in real-time.

• Effectively & Efficiently Manage Your Performance Tests.

• Tests cover the whole test coverage using data-drive loads.

• Test local network applications.

Cost:

LoadNinja package starts at $100/month.

17. WebLOAD

A performance/load testing system called WebLOAD was created to test the most difficult web environments. By combining recording and JavaScript scripting, you can create strong test scripts, and WebLOAD can assist you with problems like complex sign-on, asynchronous communication, web services, Websocket APIs, and more. You can employ on-premise servers, virtual machines in the public cloud, or a combination of both to create the required load of virtual users. WebLOAD's dashboards can help you examine the behavior of your system and spot bottlenecks.

Key Features:

• Deployment options include cloud (SaaS), on-premises, and hybrid.

• Based on native JavaScript, clever scripting.

• Strong correlation for handling values that are dynamic.

• Detailed performance analysis dashboard.

• Excellent customer service.

Cost:

Contact the company for the details.

Key Features:

• Aids in the prediction of slow response times and crashes.

• Early in the development cycle, Gatling detects performance difficulties and faults.

• Accurately depicts the slowest user experience you've ever had.

• Ensures that your company does not become a victim of its own success.

Cost:

This tool is available for free.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Performance Testing Tool

Scalability

The protocol you choose, together with the deployment configuration for your environment, determines the scalability of Performance Testing tools. Infinite scalability is a dream come true. Perform a Proof Of Concept with your vendor to confirm the scalability of your tool before making the investment, if possible. Protocol support - One of the most crucial elements to consider when choosing a Performance Testing tool is protocol support.

Different manufacturers focus on different application protocols, therefore the tool you choose will be determined by the type of the application protocols you want to employ.

Licensing

Licensing is another significant issue with most commercial solutions that you should be aware of. Commercial tools typically feature more robust protocol compatibility and support for a broader variety of application protocols, but they also come with licencing limitations that may limit how you utilise the solution.

In certain circumstances, tool licencing permits or prohibits the usage of tools by your vendor (assuming you've outsourced application maintenance/support), and in others, it prevents the Performance Testing tool from being deployed outside of a specific geographic area.

Vendor Support

In major commercial organisations, the availability of commercial vendor assistance influences tooling selection to a substantial extent. Commercial Performance Testing tool providers will provide support in a variety of formats, which you should thoroughly examine to see whether it fulfils your requirements.

When it comes to open source technologies, there are a number of open commercial platforms that offer services and support built on top of them. You should assess them to discover if these commercial platforms built on top of Open Source technologies are suitable for your business.

Conclusion

It's critical to evaluate the speed of your website or application to ensure that it loads and functions as swiftly as possible so that your users can trust it. You can increase conversions by making the improvements that your testing indicates are essential. Performance testing tools will help you do just that.

FAQs

What Is Performance Testing?

Performance testing is a type of non-functional software testing that examines how well an application's stability, speed, scalability, and responsiveness hold up under a particular load. It's an important step in guaranteeing software quality, but it's typically treated as an afterthought, to be done after functional testing and, in most cases, after the code is ready to release.

Application output, processing speed, data transfer velocity, network bandwidth usage, maximum concurrent users, memory utilisation, workload efficiency, and command response times are all evaluated during performance testing.

When Should You Consider Using Performance Testing Tools?

Performance testing is carried out by companies for at least one of the following reasons:

• To see if the application meets the performance requirements (for instance, the system should handle up to 1,000 concurrent users).

• To locate the application's computing bottlenecks.

• To determine whether a software vendor's promised performance levels are accurate.

• To compare and contrast two or more systems in order to determine which one performs the best.

• To assess the stability of the system during periods of high traffic.

How Is Performance Testing Different From Performance Engineering?

Performance testing and performance engineering are two terms that are similar but not identical. Performance Testing is a subset of Performance Engineering that focuses on determining an application's current performance under various loads.

To satisfy the needs of quick application delivery, modern software teams require a more developed strategy that includes end-to-end, integrated performance engineering in addition to traditional performance testing. Performance engineering is the process of testing and fine-tuning software to achieve a specific performance target. Performance engineering takes place far earlier in the software development process and aims to prevent performance issues from the start.

How Much Data Does Performance Testing Take?

It is common knowledge that some load testing solutions produce far more test data than others. The question is: how much information do you require? You probably don't need a lot of data for simple HTTP load testing. However, if you're testing a web application, you'll probably need a lot of data, and you'll probably need to use real browsers to get a true sense of how your users and visitors experience it.

The bottom line is that when it comes to performance testing tools, free tools rarely provide as much data as premium tools, but this may be acceptable in some circumstances, depending on your test's objectives and requirements.

What Are the Benefits of Performance Testing?

• Helps validate performance by assessing the current scale and simulating real-time usage at peak loads.

• Allows for the testing of programs with millions of users and the monitoring of system performance.

• Aids in the improvement and adjustment of an application's efficiency.

• Evaluates software performance issues fast and effectively.

  What are the types of performance testing tool?

Performance Testing Types

• To locate an application's breaking point is the goal.

• To ensure that the software can manage the anticipated load over an extended length of time, endurance testing is carried out.

• Tests the software's response to abrupt, significant spikes in the load produced by users.

Why are performance testing tools necessary?

Performance testing reveals any potential flaws in a program and shows where it needs to be enhanced to accept updates and modifications to become more scalable. Teams can find any potential problems and an application's capabilities by analyzing the statistics from test executions.