Top 10 Android Testing Tools & Frameworks

Android is one of the most popular platforms and it has a large market share compared to other operating systems. Android not only supports mobile devices but also supports many other devices such as television, IoT, POS devices, etc. However, most of the applications are built for mobile platforms. When it comes to testing Android applications, it can be more time-consuming and challenging. 

Mobile devices are built with many native features such as infrared, NFC, camera, Bluetooth, etc and they come with different sizes of screens.  The good news is that Android application tests can be automated, and there are many tools in the market to make your job easier. Android testing tools can help to automate the testing. Many tools go beyond this and support all different types of platforms in a single tool. Let’s have a detailed view of Android testing tools.

What is an Android Testing Tool?

Android testing tools or frameworks are used to test the Android application’s functionality, performance, and usability. These tests can include evaluating the functionality across multiple devices, operating systems, different viewports, and different settings. The end goal of Android testing is to ensure the quality of Android applications.

Android Testing Tools Table Comparison

Before we jump into the Top 10 Android testing tools, let’s do a small comparison with popular tools. In the below list, we are comparing 5 tools (Not ranked) that share similar features.

Features	Testsigma	Appium	Ranorex	Espresso	Katalon
Supported platforms	Android/iOS	Android/iOS	Android/iOS	Android	Android/iOS
Web automation Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Setup and Configuration	Easy and no-code setup	Requires coding	Supports both	Requires Coding	Low-code set up
No-code support	Yes, No programming knowledge is required	No, Requires coding knowledge to automate	Yes, Limited support	No, Requires coding knowledge to automate	Yes
Supported Languages	No-code tool	Java, Javascript, C#, etc	C#/VB.net	Java	Java, Groovy
Record and Playback	Yes	No	Yes, limited capability	Yes, limited capability	Yes
License/Pricing	Commercial/Low-cost	Free/Open source	Commercial/High cost	Free/Open source	Commercial/High Cost

How to Select the Best Android Testing Tools?

Choosing a testing tool is the most difficult task. If you choose the wrong tool that may block the entire test automation in the future or may not be able to fulfill all the requirements. In turn, it can provide a negative impression on the team. Hence you need to consider your organization requirements along with the general guidelines given below.

Platform and Device Support

If your organization supports both iOS and Android mobile apps then you should choose the tool which supports both. Even though there are many tools, you can shortlist them by validating against the required features.

Test Type Support

There are many different types of testing. Functional, API, Security, Performance, etc. However, it is difficult to find a tool that matches all the requirements. You may find the nearest tools, and based on the testing strategy you can choose the right fit.

Technical Support

Many open-source tools provide only community support, and commercial tools provide dedicated technical support. Based on the team size and skillset you can decide the tool.

Test Scripting

There are no-code tools and code-based tools. No-code tools always require less technical knowledge and are easy to configure. No-code tools like Testsigma also provide inbuilt cloud testing which can further reduce the cost.

Integration with third-party tools

As an automation framework, you may need to integrate with many other tools such as CI/CD tools, defect tracking tools, agile tools, custom dashboard tools, etc. While evaluating, consider the factor that you may need near future, and also don’t forget to check the extensibility/customization.

Reporting and Dashboard

The Dashboard and report speak your work, hence reporting is very crucial in automation tools. Automation tools should provide reports at different levels such as comprehensive, aggregated, test case level, test suite level,  etc. Report customization can help you while sending result to a targeted audience.

Cost

One of the major factors that many organizations are concerned about. The cost should be budget-friendly. Often open-source tools are picked,  however, these might require more technical resources that involve more cost. Tools like Testsigma come with a cost but it may reduce the technical resource cost. 

Best Android Testing Tools List to Look For

As mentioned earlier, many tools support Android testing. Hence choosing the right fit for your project is challenging. We have given a curated list of tools that may help you to pick the best one.

Note: Tools are ordered randomly and not ranked

Testsigma

Testsigma is the most popular automation testing tool. Many organizations like this tool. In some of the forums, this tool has been quoted as a “One stop solution for all of your testing needs”. Testsigma is a no-code-based tool that is capable of automating desktop web, mobile Android, and iOS applications. Testsigma also has a user-friendly interface that helps anyone to self-start their testing journey.

Features of Testsigma

• No-code automation tool, no technical knowledge required to automate
• No installation and configuration are required to start the automation
• It supports many different platforms such as Web, iOS, and Android
• Testsigma also supports cloud-based testing and integration with external cloud testing tools
• It can be used for API Testing, Functional Testing, and Visual Regression Testing
• Testsigma supports CI/CD integration with many popular third-party tools
• Customizable reports and dashboards are one of the good features
• It supports ad-hoc, scheduled, and integrated runs 
• Testsigma provides dedicated technical support to answer all of your queries

Cons of Testsigma

• Though Testsigma has both open-source and commercial versions, to utilize the complete power you need to subscribe to the commercial version

UI Automator

UI Automator is an open-source test automation framework to perform black box testing. It is managed by Google. The tool is capable of creating automated tests that simulate real user interactions, including touch, tap, swipe, and other gestures. This also includes the ability to interact with UI elements that are not part of the application under test, such as system notifications or status bar icons. It supports multiple Android versions and devices, making it an excellent choice for testers who require compatibility with various Android versions and devices.

Features of UI Automator

• Managed by Google
• Supports automated UI testing
• Ability to test the device-level functionalities and system applications
• Helps to perform the compatibility testing

Cons of UI Automator

• Difficult to select the UI element 
• Limited community support
• Less documentation

Ranorex Studio

Ranorex Studio is a popular test automation tool that supports desktop web, Android, and iOS. It provides features such as automated functional testing, regression testing, and data-driven testing. As it has a visual IDE it accelerates the automation scripts coverage. Additionally, it also supports integration with many third-party tools which makes the tester’s job easier. The Ranorex studio helps to guarantee the highest quality at the end of the testing life cycle.

Features of Ranorex Studio

• Supports automation of Android, iOS, and desktop applications.
• User-friendly interface
• Provides extensive test reports
• Supports multiple programming languages
• Offers a variety of testing features, including data-driven and regression testing
• Capable of automating cross-browser and cross-device tests

Cons of Ranorex Studio

• May require technical knowledge to set up and configure the framework
• The learning curve is high
• Limited support for third-party tools

Detox

Detox is another popular Android testing framework designed explicitly for testing React Native apps. It enables a fast and reliable testing experience. It is more developer-friendly, provides many debugging features, helps to identify and resolve issues faster, and boosts overall speed and productivity.

Features of Detox

• Produces fast and reliable tests
• It can simulate complex and edge-case scenarios
• Supports both iOS and Android platforms
• Supports Javascript programming language
• Easy to integrate with an existing framework

Cons of Detox

• Limited support for non-react applications
• The learning curve is very high
• Requires very good technical knowledge to automate the test cases

Firebase Test Lab

Firebase TestLab is a cloud-based mobile testing platform backed by Google. It provides many testing features such as compatibility testing, functional testing, and performance testing. Which enables developers to thoroughly test their Android applications across various devices and configurations. One of the unique features of Firebase Test Lab is its integration with the Firebase platform, which provides a range of other helpful tools for apps development.

Features of Firebase Test Lab

• Integration with the Firebase platform.
• Provides many useful testing options
• Testing across various devices and configurations
• Good level of documentation and support

Cons of Firebase Test Lab

• Limited time for the free version
• Fewer devices available for testing
• The network simulation option is limited

AWS Device Farm

AWS Device Farm is a cloud-based testing platform backed by Amazon AWS. It enables the testers to test their Android applications on a range of real devices on the cloud. Scalability is one of the interesting features of AWS where testers can test their applications across multiple devices and configurations simultaneously.

Features of AWS Device Farm

• Provides many real devices on the cloud to test the applications
• Offers scalability
• Integration with popular testing frameworks
• A good number of devices availability

Limitation of AWS Device Farm

• Expensive and might fit into small scale organization budget
• Limited customization options
• Slow test  execution on some of the devices

Appium

Appium is the leader in the Mobile testing space. It is an open-source test automation platform that supports both iOS and Android platforms. It also offers many different languages to write the tests.  Appium uses standard automation APIs and interacts with the application the same way a user would. 

Features of Appium

• Supports both iOS and Android application automation
• Good community support
• Support many programming languages such as Java, Javascript, Python, etc.
• Provides a rich set of APIs for app interaction and management
• Supports both native and hybrid application automation

Cons of Appium

• Difficult to set up and configure the framework, if you are a beginner
• Requires good technical knowledge to automate the tests
• Debugging and logging need to be taken care of while building the framework
• Many users reported slowness while launching the tests

Eggplant

Eggplant is a widely used testing platform for both web and mobile applications. It provides the image-based testing approach which helps in fast and reliable application testing. It supports many features that include feature testing, performance testing, and usability testing. It also integrates the popular Appium framework for mobile testing which makes Eggplant more powerful

Features of Eggplant

• Image-based testing approach
• Comprehensive test reports
• Supports a wide range of testing scenarios
• It can identify the bottlenecks and issues by simulating the user behavior

Cons of Eggplant

• Setup and configuration can be complex
• It is resource-intensive and may require dedicated hardware for optimal performance.
• The tool may not be suitable for small-scale organizations and testing simple scenarios

Testim

Testim is part of the Tricentis family. Testim is a modern test automation solution for mobile and web applications. It is designed to improve the speed, delivery, and performance of the applications by reducing the cost. It especially focuses on mobile application automation.

Features of Testim

• Codeless automation
• Less technical knowledge is required to automate
• Good reporting and Dashboards
• Good documentation and technical support
• AI-based smart locators

Cons of Testim

• Limited support for third-party tools integration
• Difficult to automate edge case scenario
• Pricing is not transparent

Espresso

Espresso is an open-source Android testing platform. It is exclusively designed to test the Android platform hence it supports only Android application testing. It is known for its speed, accuracy, and automatic synchronization with the UI. It supports both functional testing and UI testing.

Features of Espresso

• Tests are more reliable and less flaky
• Integrates with Android Studio for easy test creation and execution.
• Supports Java and Kotlin languages
• Automatic synchronization with the UI
• Supports testing of user flows and interactions
• Rich set of APIs for app interaction and management

Cons of Espresso

• Only supports Android applications, no support for iOS
• Difficult to test edge case scenarios
• Doesn’t support cross-platform testing
• Lacks the documentation
• Less community support

Conclusion

With the growing Android application market the need for Android testing is also growing. Testing Android applications is challenging as it requires testing of many system-level features. The features vary from device to device hence setting up infrastructure with real devices can cost a lot to an organization. 

There are many tools available in the market to test Android applications. Testsigma is one such tool that offers both web and mobile testing under a single platform. Open source tools can save the cost of adopting the tools but when it comes to test design and execution it requires proficiency in programming languages which in turn costs the organization as it requires highly skilled resources. 

Tools like Testsigma offer no-code automation for mobile automation and it provides many features built in, such as cloud testing and reporting. Interestingly, setup and configuration can be done just with a few clicks. 

While choosing an Android test automation tool, right for you, you should be very careful as migration costs a lot if you face any blockers in the future. The right way to choose the tool is to evaluate your requirements against the shortlisted tools.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who uses Android Automation Testing Tools?

The organization that is developing mobile apps for the Android platform and has an application that needs tests to be automated uses Android automation tools.