Top 15 Karate Labs Alternatives Lists to Look For

The API-first development approach is the most popular and widely used. In this method, APIs are designed first. This involves documenting API contracts, authentication, request/response formats, etc. This increases the readability and decreases the dependency of the UI. Additionally, this helps to test the API without integrating it into the user interface. 

API Testing helps to validate logical errors, data errors, and functional errors. Many API testing tools in the market help to design and develop the APIs easily. 

Karate is one of the tools for API Testing. It is built on top of HTTP Client and Cucumber which makes it easy to write the API Tests. 

Many Karate alternative tools provide more functionality and provide more advanced capabilities. Let’s discuss Karate alternative tools in detail.

What is Karate DSL and what are its top alternatives?

Karate was initially built as an open-source tool by Peter Thomas from Intuit. 

It is built with HTTP Client and Cucumber. It has its own Domain Specific Language (DSL) to test API’s. It reduces many challenges of writing the API tests and maintaining the test scenarios. 

As Karate is built on top of Cucumber it allows one to write the scenarios in descriptive language and eliminates technical knowledge. 

There are many alternatives to Karate, some of the top alternatives are RestAssured, Postman, Testsigma, Playwright, etc.

Best 15 Karate Labs Alternatives

Considering the complexity and challenges one may think of an alternative to the Karate tool. As there are many API testing tools in the market it may be difficult to find the best one. Below are the Top 15 Karate alternatives that you can consider.

Testsigma

Testsigma is a modern AI-driven test automation platform. It provides a lot of capability for testing modern applications. Some of the features are no-code testing, low-code testing, and SaaS testing. It supports API testing with no coding capability. Testers don’t need to know about the coding for API testing. 

Best part is you can automate your tests for APIs, along with your tests from mobile, web and desktop applications – all from the same place, i.e. Testsigma. All, without needing to learn to code.

Features of Testsigma

• Easy to configure and setup
• No local installation required
• Automate tests for web, mobile, desktop as well as APIs, all from the same place.
• Support for different types of testing such as functional, data-driven, visual regression, and API testing.
• No coding knowledge is required to automate the API testing
• In-built reporters
• Easy to integrate third-party tools
• In-built support for cloud execution
• Native support CI/CD integration

Automate your tests for web, mobile, desktop and APIs, from the same place, without needing to to code, with Testsigma [Try for free]

Playwright

Playwright is an open-source tool, developed by Microsoft. Playwright supports different types of testing for the web such as end-to-end testing, API testing, and component testing. Unlike other testing tools, it has inbuilt support for API testing and it makes testing easier.

Check here – Playwright Alternatives

Features of Playwright

• Supports both API and end-to-end testing
• Open source and free to use
• Inbuilt support for mocks and stubs
• Supports different languages such as Java, JavaScript, C# and Python
• Easy to integrate third-party libraries
• In-built HTML reporters
• Easy to integrate with CI/CD pipelines.
• Native support to assertion libraries to validate various API scenarios

Check here – Playwright vs Cypress

Cons of Playwright

• No support for No Code/ Low Code testing
• Requires proficient technical knowledge to build the framework
• One needs to know any one of the supported programming languages to write the API automation scripts
• No in-built support for cloud testing

Check here – Playwright vs Selenium

Cypress

Cypress is an open-source test automation framework. It supports component testing, end-to-end testing, and API testing. Cypress helps to create the API testing within the functional testing framework. Using Cypress, you can also call the APIs within the functional test cases.

Check here – Cypress Alternatives

Features of Cypress

• Easy to install Cypress
• Supports clear and chainable syntax for API testing
• Good debugging feature with UI-based test runner
• Supports CI/CD integration
• Good community support
• Supports both functional and API testing within the single framework
• Provides many customization capabilities

Check here – Cypress vs Selenium

Cons of Cypress

• Lacks multiple programming language support. It supports only JavaScript
• No support for in-built HTML reporters
• Limited support for third-party libraries
• Cypress tool is observed as laggy at times
• The learning curve is high
• Requires proficient knowledge to write automation scripts
• No support for manual API tests

Check here – Playwright vs Cypress

Postman

Postman is available as a free version with limitations and a premium version with the most advanced features. Postman supports both manual and automation of API use cases. 

Postman can be used for API design, development, documentation, and testing activities. Postman is designed to support only API and hence it doesn’t provide any UI testing capabilities.

Features of Postman

• One-click installation and the most friendly user interface
• Supports both manual and automation testing
• Testers can write the automation testing using JavaScript
• Postman supports integration to CI/CD
• It supports many collaboration features such as workspace, shareable collections, etc.
• Supports for mocking requests/responses

Check here – Karate vs Postman

Cons of Postman

• Postman supports only API testing
• The free version has only basic features
• No support for UI or end-to-end testing
• As the application APIs grow, it gets difficult to manage the automated tests.
• No support for no-code automation
• Documentation can be improved

Check here – Postman vs RapidAPI

Thunder Client

Thunder Client is a plugin for Visual Studio code, it is available in free and premium versions. It is very lightweight and fits within the Visual Studio code. This tool comes in very handy for developers and testers.

Features of Thunder Client

• Lightweight and easy to use
• Supports collections and environment-based testing
• Supports manual testing and scriptless testing
• Supports schema validation
• No additional installation is required just add as a plugin in vs code
• Supports running the API tests in collections

Cons of Thunder Client

• Documentation can be improved
• The free version has many limitations
• Limited collaboration features
• Limited support for reporters
• Community support is limited as it is a relatively new tool

REST Assured

Rest-Assured is a Java library for testing the Restful services. It is an open-source framework to test APIs. Supports Java programming languages.

Features for Rest-Assured

• It is faster compared to other API testing tools
• Good code reusability as it comes as a Java library
• Assertions help validate the API responses, status, etc.
• Provides the capability to set the priority and grouping
• Supports CI/CD integration
• Multiple reporter support
• Supports a lot of third-party libraries

Check here – Rest Assured vs Postman

Cons of Rest Assured

• Difficult to set up the framework
• Requires good technical knowledge to write the test cases
• A lot of dependency on third-party libraries for execution, reporting, etc.

Read here – Karate vs Rest Assured

ReadyAPI

ReadyAPI is a commercial software developed by SmartBear. Ready API client comes with its own IDE to write the API tests. It provides the capability to create, manage, and execute automated functional, security, and performance tests in one centralized interface.

Features of ReadyAPI

• Supports different types of services like REST, SOAP, Kafka, and MQTT
• APIs can be imported from schema or specifications
• Supports bulk assertions
• Supports integration with many tools such as Jenkins, Docker, Azure DevOps, etc.
• Comprehensive reporting and analytics
• Create synthetic data like addresses and phone numbers
• Share data sets across functional, load, and security tests

Cons of ReadyAPI

• It is a commercial tool and may not be budget-friendly for many organizations.
• As it has many features within one tool, it is difficult to learn and understand 
• It is resource-intensive
• Limited capabilities for customization and No-code testing

Read here – Smartbear Alternatives

Serenity BDD

Serenity BDD is known for its web application testing. It is an open-source library. It supports API testing with the integration of RestAssured. This tool will be helpful if you have the requirement to integrate Serenity for functional testing and if you want to enhance the framework for API testing. 

Features of Serenity BDD

• Supports integration of both functional and API testing
• A BDD specification increases the readability
• The reporting includes good detailing
• As it incorporates RestAssured, supports almost everything that RestAssured does

Cons of Serenity BDD

• Difficult to set up the framework
• A lot of third-party dependencies make the framework complex
• Requires proficient technical knowledge to set up and write the scenarios

JMeter

JMeter is popularly used for performance testing. However, the tool can be used for API testing as well. JMeter is known for its comprehensive key metrics such as response time, load time, and throughput. JMeter can be considered if there is a requirement for API and Performance testing. Both of these tests can be carried out without any additional effort in a single tool.

Features of JMeter

• Open-source tool and comes with a rich IDE
• Drag and drop support
• Support for many complex scenarios
• Supports a good number of third-party plugins
• Supports for both API and performance testing
• Supports both UI-based and advanced scripting mechanisms
• Highly customizable and extensible
• Customized reporters, loggers, data data-driven testing are some of the key features.

Cons of JMeter

• The tool is heavy and demands more system resources
• JMeter makes it easy to carry out basic testing, however, use may feel difficult while writing complex scenarios
• Though it has a CLI test runner, integrating with the CI/CD tools may not be easier
• Demands more technical skills

Check here- Jmeter vs Postman

Swagger

Swagger UI is an open-source tool, that allows you to perform manual API testing without integrating or installing any tools. SwaggerUI can be used for API documentation, specifications, and testing. It is managed by SmartBear company.

Features of Swagger

• Supports Open API specifications
• Auto-Generated interactive API documentation
• Supports Request simulation and Code Generation 
• Supports Authentication and versioning
• Automatically updates the documentation based on OpenAPI specifications

Cons of Swagger

• No inbuilt support for API automation
• Customization may be limited
• If Swagger is not configured correctly it may lead to security issues
• Limited community support

Check here- Swagger vs Postman

Insomnia

Insomnia is an API designing and testing tool by Kong Inc. It is available as a free and premium version. The free version provides the basic capability to perform the API testing.

Features of Insomnia

• Easy to setup and configure
• Support different types of HTTP requests
• Supports workspace for collaboration
• Auto generation of code snippets
• Supports different authentication mechanisms and response validation

Cons of Insomnia

• Insomnia supports only HTTP protocol
• Some users have opined that it is resource-intensive
• The free version provides only limited functionality
• Integration to CI/CD is complicated
• It lacks the Enterprise Features 

Check here – Insomnia vs Postman

Katalon Studio

Katalon is a commercial platform that supports end-to-end testing of web and mobile test automation. It also supports API testing. Katalon is available as Free and Paid plans. Katalon comes with Rich IDE which helps to automate any use cases easily. 

Features of Katalon Studio

• Supports REST, SOAP requests, and SSL certificates
• Supports import from Swagger, Postman, etc.
• API tests can be integrated into CI/CD 
• Supports in-built reporting
• Good documentation

Cons of Katalon Studio

• Limited set-up integration tools
• Demands more computing resources to develop and execute the scripts
• Pricing may not be budget-friendly

Check here – Katalon vs Selenium

RapidAPI

Rapid API is a commercial software developed by RapidAPI company. It helps to store and maintain different types of APIs in one place. Additionally, it also supports the testing of APIs. It is an all-in-one platform for creating, managing, testing, and publishing your APIs

Check here – RapidAPI Alternatives

Features of RapidAPI

• API Marketplace to publish and evaluate APIs
• Powerful dashboard
• Supports API Documentation
• Supports Monitoring and Analytics

Cons of RapidAPI

• Limited Customization feature
• Cost may not be budget-friendly
• Limited documentation support
• Complexity in integration

Boomerang – SOAP & REST Client 

Boomerang – SOAP & REST Client is available as a plugin for Google Chrome and web-based projects, It helps to visualize and send the HTTP request. As it is a Chrome plugin it is very lightweight and easy to use

Features of Boomerang – SOAP & REST Client 

• Supports testing of API using the Chrome/Browser

• Supports custom headers
• Provides the capability to send REST and SOAP requests
• Supports several authentications including Basic Auth

Cons of Boomerang – SOAP & REST Client 

• It is a good tool for ad-hoc and exploratory testing, but may not be suitable for large-scale API testing.
• Doesn’t provide reporting capability and automation capability

Check here – RapidAPI vs Postman

Assertible

Assertible is a commercial software by Assertible, Inc. It mainly focuses on automation and reliability. It helps to create domain-specific tests that will help you to run as part of deployment. Assertible is a good tool to incorporate shift left testing.

Features of Assertible

• Supports automating API tests extensively
• Provides seamless integration to many tools such as Git, GitHub, etc.
• Helps to update the tests as per the API specifications
• Enhanced security for API testing

Cons of Assertible

• The free version comes with limited basic functionality
• Requires good technical skills to adopt this tool

Limitations of the Karate Testing Platform

Karate has many limitations, importantly, it’s not easy to set up. The karate framework lacks clear documentation. 

Below are some of the limitations of the Karate Framework.

• Limited support for UI testing
• Difficult to set up the framework
• Steep learning curve
• Lack of community support
• Difficult to integrate with third-party tools
• Lacks commercial support
• Difficult to understand the architecture

Reasons to Find Karate Alternative

As mentioned earlier there are many challenges in the Karate framework. Though it makes testing simpler, once the framework is ready – setting up a framework is the most complex task, and no clear documentation is available in the official source. Additionally, community support is not great. 

Below are some of the reasons to look for a Karate alternative.

• Difficult to build the framework using karate
• In-built libraries provide only functionality related to API testing, all other requirements such as reporting, logging, etc. need to be built manually by integrating third-party libraries.
• A lot of third-party library dependency.
• Community support is limited and difficult to resolve the issues by own.
• Lacks documentation, the official documentation page is not organized well
• The learning curve is high, organizations may need to spend a lot on upgrading their resources.

Conclusion

API Testing is very crucial. API first approach helps to test early and uncover the defect in an early stage of SDLC. API testing can be performed using specialized tools. Karate is one such testing framework that helps to automate API testing. However, many challenges in Karate are making users look for alternatives. Testsigma is one of the popular alternatives to Karate. It provides many advanced capabilities including AI technologies to make the tester’s life easier. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, rest assured or karate?

Rest Assured and Karate both are better. Both are Java-based tools. RestAssured is most popular compared to Karate as the complexity is low.

What is the difference between karate and Mockito?

Karate is a platform for automating API testing. Mockito is a framework to mock Java objects in tests.

What is the difference between karate and TestNG?

Karate is an API testing library whereas TestNG is a test runner that helps to execute the tests.

Is karate better than cucumber?

Karate and Cucumber both serve different needs. Cucumber is a high-level language specification for tests, whereas Karate helps to automate the APIs.