Karate vs Postman – Which One Should You Choose?

Karate and Postman are automated API testing tools, with different purposes and features. Karate is an Open Source, test-automation framework designed especially for automated API testing. It couples API test automation, mocks, performance testing, and even UI automation into a single, unified framework.

On the other hand, Postman is a widely used API testing and collaboration platform through which one can create, test, and document APIs with an intuitive interface. It allows automated testing supported via its scripting features, giving the ability to easily share API requests among teams much more quickly with responses attached.

However, they have certain limitations as well. Karate has a steeper learning curve for beginners, mainly because of the Gherkin syntax. Postman does very well in manual and semiautomated testing, but scaling it towards testing extensive automated test suites might be tricky.

In this article, let’s discuss the differences between these API testing tools – Karate vs Postman. We will discuss the key differences, features, similarities, limitations, and the best alternatives to these tools as well.

You can also check out this comprehensive list of the top 15 web service testing tools.

Karate vs Postman – Overview

Among API testing tools, the two most talked-about are Karate and Postman, but they have many distinguishing features and different capabilities. Knowing the unique advantages and some possible disadvantages of the tools helps the teams understand which tool suits their testing requirements.

Which is Karate? 

Karate is a compelling open-source framework developed for automated testing, with an explicit focus on APIs. It brings the ability to combine automated testing in APIs, mocks, performance testing, and UI automation into a unified framework. Tests in Karate are written in a very readable Gherkin syntax, making them approachable to non-developers. It integrates well with CI/CD pipelines, so tests can run and deploy automatically. It also has in-built support of the GraphQL and SOAP API for an extensive scope in a testing scenario.

What is Postman?

Postman is a platform for creating and testing APIs, with an inbuilt user interface. Postman supports automation testing by enabling the scripting of detailed and reusable scenarios of tests. It has a user-friendly interface in which a team can share and manage the requests and responses of its APIs, providing grounds for collaboration among the developers and testers. It also includes API monitoring, mock servers, and environment management features. But for extensive automation and integration with CI/CD, you may need an extra suite of tools or manual, tailor-made scripts.

Check out the top 10 API testing tools and alternatives.

Alternative to Karate and Postman – Testsigma

Among the best alternatives for API testing stands Testsigma. Testsigma is a full-blown, AI-powered test automation platform; it supports not only API testing but also web and mobile application testing. You can easily create test cases using simple natural English language or you can also record your test steps based on the actions performed on an application. 

It enables a unified approach toward test automation that makes test maintenance and execution across different platforms accessible within one ecosystem. It provides a very intuitive interface and extensive features, making the whole testing process streamlined and team members collaborate smoothly.

Here’s a complete list of the best test automation frameworks.

Highlighting Features of Testsigma

1. Unified Test Automation: Single platform to support API, web, mobile, and desktop application testing.
2. No-Code/Low-Code Interface: Helps users to create tests with no or little programming experience, hence being user-friendly for non-developers.
3. CI/CD Integration: It integrates seamlessly with the most common and best-of-best CI/CD tools, including Jenkins, CircleCI, and Azure DevOps, to automate testing and deployments.
4. Cross-browser and Cross-device testing: It supports test execution across multiple devices, browsers, and OS environments to ensure both compatibility and performance.
5. Data-Driven Testing: It enables the testing of a product with various input data sets for functionality validation under different test conditions.
6. Real-Time Reporting and Analytics: Ensures a well-articulated test report and analytics to track test results, find issues, and improve test coverage.
7. Reusable Test Steps: It makes test steps and components reusable, thereby ensuring efficiency and eliminating duplications.
8. Parallel testing: It gives you the possibility to speed up the process of testing and, hence, minimize the overall amount of testing time required. 
9. Collaboration Tools: It allows team collaboration, shared workspaces, and version control for coordinated testing efforts.

Karate vs Postman vs Testsigma – Key Differences

Feature/Aspect	Karate	Postman	Testsigma
Primary Use	Automated API testing	API development and testing	Comprehensive test automation
Syntax	Gherkin	JavaScript for scripting	No-code/Low-code interface
UI/UX	Command-line and text-based	Intuitive graphical user interface	Intuitive graphical user interface
Integration with CI/CD	Excellent integration	Limited integration	Seamless integration
Performance Testing	Included	Requires additional tools	Not Included
API Types Supported	REST, SOAP, GraphQL	REST, SOAP	REST, GraphQL, Web, Mobile, Desktop
Data-Driven Testing	Supported	Supported	Supported
Ease of Use	Steep learning curve for beginners	Easy to use, suitable for beginners	Easy to use, suitable for beginners
Test Maintenance	Manual	Manual	AI-driven test maintenance
Parallel Execution	Supported	Requires additional setup	Supported
Cross-Platform Testing	API and UI testing	API testing only	Web, Mobile, Desktop testing
Collaboration Features	Limited	Strong collaboration features	Strong collaboration features
Real-Time Reporting	Limited	Detailed reports available	Detailed real-time reporting
Community and Support	Growing community	Large community and extensive support	Growing community and professional support
Reusable Test Steps	Limited	Limited	Extensive reuse capabilities
Environment Management	Limited	Strong environment management	Strong environment management
Cost	Free and open-source	Free tier, paid plans for advanced features	Paid plans with enterprise-level features

Karate and Postman – Similarities

Both Karate and Postman are automation testing tools explicitly aimed at making the testing of APIs easier, allowing one to check whether the APIs are working, reliable, and performant. They support the testing of both REST and SOAP APIs, thus covering a broad application domain within web services. There are also a couple of features, including mocking servers, offered by both Postman and Karate.

Another similarity between Karate and Postman is that both support data-driven testing. They allow the execution of tests with different data sets to build checks on API working under variant conditions. The tools seamlessly integrate with CI/CD pipelines to have API tests included in the automated deployment workflow for continuous validation and quality assurance.

Check out the best alternatives to Postman.

Should I Choose Karate or Postman for API Automated Testing?

The choice between Karate or Postman mainly depends on your exact requirements, what your team is experienced with, and your workflow preferences. 

If your team requires a solution that is much richer in capabilities, including API testing, within the same framework without any integration, Karate is most likely the best candidate for you. Its Gherkin syntax makes it easily accessible even to non-developers, whereby stakeholders with less programming knowledge can effectively be involved in the process of creating and maintaining tests. Karate can help with several types of APIs: REST, SOAP, or GraphQL, and, again, integrates with CI/CD pipelines.

Postman, conversely, proves to be a user-friendly development and testing API platform, ideal for teams who consider ease of use and team effort most important. Its intuitive graphical interface easily facilitates the development, testing, and documentation of APIs, meaning it works great for developers and testers. Postman is rich in solid collaboration features, like shared workspaces and version control, making it easy for teams to communicate and coordinate. But for complete automation and integration with CI/CD, some other tooling support or scripting might be needed. 

Ultimately, the choice between Karate and Postman would depend on the kind of test you have, the complexity, the technical ability of your team, and the necessity of collaborating on features as part of a workflow.

Conclusion

To sum up, Karate and Postman each come with their benefits and different purposes within the software development lifecycle. Karate is particularly potent due to its all-in-one nature and its support for API, UI, and performance testing, with its syntax based on Gherkin. Postman, with its intuitive interface and robust collaboration functionalities, makes API development and testing very easy, and it is popular with teams with shared workspaces.

However, if you are looking for an alternative that brings forward the strengths of both Karate and Postman, then Testsigma is an exciting alternative with a Unified Test Automation platform using a no-code/ low-code interface and a rich set of features. With these taken into careful consideration, you should be able to make a fit tool choice according to the goals and develop a solid and reliable strategy for API testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I migrate the test data from Postman or Karate to Testsigma?

Yes, test data migration from Postman or Karate to Testsigma is feasible. There are test import functionalities and APIs for Testsigma that can be used to migrate test cases and data. Most probably, the minimum manual effort required would be in reformatting the data and making some specific alterations in the test scripts. You are highly recommended to go through the extensive and helpful documentation and support provided by Testsigma so that the transition becomes seamless.