Top 10 Katalon Alternatives [In-Depth Comparison]

Automation testing is a buzzword in the software industry, organizations are adopting automation tools to accelerate their delivery and reduce errors. Manual testing consumes a lot of time and there are times when same tests are executed repeatedly. It is during these times that test automation proves useful.  There are many automation tools in the market such as Katalon, Testsigma, Selenium, etc. In this article we will discuss about the test automation tool Katalon and its alternatives.

What is Katalon Studio?

Katalon is an automation platform for mobile, API, and, web testing. Katalon Studio offers a variety of features such as recording and playback, low code testing, and supports programming languages. It has a feature-rich UI which comes in handy while developing automation scripts. The Katalon can be used for almost all types of testing including functional and non-functional testing.

Katalon Feature Analysis

Feature	Description
Functional Testing	Katalon supports different types of functional testing such as API, Mobile, and Web testing. Using this you can create smoke, regression, and sanity test suites.
Non-Functional Testing	Katalon supports a range of non-functional tests like security testing, load testing, and pen testing.
Reporting	Katalon supports granular level rich reports for test coverage, and pass/fail percentage. It also supports a dashboard to track the health of your tests
Third-party software integrations	It supports third-party software integrations such as Jira, Slack, Jenkins, etc.
CI/CD Support	It supports CLI execution, so tests created through Katalon can be executed using any CI/CD tools
Test Management	Katalon can be used as a Test management tool as it allows us to organize the tests as test suites, test cases, and test objects.
Platform	It is not a cloud-based or SaaS tool, you need to install the desktop client to work with Katalon
License Type	Katalon comes with a commercial paid license

Reasons to Consider an Alternative to Katalon

Though Katalon is feature-rich, there are many reasons to consider the Katalon alternatives.

• Pricing: Katalon’s license comes at a price. 

• Community Support: Compared to other tools, Katalon’s community support is not that good. If you consider Selenium, most of the questions in your mind are already answered on forums. However, Katalon has a smaller community base.

• Performance Issues: The Katalon desktop client has performance issues. As Katalon tools bundle many features on UI, it has become heavier for computers to run. Users are facing challenges while running the application on lower configuration systems.

• Low Code Feature Issues: Katalon offers low code features with record and playback, However when your application has a lot of dynamic content test cases become flaky and reports become unreliable.

• It is not open source: Katalon is not open source, you should continue to invest every year once you shift to Katalon. Furthermore, the license cost also increases considerably as the year passes, which may eventually cause overhead to the organization.

What are the Factors to Consider while Selecting a Katalon Alternative Tool?

As mentioned earlier there are many automation tools in the market – users can easily get confused when trying to choose the right tool. It is a known fact that before choosing the automation tool, you should evaluate your organization’s requirements. There are general features that you should consider while choosing the automation tool. Below are some of the factors to consider while choosing the right automation tool.

• License Cost: You should consider the license costs. There are open-source tools, that support similar features as the commercial tool. In such cases choosing the commercial tool and paying heavy license fees may not help the organization.
• Testing Type Support: The tool must support all different types of testing such as API Testing, Web testing, and mobile Testing. Based on the organization’s requirement the list may be extended.
• Report: The success of the automation is measured by the metrics of the test execution, so it should provide all relevant metrics. Furthermore, the test report should provide granular level logs which help to identify the testscript issues easily.
• Low Code Testing: Low code testing can help an organization to adopt automation testing faster. Also, via low code test automation, manual testers are able to contribute to the automation testing.
• Third-party Integration: You may not want to manually take input from one to update to another. Third-party integration helps to automatically update the data or trigger the event based on the outcome. 
• Support: The tool should provide either dedicated technical support at a low cost or it should have good community support. Support plays a major role if you are new to the tool.

Top Katalon Alternatives

Here, we have made an effort to find alternatives to Katalon and curate the best alternative tools that share similar features as Katalon. Below are the top Katalon alternatives (Not ordered by ranking).

Testsigma

Testsigma is an AI-powered low-code/no-code tool. It is a SaaS-based tool so it works on any machine which supports a browser. Interestingly, Testsigma doesn’t require any coding knowledge for test automation. This feature made Testsigma gain a user base like never before.

Features

• In-depth reporting
• Low-Code Automation
• Integration of third-party software
• SaaS tool and operating system are not a barrier

Smartbear TestComplete

Smartbear offers many tools, Testcomplete is the most popular commercial automation tool offered by Smartbear. It comes with Rich IDE for ease of use. Testcomplete supports many programming languages. It also supports record and playback. Testcomplete can be used for Desktop, Web, and Mobile applications automation.

Features

• Rich IDE helps to create and debug test scripts

• Support Javascript,  VBScript, and Python programming languages
• Supports Cross browser testing and API Testing
• Windows users can easily install and set up Testcomplete package

Selenium

Selenium is an open-source and popular test automation tool. Selenium is highly customizable and supports various programming languages. Selenium has released a 4.X version to compete with modern web automation challenges. It also offers the Selenium IDE which helps record and playback testscripts.

Features

• Open source, no set-up cost
• Offers test script creation with Python, Java, Javascript, C#, Ruby, Perl, etc.
• Highly customizable and extensible automation tool
• A big community to answer all your questions
• It is available on all different platforms.

TestGrid

TestGrid is an end-to-end testing platform. It offers AI-based intelligent automation execution. It also offers no code automation that helps to accelerate the automation coverage. In addition to functional testing, it also supports non-functional and device testing. However, it is a commercial tool users, need to purchase a license in order to use it.

Features

• It offers no-code testing
• Testgrid can be used to test Mobile and Desktops both
• It also supports non-functional testing such as Performance and Load testing
• Supports API Testing and Cross-browser testing
• Testgrid can be used for Real Device testing

Ranorex Studio

Ranorex is a commercial tool developed by Idera, Inc. Ranorex is built for functional UI Test automation. Ranorex can be used as an automation suite. It has an intelligent test design feature that helps to generate more powerful scenarios.

Features

• It supports test automation for applications made for desktop, mobile, as well as web
• Ranorex can be easily integrated into CI/CD pipelines using DevOps tools
• It can be used in small, medium, and large organizations regardless of your application being simple or complex
• Ranorex supports third-party software integrations like Xray, Jira, Jenkins, etc.

QAWolf

QAWolf is an end-to-end testing tool. The team claims that 80% automation can be done in 4 months. A faster parallel testing feature is a big plus. The tool can be used for both large enterprises and start-ups. It is a SaaS-based tool. The script can be written in Javascript/Typescript.

Features

• Easy to set up and run the test
• Good reporting and dashboard
• Offers Zero Flaky test guarantee
• Flexible pricing
• Uses playwright in the background

Playwright

Playwright is an open source tool managed by Microsoft. Playwright offers great flexibility in programming language. Playwright is comparatively faster than the other automation tools. Playwright can be used for different types of testing such as API Testing, UI Testing, Visual Testing, and accessibility testing. Playwright is a highly customizable framework. Playwright is easy to start as it offers good documentation.

Features

• Playwright supports all major browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Webkit
• Playwright can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines
• It is highly customizable and extensible
• It supports in-built HTML reporters. It also supports line, spec reporters
• Playwright  supports record and playback tests

Cypress

Cypress is an open-source automation framework, that comes with testrunner GUI. It is more developer-friendly and supports programming with Javascript. Cypress tests are more stable and it executes test commands directly on the browser hence it is faster.

Features

• It comes with automatic waiting hence easy-to-write tests
• Cypress supports API Testing, UI testing, etc.
• It provides good documentation so it is easy to start
• It provides Cypress Dashboard as a commercial feature
• Cypress supports Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers

WebdriverIO

WebdriverIO is an open-source automation framework. Under the hood, webdriverIO uses Selenium and Appium to provide support for Web and Mobile automation. WebdriverIO is highly customizable and easy to extend. It supports many reporting features. Third-party extensions are a big plus for WebdriverIO

Features

• Community-driven automation framework
• Highly extensible, lot of community plugins
• Supports JSON, HTML, and many more reporters
• Supports both web and native mobile applications
• WebdriverIO can be extended to integrate with CI/CD pipelines
• It also supports BDD-style automation

Appium

Appium is an open-source mobile automation framework. It supports native and browser-based mobile applications. It is difficult to find an alternative for Appium as it is feature-rich. Both iOS and Android mobile applications can be tested. There are many frameworks built on top of the Appium which shows the power of Appium.

Features

• It is platform-independent
• Supports both native and browser-based mobile automation
• It allows parallel execution which helps to execute tests faster
• Appium supports C#, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, and JavaScript programming languages
• It is an open-source framework so no need to pay the license fee

Pros and Cons of each Katalon Alternatives

The below table shows the Pros and Cons of each tool mentioned above.

Tools	Pros	Cons
Testsigma	Cloud-based platform, no installation needed	Requires internet connectivity for cloud platform
	Beginner-friendly with visual script creation	There is a noticeable difference in the level of community support compared to similar tools.
	Data-driven testing and parameterization features	It may not be suitable for highly complex test automation needs
Smartbear TestComplete	Excellent object recognition and cross-platform support	High cost, especially for small teams
	Powerful scripting capabilities and record-and-playback features	Steeper learning curve compared to some alternatives
	Extensive integrations with CI/CD tools	There is a limited free trial and limited features in the free version
Selenium	Open source and highly customizable	Requires programming knowledge for script creation
	Vast community support and readily available resources	It can be time-consuming to set up and maintain
	Supports a wide range of web browsers and platforms	It may require additional libraries for mobile and API testing
TestGrid	Cloud-based parallel testing platform	Limited test case management features
	Cost-effective for small and medium-sized teams	Primarily focused on web testing, not ideal for mobile or API
	Easy integration with CI/CD pipelines	It may not be suitable for complex test automation scenarios
Ranorex Studio	Powerful image and object recognition capabilities	High learning curve and complex licensing model
	Excellent for desktop application testing	Limited support for mobile and web testing
	Robust reporting and analytics features	It can be resource-intensive for large test suites
QAWolf	AI-powered test automation and self-healing capabilities	A relatively new tool with limited community support
	Easy integration with CI/CD pipelines and cloud environments	It may not be suitable for highly customized testing needs
	Cost-effective compared to some alternatives	Limited documentation and resources compared to established tools
Playwright	Headless browser automation with high execution speed	Requires knowledge of JavaScript or Python for script creation
	Excellent cross-browser and cross-platform support	Limited support for desktop application testing
	Easy API integration and built-in accessibility testing features	Not as mature as some established alternatives
Cypress	Easy to learn and use, especially for beginners	Primarily focused on web testing, not ideal for mobile or API
	Excellent debugging and reporting features	Limited object recognition capabilities compared to some alternatives
	Good for testing single-page applications	It may not be suitable for complex test automation scenarios
WebdriverIO	Open-source framework with extensive community support	Requires programming knowledge for script creation
	Highly customizable and flexible for advanced users	Can be complex to set up for beginners
	Supports a wide range of testing types	Less user-friendly interface compared to some alternatives
Appium	Open-source framework for mobile app automation	Requires knowledge of mobile development concepts
	Supports various mobile platforms and devices	Can be challenging to maintain test scripts due to frequent changes in mobile APIs
	Good for basic mobile app testing	It may not be suitable for complex automation scenarios

Comparison Chart of Top 5 Katalon Competitors

Tool	Type of application	Operating System Support	Programming language support	Low Code/Codeless Automation Support	Cloud-based infrastructure	License Cost
Testsigma	Website,  Mobile Browsers, Native Mobile Apps	Web-based SaaS application No operating system dependency	Follows low code automation, No programming language required	Yes	Yes	Contact the support team for pricing
SmartBearTestComplete	Website, Mobile	Windows	JavaScript. Python. VBScript	Supports record and Playback	No	Pricing starts from $3,655
Selenium	Website.The mobile application requires Appium Integration	Mac, Windows, Linux	C#, Java, Javascript, Python, Ruby	Selenium IDE offers a recording script option	No	Free – Open source
Cypress	Website, Mobile Browser	Mac, Windows,Linux	Javascript, Typescript	No	No	The basic version is open-source and free.Premium version is Paid
Playwright	Website, Mobile Browser	Mac, Windows, Linux	Java, Python, Javascript, Typescript, C#	Supports record and Playback	No	Opensource- Free

Limitations of Katalon

Though Katalon offers many features, there are some limitations which may upset its users. 

• High License cost: The License cost is high compared to similar automation tools.
• Not a SaaS-based tool: The tester needs to install the desktop client in order to develop the script. In comparison with Testsigma, there is no operating system dependency, and no desktop client required.
• Lowcode feature issues: Though Katalon offers low code with record and playback features users are facing flakiness with dynamic websites
• Cloud-based testing: Katalon offers cross-browser testing but for cloud-based cross-browser testing you need to rely on other vendors. This increases the tooling cost to the organization.
• Community Support: Nothing can replace the community contribution from writing the custom plugins to answering all your queries. When it comes to Katalon, the community base is considerably low. Due to less community support, some of your questions may remain unanswered.

Conclusion

Automation is no longer an option, it is a necessity. However, the success of the automation relies on the automation tool. The market has both open-source and commercial automation tools. The open-source automation tools may demand more skilled resources as a commercial tool like Testsigma offers no code automation, which helps anyone to automate. Earlier Katalon was the most popular automation tool, however, with recent developments users are switching to other tools due to its various limitations. There are many alternatives to Katalon, considering the migration effort Testsigma is faster to migrate and it provides many more additional features. 

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Which is the best Katalon Alternative?

Best always depends on your requirements. That said, Testsigma is one Katalon alternative that doesn’t require any setup and installation. It offers no code automation, so even non-technical users can contribute and make the migration faster

Which is better, Katalon vs. Selenium?

Both Katalon and Selenium have pros and cons. However, Selenium is open source, no cost involved to use. The Katalon is a commercial tool and you need to pay for the license. 

Is Katalon built on top of Selenium?

Yes, Katalon is built on top of Selenium and Appium.