Lambdatest vs Appium – Top Key Differences

LambdaTest vs Appium is a common question when the teams are thinking about the tools that can help test their application in a way that minimizes bugs and maximizes performance. This question, however, can only be answered by understanding the tools individually on different parameters and looking beyond them if needed to make the best decision.

Lambdatest vs Appium – Overview

What is LambdaTest?

LambdaTest is an online cross-browser testing platform that aims to provide real devices for individuals, testers, and developers to run their mobile applications (or web apps) without purchasing a new device. The problem they solve now had been a major problem in the testing world due to the highly fragmented mobile device market and the numerous manufacturers that have been increasing.

Along with this selection of devices, LambdaTest also aims to smooth out the testing experience by providing many tools and integration. These include tools like screenshot capturing, video session recording marking the bugs, and also support for AI-integrated reporting and test management. For automation testers, support for popular tools like Appium and Selenium is also available.

Check here – Lambdatest Alternatives

What is Appium?

With more than 6100 forks on its official repository on GitHub, Appium is a popular open-source automation framework used for UI automation primarily on mobile applications, although it supports desktop, web, and hybrid applications as well. 

Check here – Appium Alternatives

Appium comes from Selenium, which is a popular UI test automation software for web applications. Due to its stable APIs and constant upgradation through open-source platforms, Selenium proved to be the best predecessor for Appium which itself uses drivers for web automation. 

Appium framework allows the use of multiple programming languages, and its current most stable version is Appum 2.0 released in 2022 and is the only version on which contributors work today.

What is Testsigma?

Testsigma is a cloud-based test automation platform that brings each domain of test automation closer to codeless testing. With Testsigma, the testers can perform different types of testing such as data-driven testing, mobile app testing, API testing, web testing, and many more. 

Testsigma uses artificial intelligence to understand scripts written in the English language and convert them to actions. Through AI, it can heal the tests automatically and even generate tests using Copilot, a fascinating tool that comes with free account sign-up. The platform provides real devices, cloud-based infrastructure, and tonnes of integrations to third-party applications for efficient testing with minimum effort.

LambdaTest vs Appium – How do they differ?

LambdaTest and Appium both are used for the same purpose of mobile app testing. However, what makes them different and what helps a tester decide on the tool is the additional features they get from both of these tools and the gaps that exist in them. These are defined below as their pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of LambdaTest

LambdaTest comes with certain advantages and disadvantages that make it a perfect tool for some organizations while some avoid it due to incompatibility with their requirements.

Advantages of LambdaTest

LambdaTest provides the following advantages:

• The platform provides real devices on their infrastructure that help analyze the application with accurate parameters and metrics.

• The platform is completely based on the cloud and therefore, unlike Appium, there is no need to perform multiple installations, and go through tedious setup tasks on the local machine.

• LambdaTest provides integrations with other test automation tools like Appium so they can execute the scripts on their infrastructure.

• The platform comes with additional software such as KaneAI and Test Manager to help perform tasks in addition to the test execution.

• A few portions of LambdaTest have AI integration such as for test orchestration and creating test scenarios based on high-level objectives. This helps do certain tasks quickly.

All these advantages are best used when the requirement is for mobile testing and especially when the mobile app is required to be tested manually using live interaction.

Check here – LambdaTest vs Katalon

Disadvantages of LambdaTest

LambdaTest comes with the following disadvantages:

• LambdaTest is not a mobile, web, hybrid, or desktop app testing platform. It just provides the infrastructure and support for test automation frameworks like Selenium and Appium to run on its infrastructure. This can lead the developers and testers to learn additional software for test execution.

• LambdaTest has been criticized for its stability issues and performance gaps that often increase a tester’s test execution time.

• LambdaTest provides a free trial to get a taste of the platform and know it better through experience. However, the free trial is extremely restrictive and has a low session timing which doesn’t provide a run-through of the platform.

• The tool requires configurations for multiple things. For example, setting up the local tunnel or integrating Appium or Selenium, etc. This initial setup can be a bit challenging for certain users.

• The lack of artificial intelligence at all places is a deal breaker for a lot of organizations since a lot of tools have started to provide it throughout their platforms.

These disadvantages may be a critical gap for some people while not for the other. Therefore, it is advisable to compare them with the team’s requirements and whether these deviate the teams from their goals or not.

Check here – Lambdatest vs Selenium

Pros and Cons of Appium

Appium has been a popular tool with regular downloads since its inception. However, like any other tool, it comes with a good and a bad side.

Advantages of Appium

Appium comes with the following advantages:

• Appium is open-source and therefore the people working on its development are the ones who use it in their daily activities. Hence, its structure is steered according to the needs of testers and developers rather than the needs of any business or monetary requirements.

• Appium has vast platform support. It can perform test automation on mobile apps (Android, iOS, and Tizen), browser apps (Chrome, Firefox, Safari), desktop apps (macOS and Windows), and TV apps (Roku, tvOS, Android TV, Samsung).

• Appium follows the “ship what you test” paradigm which means the application binary can be tested without making any changes to the code. Hence, what you test is the same as what you ship which enhances the reliability of operations.

• Appium can be integrated with other test frameworks such as JUnit, TestNG, and Cucumber providing the tester more options and flexibility in their tests.

• Since Appium uses WebDriver protocol, which has already proven its strength through Selenium, it can be relied upon and is easier to operate if the tester comes with Selenium experience.

These are some strong advantages that Appium boasts which have contributed to its growth and adoption all across the globe with active participation from developers and the community.

Check here – Appium vs Selenium

Disadvantages of Appium

Appium comes with the following disadvantages:

• Appium is a local tool that requires testers to download, install, and use the framework on their local machine, which can be resource-heavy and lead to performance issues.

• Appium requires a lot of configurational setup initially to start running on the machine. This can be time-consuming and a concern when things are required to move fast such as in agile methods.

• Appium does not provide direct support for many features such as gesture testing. Although test scripts can be written for it through workarounds, it consumes a lot of time and will make scripts complex and difficult for new members to understand.

• Appium scripts are high in maintenance. This is because Appium requires programming scripts to construct tests and since they are surrounded with WebDriver, they require additional code to execute tests.

• Appium keeps on upgrading which means it keeps adding newer code that might not support testing on older devices. This limits a tester from testing on older devices which can be a challenge especially if their application has most of the users from that domain.

Just like the advantages, the disadvantages too are specific to the team, project, their skills, and requirements. However, taking general consensus, the above list seems to be a challenge for most of the testers.

Check here – Detox vs Appium

Why Testsigma is different in the LambdaTest vs Appium debate?

While the focus of this post has been LambdaTest vs Appium and how they compare with each other, it does not mean we cannot look beyond these two tools in the search for something better.

Testsigma works on the same goals of test automation but brings its own style and methods that set it apart from LambdaTest and Appium. For instance, consider the following features of Testsigma for comparison:

• Testsigma is a complete test automation software that provides support for all testing types including API testing, Salesforce testing, and accessibility testing. This is in contrast to LambdaTest which only provides test automation framework integration (and test authoring partially through KaneAI) and Appium which focuses just on UI automation.

Salesforce automation using NLP in Testsigma

• Testsigma does not require any programming language to write test scripts. Instead, it uses natural language processing to understand English-based scripts and convert them to actions. LambdaTest does have a codeless UI testing agent but it is not as smooth and free-flowing and is restrictive in many ways. Appium, however, is purely based on scripted test automation.

• Testsigma comes completely on the cloud which means all a tester needs is a system with a browser and internet connection. Moreover, since the platform is on the cloud, every team member can access the same session, collaborate, and share their findings from anywhere in the world without worrying about infrastructure maintenance and resource utilization.

• The test automation platform comes with artificial intelligence integrated into it at various levels helping users facilitate their tasks in the shortest time possible. This includes generating test cases and scenarios using Copilot, healing test cases automatically based on UI changes, and automatically detecting bugs in the test cases.

Copilot by Testsigma

• Testsigma supports all types of platforms including web, mobile, desktops, and hybrid. This helps testers save their time by focusing on a single platform rather than switching between multiple tools for their different needs.

• The platform covers visual issues where a baseline image can be used to point out UI errors that are not visible to the naked eye. It helps bring perfection to the layout and the tester can also include such tests in the regression suites.

Visual testing in Testsigma

• Testsigma provides multiple integrations to connect third-party applications and has a free flow of data across these tools from a single place. These integrations include CI/CD tools to initiate pipelines as well.

Along with this, features such as reporting and conducting testing sessions with in-built tools are an additional advantage that one might not find in Appium and LambdaTest. All of this can be attained by signing up for a free account. 

Testsigma vs LambdaTest vs Appium

Testsigma, LambdaTest, and Appium can be differentiated based on the following parameters:

Parameter	Testsigma	LambdaTest	Appium
Goal served	Provides cloud-based infrastructure for end-to-end UI automation testing     for mobile, desktop, and web applications with real devices.	Provides a cloud-based infrastructure to access real devices and integrate test automation framework to either test manually or through automation.	Provides a framework (a set of libraries) to the tester through which they can construct automation scripts using WebDriver protocol and run them on mobile, desktop, web, or hybrid applications.
Open-source	Yes	No	Yes
Supported test areas	UI, Functional, Cross-browser, API, data-driven, regression, mobile, web, desktop, hybrid automation.	Visual regression and cross-browser testing are built into the platform. Web, mobile, desktop, and hybrid using integration with test automation frameworks.	UI test automation only.
Method of testing	Codeless for all testing purposes	Codeless (KaneAI available for partial testing purposes). Otherwise, depends on the integrated test automation tool which is majorly script-based.	Script-based using a programming language.
Artificial Intelligence integrated	Yes, throughout all testing domains	Partially available for UI domain and launched recently.	No.
Learning curve	Extremely smooth since test cases are written in English and no framework integration is required.	Not as smooth as Testsigma because of the configurational setup required for integrating the test automation framework. Also, the tester has to learn different frameworks and write scripts in them which is an added learning challenge.	Harder learning curve as Appium is purely based on programming languages and requires setup on the local machine which is initially hard to configure.
Actions to test case conversion support.	Yes, the mobile test recorder can convert the user’s actions on a mobile app into test cases. Similar functionality is available for web apps as well.	Yes, actions can be converted but only for web applications.	No.
Free trial available	Yes.	Yes.	Free to use.
Test environment	Cloud-based.	Cloud-based.	Local.
Test Maintenance	Extremely easy as tests are written in English.	Difficult to maintain as tests are primarily written in programming language as supported by the integrated framework/tool.	Difficult as tests are written using a programming language.
Parallel testing	Supported.	Supported.	Supported but requires additional configurational setup.
Real device availability.	Yes.	Yes.	Supports real device testing but does not provide on the cloud. Testers are required to purchase physical devices for testing.
Integrations	Supports 30+ third-party integrations majorly those that are used after execution such as CI/CD.	Supports 120+ integrations including test automation frameworks like Appium required for test execution.	Supports integration to testing frameworks and libraries such as TestNG and JUnit for providing greater testing flexibility.
Community outreach.	Large with additionally available dedicated support from the organization.	Large with additionally available dedicated support from the organization.	Extremely large with a lot of online active forums.

This table for Testsigma vs. LambdaTest vs. Appium clearly differentiates all three testing platforms on various parameters that are critical in choosing the best tool for the project.

Testsigma vs LambdaTest vs Appium: Which one should you Choose?

After carefully assessing all three tools on multiple parameters, the question of choosing one out of the three comes up. In such cases, some parameters might be critical for some and change their decision while this might not be the case with others. For instance, if we take pricing, an individual is expected to choose Appium as it is free even though they have to struggle in other areas. Keeping such outliers aside and taking a general view of the three tools, the following can be observed.

LambdaTest is primarily a cross-browser testing tool whose main goal is to provide devices (virtual and real) to its users. While it has expanded into the test automation domain through its recent wing KaneAI, it is currently in an infant stage with limited options for UI testing. The best path with LambdaTest is to integrate a test automation framework like Appium, write scripts in the framework on a local machine, and run through their infrastructure. This is a hectic and time-consuming task with a lot of complications.

Check here – Lambdatest vs Bitbar 

Appium is a much more popular tool and often a primary choice when it comes to test automation with mobile applications. Its close resemblance with Selenium makes it a comfortable choice for the testers and being open-source and free is pocket-friendly as well. However, Appium cannot be scaled to a large enterprise infrastructure alone today. It needs cloud-based solutions and most importantly, real devices to perform test executions. In addition, since Appium is programming-based, it requires high maintenance which consumes a lot of time for testers.

Check here – Appium vs Espresso

Testsigma, as a combination of the above two, provides a cloud-based infrastructure with real devices and test automation support without integration with any third-party framework. Testers can not only enjoy performing any type of testing on it but they can do so in English-based scripts that are quick to write and easy to maintain as well. With this analysis, it is better if a tester chooses Testsigma in the LambdaTest vs Appium debate than to navigate through so many hurdles with the other options.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Appium better than Selenium?

Appium and Selenium both work on the WebDriver protocol. However, if mobile or hybrid applications are under consideration, Appium is a better choice. Whereas, Selenium stands above Appium if web applications are to be tested.