Top 10 Robot Framework Alternatives

Test automation tools help to automate manual test cases and reduce the effort and cost. Once you automate the test cases, you can execute them as many times as you want without any manual intervention. The same automation scripts can be executed across different browsers for compatibility testing. However, automation has its challenges, such as skilled resources, maintenance, etc. When it comes to automation tools, Robot Framework is the most popular, but it has many drawbacks hence, organizations are looking for Robot Framework alternatives. In this article, we have listed the closest alternative to Robot Framework.

What is Robot Framework, and what are its top alternatives?

Robot Framework is an open-source general-purpose framework. It can help in automating functional use cases and processes or tasks. Internally, Robot Framework uses many open-source libraries to support a variety of features. 

There are many alternatives to the Robot Framework, some of the top alternatives are: Testsigma, Selenium, UIPath, Playwright, TestComplete, etc.

When should you choose the Robot Framework?

The Robot Framework is keyword-driven. The core logic is abstracted, at the higher level you can just use the keywords without worrying about their implementation. This makes Robot Framework tester-friendly as this decreases the technical knowledge. Unlike Selenium you do not need to build the wrappers and no need to set up the framework. One who has basic knowledge of automation can use it directly. 

Additionally, the Robot Framework increases the readability of test cases as it uses an English format with few keywords. If you are looking for a simple, less technical tool to automate functional testing and/or process automation then the Robot Framework is the right choice.

Benefits of Robot

• Robot Framework is open-source, with no cost involved for usage
• Test cases are highly reusable as they use the keyword-driven and data-driven approach
• Selenium and Appium can be integrated easily for web and mobile test automation
• Robot Framework is easy to learn and use
• It supports grouping and tags that can help you to plan the execution strategy
• Provides good documentation and community support
• It supports multiple platforms such as Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Supports multiple browser execution. Tests can be executed on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari browsers
• Supports keyword-driven and data-driven testing.

Drawbacks of Robot

• It lacks the support for Non-UI testing
• Extending Robot Framework requires a deep high-level understanding of Python libraries
• Limited support for customization
• Limited community support for plugin libraries
• Difficult to debug and find the root cause for test cases

Top Alternatives to Robot Framework

Robot Framework supports both functional and process automation. It is built with Python libraries. However, to use this framework, you do not need to know Python, as it is a keyword-driven framework. As mentioned above, the Robot Framework has many challenges, so you may not be satisfied with the features provided by Robot Framework. Below are some of the best alternatives to Robot Framework.

Testsigma

Testsigma is an AI-based no-code test automation tool. The no-code is the unique feature of Testsigma. It is a cloud-based tool, so it reduces any infrastructure requirements that are needed for test execution. In turn, it also eliminates the maintenance of the infrastructure. Testsigma is popular because it provides a lot of features as a testing platform.

Features of Testsigma

• It is a cloud-based tool, no installation or setup is required to use it.
• It supports different types of testing such as functional, API, end-to-end testing, browser compatibility testing, responsiveness testing, visual testing, etc.
• Testsigma can be easily integrated with CI/CD tools
• It supports many third-party tools integration such as Jira, Jenkins, AzureDevOps, etc.
• Reports are rich and comprehensive. These reports can be customized with ease.
• Testsigma test can be executed on multiple browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, and Edge
• It also provides multiple operating system support
• Test artifacts can be accessed from anywhere as these are stored in the cloud
• Doesn’t require any coding knowledge to automate the test case

Cons of Testsigma

• No support for Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
• As it is a commercial tool, you need to pay for a license

UiPath Automation Platform

UiPath Automation Platform is a commercial tool owned by UiPath, Inc. If you are using the Robot Framework for Robotic Process Automation, then UiPath Automation is the best replacement. UiPath as a platform provides many tools to cater to different needs. 

Features of UiPath

• Business process automation can be performed with low code and visual tools
• Combine the power of RPA and API to speed up the execution and achieve more coverage
• Document processing helps to remove legacy paperwork
• Supports AI and ML Integration
• UiPath can be scaled to meet the requirements of any organization size, from small businesses to large enterprise
• It can be integrated with many third-party tools and platforms to connect the existing systems and data sources

Cons of UiPath

• It has a steep learning curve if you are not familiar with process automation and programming knowledge
• License cost is very expensive, it is not suitable for the budget-conscious organization
• UiPath may have compatibility issues with certain systems or applications
• Complex process automation can be resource-intensive, requiring significant processing power, memory, and storage
• It lacks customization. It may not be customizable completely as per the organization’s requirement

 Microsoft Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate is a powerful business process automation tool, that can help the organization boost productivity by automating frequent and complex tasks. This can be used as a Robot Framework alternative. 

Features of Power Automate

• Extremely easy to use. Even non-technical users can create workflows.
• It can be easily integrated with other tools. It provides many connectors in-built, and you can hook into many Microsoft apps and other applications just with a few clicks
• It allows you to create custom connectors, and you can define the triggers and actions to initiate the workflow.
• You can create the alert messages easily without going through a complex implementation process
• Easy to share and access the data between the connected services

Cons of Power Automate

• Complex workflows affect the performance
• The free plan provides only limited features
• A paid plan of Power Automate may not be budget-friendly
• It allows only 250 actions in a single workflow
• Only supports sequential flow
• This is not a general-purpose automation tool.

Cerberus Testing

Cerberus Testing is the test automation platform that supports low code test automation. Cerberus Testing is available as an open-source version(self-managed) or commercial version (fully-managed or custom-managed). 

Features of Cerberus Testing

• Low-code test library which helps anyone who knows the basics of testing can contribute to automation.
• Speeds up the test case creation by reusing the libraries and other reusable blocks
• Supports different browsers, devices, countries, and locations for test execution
• Inbuilt reporting and traceability help to reproduce and debug the failures
• Supports CI/CD integration
• Supports non-functional testing such as network traffic, monitoring performance, etc.
• It can be integrated with many apps such as Jira, Selenium, Kafka, SauceLabs, etc.

Cons of Cerberus Testing

• The open-source version doesn’t provide any execution environment
• The commercial version may not be budget-friendly
• Lacks detail documentation
• Configuration is trickier
• It doesn’t support process automation

Tricentis Testim

Tricentis Testim is a commercial test automation tool, owned by Testim (now part of Tricentis). It supports low code automation and a user-friendly interface for automation. It is an AI-powered SaaS platform hence no installation or set up required. However, one needs to sign up and pay for the license to use it.

Features of Testim

• The low-code automation feature helps nontechnical people automate the test cases
• It provides the feature to combine the API and UI scenarios 
• Reusable components make automation testing easier and faster
• Test Scripts can be tweaked using the visual editor
• Using the advanced feature one can write custom scripts with a supported programming language to make the test stable

Cons of Testim

• Lacks the detailed reporting features which make debugging difficult
• The third-party tools integration feature is limited
• Difficult to automate complex applications
• No in-built support for Visual regression testing

Playwright

Playwright is an open-source test automation framework, supported by Microsoft. It is completely open source and doesn’t offer any commercial services as of today.  The playwright is very aggressive in releasing features, so it has become quickly popular within a few releases. It supports many programming languages, and Playwright is shipped as a framework-ready tool; unless you need customization, you do not need to set up the framework from scratch.

Features of Playwright

• Open source framework, no licensing cost involved.
• A framework-ready tool, no need to integrate assertions, reporters, and other libraries to use.
• API Testing and visual Testing are built-in no additional integration is required
• Supports multiple browsers such as Chromium, Chrome, Edge, Webkit(Safari), and Firefox
• Platform independent. Supports Windows, Linux, and macOS environments.
• Supports C#, Java, JavaScript, and Python programming natively
• Good documentation serves as a tutorial for beginners
• Growing community helps to resolve your issues
• Video recording, retry, trace viewer, and screenshot all these debugging features are built in, which helps to debug and resolve the issue faster
• Supports integration with many third-party providers

Cons of Playwright

• Doesn’t support robotic process automation
• No support for mobile automation
• Doesn’t support desktop application automation
• The community is still growing
• Doesn’t provide infrastructure support

Cypress

Cypress is a modern test automation framework for functional test automation. It is available as an open-source version and Cypress Dashboard is available as a commercial version. As its document mentions, it is not a general-purpose automation framework. You can use Cypress to automate your functional, API, and integration testing use cases. Cypress executes the command directly on the browser without any middleware like the browser-specific driver. This makes Cypress more powerful and developer-friendly.

Features of Cypress

• The open-source version provides all the required features of test automation, and it is free to use
• It supports Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers without any additional installations
• Cypress test runner IDE helps to execute the tests using the visual interface
• It supports integration to the CI/CD pipeline with the command line interface
• It supports API, integration, component, and functional testing
• Auto Waiting, mocking, trace generator, video capturing, and screenshots are some of the notable features of Cypress
• The paid Cypress dashboard version provides additional capability of reporting and analytic features.

Cons of Cypress

• Does not support parallel execution
• Lacks the support for iFrame and multiple tabs
• It restricts the cross-origin domain navigation within the same test
• No in-built HTML reporter
• Supports only JavaScript programming

TestComplete

TestComplete is a popular enterprise test automation, it supports desktop, web, and mobile application automation. TestComplete is a paid tool. It supports many features under the platform. It comes with an inbuilt test editor you do not need to rely on other popular IDEs.

Features of TestComplete

• It supports JavaScript, VBScript, and Python programming.
• Supports cross-browser testing
• Provides third-party tools integration feature
• It comes with rich reporting and a dashboard feature
• Rich visual IDE helps to automate the script faster
• Supports Desktop application automation

Cons of TestComplete

• It supports the Windows operating system only
• Doesn’t support the Safari browser 
• Steep learning curve
• Performance issues with lower configuration systems while testing complex applications
• Not a budget-friendly tool

BugBug.io

The BugBug is a relatively new tool to the market, it started as an automation project in 2019 since then it has made a significant improvement. It is a no-code automation tool and hence requires less technical knowledge to automate.

Feature of BugBug

• No code automation, no prior coding knowledge required to automate
• Experts can edit the test cases with Javascript
• It can provide the report in PDF format
• Supports local and cloud execution
• Supports CI/CD tools integration
• Executions can be scheduled or can be triggered on demand
• Supports Chromium family browser

Cons of BugBug

• No mobile application support
• Doesn’t support API Testing
• No support for Firefox and Safari Browsers
• Email-based technical support
• Lacks the customization of reports

Selenium Webdriver

Selenium webdriver has been the most popular test automation tool for many years. The Robot Framework also uses the Selenium libraries for functional test automation. It is an open-source test automation library. Selenium is a library, you can customize them however you want by integrating them with other tools and by writing wrappers. 

Features of Selenium

• Open source and free to use
• Highly extendable and customizable framework
• Supports all major browsers Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
• Supports Java, Python, Ruby, C#, and JavaScript programming
• Large community support
• The framework can be extended to support API testing and mobile testing.
• Supports record and playback using SeleniumIDE

Cons of Selenium

• Doesn’t support process automation
• No in-built mobile automation support
• Doesn’t have any inbuilt reporter
• Setting up a framework requires a good understanding of programming
• No inbuilt support API Testing
• Tests are flaky at times and have slower execution speed compared to modern automation tool
• Browser driver increases the maintenance
• Doesn’t support no-code automation
• Does not support desktop application automation

Conclusion

Robot Framework is a generic automation tool, that supports both process automation and functional test automation. It is a highly extensible tool. It’s difficult to find a tool that supports both functional and process automation. Based on the requirement, you can choose the closest alternative. Testsigma is the closest alternative to Robot Framework, as it not only supports functional testing but also supports many other types of testing. 

Testsigma is a no-code testing tool that eliminates the skill gaps for test automation. Though there are many other alternatives to Robot Framework, that may not support all different testing types and they require you to code. Based on the organization’s requirements and future scope for automation one can decide the right automation tool.

Frequently Asked Question

Is Robot Framework still relevant?

The Robot Framework community is still active and upgrading its features. The Robot Framework is not outdated yet.

Is Robot Framework better than Selenium?

Robot Framework is better than Selenium if you are looking for an open-source tool that requires less technical knowledge. Selenium provides many other customization features. As both of them have pros and cons, only after evaluating the requirements a better tool can be decided.