10 Best Load Testing Tools For Web Applications In 2023

Tricentis NeoLoad is a load testing tool that enables the continuous performance testing of web and mobile applications, APIs, and microservices. It uses RealBrowser technology to provide browser-based performance capabilities for advanced custom web apps as well as cloud-native ones. This provides users with the ability to capture client-side end-user metrics while using a protocol-based approach for their back-end testing activities.

A core principal the software is built upon is enabling collaboration across development, quality assurance (QA), operations, and business teams. Users can build a standardized performance testing strategy across the enterprise regardless of experience or skill set. Codeless test design using a graphical user interface (GUI) also supports this mission. The software allows users to define service-level agreements (SLAs), share test assets, and review test results while the testing process is still running and after it is done.

Teams can connect Tricentis NeoLoad with their other tools such as Cucumber, Jenkins, Jira, and Selenium using the platform's native integrations. Pricing starts at $20,000/year for up to 300 virtual users, and a free trial and demo are available.

HeadSpin is an AI testing & dev-ops collaboration platform that offers several loading metrics like low frame rate, low page content, poor video quality, screen freezing, slow app launch, slow downloads that can estimate how quickly your app or website responds when there are multiple connections attempted or when there is tremendous load on the network infrastructure.

CloudTest from Akamai allows you to safely simulate your largest events in production with precise control while producing a live analysis of what your site or app is capable of on your big day and helping you drill down to the source of any performance bottlenecks.

A highpoint of the software is that the software requires low resource allocation for high-performance results, which can be vital if you are working on sub-optimal systems or hardware.

Akamai CloudTest definitely has a formidable learning curve and is not necessarily ideal for users who are new to load testing ecosystems. The tool lost a few points in the Usability segment of the evaluation criteria.

Akamai CloudTest starts at $1300/user/year and has a free 30-day trial.

Apache JMeter is a load and performance testing solution that simulates loads on servers, networks, and objects. It can load test many protocols, including HTTP, SOAP, and JDBC. JMeter’s IDE includes a range of features that enable rapid test plan recording, building, and debugging.Users can run automation scripts alongside their load tests by integrating with Selenium. The integration enables testers to load their system and automatically collect performance metrics.It’s worth noting JMeter’s lack of support for JavaScript. The system doesn’t execute the Javascript found in HTML pages and is unable to render HTML pages the same way a browser does.Testers can download JMeter for free.

Eggplant Performance provides user-centric performance testing that’s simple to use with the unique ability to simulate virtual users at both the application UI and the network protocol levels, making it a solution that gives you an understanding of the UX impact at scale.

Usability is perhaps the most satisfying element of the eggplant experience, as it is relatively easy to pick up and run with as a new user. The software scored favorably in the Usability category of the review criteria outlined previously.

A few cons to note are 1) the tool, on occasion, reports false positives since it works based on the OCR engine, and 2) it works better on macOS than on Windows.

Eggplant starts at $3400 for one test stream and has a free demo.

LoadImpact is a cloud service to load test the performance of websites, apps, and APIs that has specifically focused on API load testing in the new k6.io app, with a completely revamped Test Builder. Plus, they have an improved browser session recorder and an improved results page.

A standout component of this software is it’s easy to support of various ‘cl technologies’. Additionally, the reporting, graphs, and pictures are aesthetically pleasing and very readable.

This tool would benefit in some better help sections/training documents in order to outline the different components of the software and website. They lost a few marks in the evaluation for Usability but this certainly isn’t a deal-breaker, as many aspects of the tool are intuitive anyways.

Load Impact starts at $99/month and has a free trial.

LoadRunner is a software testing tool that measures system behavior and performance under complex load and stress scenarios. It works by simulating thousands of concurrent application users to emulate real-world network conditions. LoadRunner provides real-time on- and offline anomaly detection through robust analytics and reporting, including correlation analysis and combining data from multiple tools.LoadRunner supports continuous testing by enabling users to share and reuse assets across various application types, protocols, and IDEs. The platform also offers various integrations with DevOps and application performance monitoring tools.While LoadRunner is highly-rated, many users find the licensing cost to be prohibitive compared to other load testing tools. Pricing is available upon request with free trials available.

Parasoft Load Test enables users to take SOAtest functional test projects and leverage them for performance testing. The Load Test Continuum (LTC) web-based reporting app makes performance testing a part of the CI/CD process and implements performance test automation.

One of the best parts of the software is that minimal experience/training is needed to get started. Users can easily pull from Excel or XML files, as well, and automating the APIs is intuitive.

With a rather hefty up-front cost, Parasoft Load Test lost a few marks in the Value for Cost section of the evaluation criteria, as the price tag may deter some. It is important to note that the cost listed below includes the enterprise edition, desktop licenses, and training for a team of 5.

Parasoft Load Test starts at $50,000 and has a free trial.

WebLOAD generates a test script in JavaScript, with the flexibility to add a wide range of protocols and easily extend to additional protocols as needed. The recording is transparent and automatic with any web technology, including HTTP/HTTPS (SSL, TLS) and more.

This tool does particularly well with building any simulated load for load and performance testing in an intuitive and easy way. Additionally, the play and record features are useful for tracking results.

As the only tool with no pricing information available, WebLOAD lost some points in cost transparency, meaning their review results for Value for Cost dropped a bit.

WebLOAD offers pricing upon request and has a free trial.

Neotys Neoload helps to design, maintain and run performance tests as code and analyze results within continuous integration pipelines using pre-packaged plugins for CI/CD tools and the NeoLoad API. Easily set up testing resources as needed.

This tool has a clean, colorful, and strategically organized user interface that makes returning to the software for each task a pleasure. Thus, they scored well in the UX segment of the evaluation process.

One critique of this software to be wary of is that the charging mechanism on the cloud is not atomic in nature and has a dependency on a local machine. Additionally, the project gets harder to manage as the script grows.

Neotys Neoload starts at $6024/month and has a free 30-day trial.