Have you ever wanted to test your API’s performance and see how it responds under load? If the answer is yes then we’ve got a suite of tools that can help you quickly come up to speed and start testing for performance and then continue to improve that performance.
Testing your website as a developer can be a real drag. You have to recreate certain conditions or Http requests can be complicated to run without the right tools. That’s why we’ve created a line of performance testing tools specifically designed for developers, including Command Center, Slowhttptest and Lighthouse
RapidAPI
The list of best API testing tools starts with RapidAPI. RapidAPI is the largest API marketplace over a million developers use to find, test, and connect to thousands of APIs, all with a single account. On RapidAPI, you can collaborate on APIs using RapidAPI for teams with external and internal APIs. Developers can use RapidAPI Testing on their internal APIs too with RapidAPI Teams or using RapidAPI Hub.
Pros:
- It is free to use.
- You can test as many APIs on the marketplace as you want.
- One workspace for 10,000 public APIs.
REST-assured
REST-assured is considered as one of the best tools for testing APIs in Java. Rest-assured is an open-source platform with a Java Domain-specific language. The Rest-assured API was created so that you don’t need to be an expert in HTTP to test web APIs.
Pros:
- You don’t have to be an HTTP expert.
- You don’t have to code things from scratch as it comes with some inbuilt functions.
- It supports the syntax of Behaviour Driven Development (BDD) testing – Given/When/Then.
Cons:
- It supports only the Java language.
- It does not support SOAP APIs explicitly.
Postman
After REST-assured, the next API testing tool is Postman. Postman offers a web version as well as a desktop app, and can also be used for testing API services. It enables the user to easily share the knowledge with the team.
Pros:
- This tool is easy to use compared to others.
- Easy to set-up parameters on method calls.
- Ability to store commands.
- It offers API development capabilities as well.
Cons:
- Pricing for enterprise is high.
- Enterprise version is easy to set up and use, but the number of requests is limited.
- It’s not possible to test more than one API simultaneously.
Paw
Paw is another beautiful API testing tool specially designed for Mac. Either you are an API maker or consumer, Paw helps you to build HTTP requests, inspect a server’s response, and even generate client code.
Pros:
- It is easy to use.
- It has an excellent interface.
- It is more stable in performance as compared to other API testing tools.
- It also has multi-dimensional environment settings.
Cons:
- Currently, Pas is available for Mac users only.
- High pricing (one-time purchase).
SoapUI
SoapUI is another on-prem API testing tool that allows developers to test REST, SOAP, GraphQL, and Web Services. SoapUI Pro gives development and testing teams a powerful solution to create, run, and analyze complex tests on web services. SoapUI boasts a lot of unique features like test reports, SOAP API testing, and others.
Pros:
- It can create custom codes using Groovy.
- You can transfer data from one response to multiple API calls without manual intervention.
- It stores your work so that you can revisit it at a later time.
Cons:
- Not helpful with Web UI Testing and mobile app testing.
- This tool lacks documentation.
- Saving projects can be a little confusing for beginners.
JMeter
Apache JMeter may be used to test performance both on static and dynamic resources, Web dynamic applications. It can be used to simulate a heavy load on a server, group of servers, network or object to test its strength or to analyze overall performance under different load types.
Ah yes, this is one of the names that every developer came across at least once.
JMeter is an open-source load test tool based on Java built by the Apache Foundation that’s around since 1998 and still receives many updates.
One of the reasons for its popularity is its architecture based on plugins. It can not only test HTTP but also other protocols.
Pros:
- Portable standalone tool, runs anywhere
- Large community. A variety of plugins and resources can be found on the web due to its popularity
- Support for different application and protocol types (such as HTTP, REST, TCP, Database)
- Data analysis and HTML reports out of the box
- Can run as a headless tool in CLI or even CI/CD environments
- Can run test plans
- Distributes testing is possible
Cons:
- Can be overwhelming if you are new to load tests due to its many possibilities
- Might not fit into everybody’s workload for people who are heavily used to CLI tools
Loadmill
Loadmill automates backend regression testing by replaying real user behavior. It can create and replay many API tests based on actual user flows.
Loadmill is a commercial web service that helps you to automate API tests and start load tests based on recordings or manual input.
It offers a free tier that should cover all needs by individual developers.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Can import test plans from other tools such as JMeter
- Can import recorded HTTP traffic such as HAR files
- Straight forward to extract and reuse data from previous responses
- Free tier includes all features
- Distributed load tests in various locations
- Offers npm package + REST API for CI/CD or custom scripts
- Support for teams
Cons:
- Current boxed UI doesn’t align well with smaller screens or windows
Artillery
Artillery is a modern, powerful & easy-to-use solution for load testing and functional testing. Ship scalable backends, APIs & services that stay performant & resilient under high load.
Artillery is an open-source CLI tool that can run load tests based on YAML files. It is based on Node.js and can run almost anywhere as well. It is best known for its simplicity yet many possibilities for load tests.
Pros:
- Really easy to use. You only need to get familiar with YAML.
- Can be easily integrated into terminals and CI/CD
- Can be used as an npm package for your own scripts/projects
- Quick tests
- Exports results as HTML reports
- Can run tests on HTTP, Socket.io, and WebSockets
- Supports environments, phases and random payloads from CSV files
Cons:
- No distributed testing
- File uploads only available in Artillery Pro
LoadView
LoadView is also widely popular with performance testing services. This is an on-demand and fully-managed load testing and stress testing tool. It is different from most other load testing tools in that testing is conducted in real browsers. The result is close emulation of real users and highly accurate data. It is fully cloud-based and is readily deployed in minutes. It allows creating multi-step scripts simulating user interaction with your application or website.
Some of the key features of LoadView are as follows:
- Supports advanced load testing features like global Cloud-based infrastructure, point and click scripting, and real browser testing
- Allows instant and easy creation of test scripts without the need for coding
- Supports Rich Internet Applications including Java, Flash, HTML5, Ruby, Silverlight, and PHMP among others
- Over a dozen global Cloud locations supported by Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services
- Test compatibility with dozens of desktop and mobile devices and browsers
- Easy to share performance metrics and reports
- Identifies bottlenecks and supports scalability
Conclusion
When it comes time to add your application’s performance testing, you’ll find many tools designed to help you. In the past, when you needed a load-testing simulation platform, you had limited choices. Before long, several started to evolve within this space, giving you more options when comparing them for performance testing tools from architectural standpoints and usability perspectives.