This free mobile app performance testing tools list was created to help testers around the world choose the right standalone performance testing tool for their specific project. This is not a “Top 10” list put together based on advertising dollars spent, this list was created by real mobile testers who tested many different tools so you don’t have to. This list is updated every couple of weeks, so if there is a tool that you know deserves to be listed here but doesn’t, please let us know!
Performance Testing is something many companies do not focus on (and if they do, they usually go for load testing tools). But it is important to test your Mobile App Performance, especially if you are targeting different devices or developing for emerging markets.
Siege
Siege is considered one of the top performance testing tools. This tool is implemented for benchmarking utility and command-line HTTP load testing. It was developed to assist the developers so that they can measure their code when they are under stress. The main features of this tool include:
· Supports fundamental authentication, FTP protocols, HTTPS, HTTP, and cookies.
· Permits its consumers to hit a server with a configurable quantity of simulated customers. Those customers put the server “under siege”.
· Good for brute-force and simple type of testing tool
K6
It is one of the best-known open-source and developer-oriented load testing tools. This tool is implemented to test the performance of the back-end infrastructure. This tool can be used to begin incorporating performance testing inside the continuous integration pipelines. It is a modern testing tool developed with the assistance of JavaScript and Go. Therefore, it includes the developer’s workflow.
· Cool REST API instrumentation capability
· Offers cloud and distributed execution
· Clean API scripting
WebLOAD
It is popularly utilized for performance testing services with heavy user load and complex requirements. You can conduct load and stress testing on any web-based software. It is done by developing load from the cloud and on-premise systems. WebLOAD supports technologies like web protocols and enterprise apps. The integration tools used are Jenkins and Selenium. This permits continuous load testing for the DevOps. The main features include:
· Availability as on-premise and on the cloud deployment
· Willingly extensible and backs all the main web technologies
· Develops a flexible test environment
· Native JavaScript constructed on smart scripting with powerful correlation, parameterization, and validation engines
· Automatically detects bottlenecks
LoadNinja – Best for load testing with real browsers at scale
LoadNinja helps users diagnose web and API performance issues. It is simpler to use than conventional load testing tools and uses real browsers, which delivers a more accurate representation of load.
Creating performance tests via record and playback enhanced with AI can save around 60% of time vs traditional tools, and also reduces time maintaining tests as the application changes. Using real browsers at scale to generate load gives you the most accurate representation of load. Test results reflect true end-user experience and allow you to quickly diagnose bottlenecks and performance issues. The tool was designed with ease of use in mind, and is accessible to users of all skill levels.
Tool costs starting from $239/month for 100 virtual users. They also offer a free 14-day trial.
WAPT – Employs a universal performance test design approach by recording real-life web sessions from a browser or a mobile application
WAPT lets users design or run tests locally or in the cloud. Users are enabled to create tests using a browser or a mobile application; employ remote, distributed and cloud-based testing; launch server and database performance monitoring; and more.
Some of the most exemplary elements of the software are the usefulness of auto-parameterization of most dynamic values, the extensibility via Javascript, and point-and-click recording capabilities.
The WAPT interface, as seen from the associated screenshot, comes across quite dated in the color, look, feel, and even text orientation. For those used to modern tech UI, it may be a bit of an eyesore; thus, they lost a few points per the UX review criteria.
WAPT starts at $700 and has a free trial.
Neotys Neoload – Design code-less load performance test scripts for large, complex applications using a graphical user interface
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.
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
StresStimulus
StresStimulus is popular with performance testing services because it is capable of handling scenarios that may be difficult to test using other tools. It works by automatically fixing playback errors using its unique autocorrelation feature. The tool records user actions before replaying them to emulate changing usage patterns. It also keeps track of load impact on the responsiveness of the software and the server infrastructure. It can also detect hidden concurrency errors and provides in-depth performance metrics.
The key features of this performance testing tool are as follows:
- Cloud or on-premise testing using multiple load generators
- End-to-end Test Wizard reduces the learning curve by covering all steps
- Option of manual scripting is available, but not required. The tool supports upto 3 scripting languages.
- Allows script export to Visual Studio test format
- Can be used as a Fiddler add-on or an independent tool
Apache JMeter
JMeter is a popular open source performance testing tool that is designed for load and performance testing. It can be used to analyze and measure the performance of a wide range of software, covering services including networks and servers. It is mostly used as a website load testing tool for different types of web service applications.
JMeter is a Java platform application that can be integrated with the test plan. It also allows you to create a function test plan besides a load test plan. Some of the key features are as follows:
- Supports multiple load injectors that can be managed using a single controller
- Doesn’t require advanced infrastructure for load testing
- Requires lesser scripting efforts relative to other API performance testing tools, as it has a user-friendly interface
- Supports all Java-based applications
- Easy analysis of key load based stats and resource usage monitors by presenting simple graphs and charts
JMeter supports the following protocols – HTTPS, HTTP, XML, Java-based protocols, SOAP, and FTP among others.
Conclusion
We’ve put together a free, easy to use set of performance tools and resources which can help you improve the speed and responsiveness of your mobile app deployment. Use them to test the speed of your apps on different devices and platforms, and get actionable data about where the bottlenecks are slowing your app down.