Free load testing tools – Looking for free ways to test your website, We have collected the list of some excellent websites which offer stress test on your site. WebPageTest is a tool provided by Google to test web performance of a website on different browsers and on various locations around the globe.
The tool also gives you results of various performance related factors such as time to first byte, page load time etc. This tool is very helpful for web developers as well as SEO specialists.
Below are the list of best performance testing tools.
LoadRunner
Micro Focus LoadRunner, previously known as HP LoadRunner, is a highly sophisticated software load testing tool that detects performance issues in web applications. Nevertheless, it is not limited to testing web applications or services. It is also optimized for testing ERP software and legacy system applications, as well as Web 2.0 technologies.
Moreover, Load Runner is the tool to test old-fashioned proprietary protocols, so we believe that the second place in this list is nothing but fair for it.
LoadRunner enables software testers to have complete visibility over their system’s end-to-end performance. It is specialized in detecting bottlenecks before the application enters the implementation phase. Thus, users can evaluate each component individually before it goes live.
Similarly, LoadRunner is helpful when detecting performance gaps before implementation or an upgrade of a new system. At the same time, it provides users with highly advanced predictive features to forecast expenses for up-scaling application capacity. Due to accurate predictions of expenses related to hardware and software, it is easier to improve the capacity and scalability of your application.
Pros
- Accurate detection of system, end-user, and code-level bottlenecks
- Discovers root cause of application performance issues
- Reduces cost of application downtime stemmed from performance issues
- Allows performance testing of existing legacy applications with new technologies
- Enables testers to test mobile applications
- Reduces software and hardware costs by forecasting software capacity and scalability
- Enables software teams to configure intelligent service-level agreements before their product goes live
- Gives users shorter test cycles to expedite application delivery
- Offers effective tool utilization tracking
- Browser-based access to global test resources
- Optimal usage of load generator farm
Cons
- Extremely expensive (see our comparison article Jmeter vs Loadrunner)
- Uses a lot of memory and crashes if the system cannot meet its computing requirements
- May have compatibility issues
- Usage license is based on the number of virtual users
Protocols
LoadRunner supports all kinds of protocols related to its services.
Pricing
| Community Edition | Virtual user days | Volume Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Get 50 virtual user licenses for life | Gives you the option to add more virtual users | Contact vendor for quotation |
| Free | Starts at $1.40 per virtual user day | |
Best For
Micro Focus LoadRunner is a highly sophisticated and versatile load testing tool optimized for testing various platforms. However, due to its price the tool is more suitable for medium- to large-sized organizations.
Micro Focus LoadRunner
This is a Micro Focus product which can be used as a Performance Testing tool. This can be bought as a Micro Focus product from its Micro Focus software division. Also, it is very much useful in understanding and determining the performance and outcome of the system when there is an actual load.
One of the key attractive features of this testing tool is that it can create and handle thousands of users at the same time.
This tool enables you to gather all the required information with respect to the performance and is also based on the infrastructure. LoadRunner comprises of different tools – namely, Virtual User Generator, Controller, Load Generator and Analysis.
System Requirements: Microsoft Windows and Linux are the favorable OS for this measuring tool.
Official Website: LoadRunner
Rational Performance Tester
Rational performance tester is an automated performance testing tool that can be used for a web application or a server-based application where the process of input and output is involved. This tool creates a demo of the original transaction process between the user and the web service.
By the end of it, all the statistical information is gathered and they are analyzed to increase efficiency. Any leakage on the website or the server can be identified and rectified immediately with the help of this tool.
This tool can be the best option for building an effective and error-free cloud computing service. This Rational Performance tester was developed by IBM (Rational software division). They have come up with many versions of this automated testing tool.
System Requirement: Microsoft Windows and Linux AIX are good enough for this performance testing tool.
Official Website: Rational Performance Tester
NeoLoad
NeoLoad is the most automated performance testing platform for enterprise organizations that continuously test applications and APIs. NeoLoad provides testers and developers automatic test design and maintenance, the most realistic simulation of user behavior, fast root cause analysis and built-in integrations with the entire SDLC toolchain.
NeoLoad lets you reuse and share test assets and results from functional testing tools to analytics and metrics from APM tools. NeoLoad supports a full range of mobile, web and packaged applications, like SAP, to cover all testing needs.
Continuously schedule, manage and share test resources and results across the organization to ensure application performance.
System Requirements: This tool is compatible with operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
Official Website: NeoLoad
WebLOAD
WebLOAD is an enterprise load testing tool that allows its users to generate reliable, real-world load scenarios. It is a reliable tool that even works for complex systems and provides users with advanced features, such as performance insights or smart analytics. At the same time, the tool is based on a flexible platform that offers built-in support for several technologies, as well as integration with a number of tools ranging from performance monitoring to CI/CD pipelines.
Pros
- Powerful correlation engine
- Generates load on premises or in the cloud
- Supports every major web technology
- Automatic bottleneck detection
- Flexible test scenario creation
Cons
- Complex
- Expensive
- From time to time the record functionality has a race condition that causes lines to be recorded out of order
Protocols
- Native JavaScript scripting
- HTTP
- HTTPS
- XML
- Enterprise applications
- Network Technology
- Server Technologies
Pricing
- Free trial
- Quote-based plan
Best For
WebLOAD is a comprehensive load testing tool that enables businesses of all sizes to test websites, applications, and enterprise-level applications.
BlazeMeter
BlazeMeter is a software testing vendor that provides performance and load testing services. The service hosts an innovative and comprehensive Continuous Testing Platform that enables enterprises to shift left. The web-based interface of the application is useful for creating static load tests and using JMeter scripts to execute dynamic load tests.
BlazeMeter is famous for fully utilizing the best open-source load testing tool – Apache JMeter. It provides various enterprise features to the free platform. In other words, users can gain access to many advanced features, such as application performance monitoring (APM), real-time reporting, distributed testing, and integration with developer tools for continuous integration (CI).
Pros
- 100% Compatible with Apache JMeter
- Create tests on any scale – up to 1 million concurrent users
- Set up tests within minutes
- Run scriptless tests or upload URL lists
- Run tests from the cloud or on-premise
- Run tests from multiple geo-locations
- Simulate mobile testing from real devices
- Facilitate team collaboration with script and report sharing
- Multi-tool support
- Integrations with leading CI and APM tools
- Support and professional services
- Real-time detailed reports on load test results
- Set KPIs for tested app behavior
- Desktop and mobile user experience monitoring
Cons
- Very basic and shallow reporting
- Expensive for user load volumes exceeding 1000 users
Protocols
- Same as for JMeter & Gatling (see above)
Pricing
| Starter (Monthly) | Basic (Monthly) | Pro (Monthly) | Unleashed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 concurrent users | 1,000 concurrent users | 5,000 concurrent users | Contact vendor for a quotation |
| 10 tests | 15 tests/month | 6,500 virtual user hours/month | |
| Free | $149 | $649 |
Best For
BlazeMeter is an excellent load testing tool for organizations already using Apache JMeter. Regardless of the size of your business, you may find the tool useful.
NeoLoad
NeoLoad is a popular testing tool for web or mobile applications testing under heavy load. It is written in Java. NeoLoad has all the necessary functions to perform such tests and analyze the data obtained. By simulating a large number of vusers, NeoLoad allows you to analyze not only the response time of the system to incoming requests, but also to check the performance of the entire server infrastructure, including the databases and the web server.
The number of virtual clients in the load test, which is carried out using NeoLoad, can easily vary from 50 vusers (for free) to 100 thousand to half a million.
NeoLoad’s cross-platform capabilities allow you to generate load on various platforms – Unix, Windows, Linux.
Pros
- Cloud integration, real-time monitoring, integration with real devices are supported not only on Android or iOS, but also on Windows Phone and Blackberry
- Ergonomic interface reduces test execution time
- Supports conversion of Selenium scripts
- Performance monitors (CPU, memory, disk usage, etc.) are configured for your servers
- Provides the ability to record any mobile application directly from any mobile device using proxy mode or DNS tunnel
- HTTP traffic is recorded between the browser and the server
Cons
- There is no DOM access page;
- There are no means to create initial and final actions to record response time.
Protocols
- HTTP/S
- HTTP/2
- Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
- SOAP
- WebSocket
- RTMP
- Microsoft Silverlight
- Java Serialization
- Oracle Forms
- Oracle Siebel
Pricing
Flexible: pay-as-you-grow policy.
Best For
If you need to load test an API or web app, NeoLoad can handle much of what you need.
Loadview by Dotcom Monitor
Website: https://www.loadview-testing.com/
Price: From $199/mo, free trial available
Loadview is one of the more complete solutions available in the market and today is based on a cloud service model. This means that whatever type of simulation you need from them, you only pay for the service – there is zero investment in hardware or anything else.
Feature wise, Loadview offers a very complex solution that can include anything from straight up HTTP load tests to a sophisticated mix of your choice. It is able to simulate dynamic variables and even geo-location diversity in its tests.
Tip: Not sure if LoadView is right for you?
Schedule a discovery call (15 minutes) or free demo (1 hour) with LoadView. Their performance engineers will walk you through the scripting and execution process > Schedule a free demo now.
LoadView Features
- Post-firewall tests
- Handles dynamic variables
- Detailed waterfall charts
- Load test curves
K6 Cloud (formerly Load Impact)
Website: https://k6.io/
Price: From $59/mo
K6 is a cloud-based, open source load testing tool that’s provided as a service. One of the things that makes this tool interesting is that it is priced on a variable-use model which means that the cost of entry can be relatively low depending on your needs. It is, however, mainly developer-centric.
Aside from load testing, K6 also offers performance monitoring. Its load testing side is focused on high loads and can handle various modes such as spikes, stress testing, and endurance runs.
*K6 does not run in browsers nor does it run in NodeJS
K6 Features
- Developer-friendly APIs.
- Scripting in JavaScript
- Performance monitoring
Load Ninja
Website: https://loadninja.com/
Price: From $119.92/mo
Load Ninja lets you load-test with real browsers based on recorded scripts and then helps analyze performance results. Its use of real browsers at scale means that this tool helps recreate a more realistic environment and end result for testing.
Results can be analyzed in real-time and thanks to the handy tools the system provides, your scripting time can be reduced by as much as 60%. Internal applications can be tested as well, both with proxy-based fixed IPs or your own range of dynamic IPs (by using a whitelister).
Load Ninja Features
- Test with thousands of real browsers
- Diagnose tests in real-time
- Insights on internal application performance
LoadRunner by Micro Focus
Website: https://www.microfocus.com/
Price: From $0
With an entry-level free community account that supports tests from 50 virtual users, LoadRunner is available even to the newest website owners. However, if you scale it up to high levels the cost rises exponentially.
This Cloud-based service also offers the use of an Integrated Development Environment for unit tests. It supports a wide range of application environments including Web, Mobile, WebSockets, Citrix, Java, .NET, and much more. Be aware that LoadRUnner can be pretty complex and has a steep learning curve.
MicroFocus Features
- Patented auto-correlation engine
- Supports 50+ technologies and application environments
- Reproduces real business processes with scripts
Conclusion
There are lots of open source, free web performance testing tools available on the internet today. The question is which are you going to use? And which tool will work for your website?
There are many influential factors to consider when selecting a load testing tool, such as technology used, scale of testing, and price.
My general recommendation is to use free load testing tools if your budget allows. This is because most websites will not require the advanced features that come with paid cloud-based tools. If you are building a new local or international ecommerce platform then it may be worth considering paid load testing tools.