Among the plethora of test automation tools available, two low/no code test automation tools are becoming very popular among software testers – Katalon and Testim. This article will conduct an in-depth comparison of these tools, examining their respective key features, capabilities, and user experience to help guide an informed decision to choose the ideal test automation tool for your specific project. Whether you are an experienced and seasoned QA developer or a newcomer to test automation, this comprehensive analysis will illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of both Katalon and Testim, empowering you to select the right tool for your testing needs.
What is QA?
Web Quality Assurance, or QA for short, is the practice of meticulously verifying the quality of all the features and elements on a website through comprehensive testing. This crucial process becomes imperative after a developer or team of developers implements updates to the website to ensure that these changes do not inadvertently introduce errors to preexisting features. If you’re wondering about security testing for your website, read this blog.
The Importance of QA Automation in Software Development
As websites get bigger and more complex, the amount of time and frequency of tests also increases, to the point that it is unfeasible and impractical to test every feature manually. This is where QA automation comes in. QA automation, just as it sounds, allows the QA engineer to automate the tests they would normally perform manually. Once automated, these tests can be run at a much higher frequency in a fraction of the time it used to take.
Selenium vs. Low/No Code
At first, automating QA required knowledge of Selenium’s pseudo-code, which limited automation test script generation by requiring too much developer input. This limitation led to the rise of low/no code QA automation solutions. Low/no-code options greatly simplify and streamline the process of creating automated tests so that non-technical business users can do it with just a few hours of training. They do this by providing intuitive UIs which represent the test script as a series of events instead of lines of code.
These events can be understood easily and also easily changed. Ultimately, low/no code QA solutions significantly lower a company’s barrier to entry to QA automation and allow a wide range of business users to test and improve their web projects to a level not feasible before.
Advantages of Katalon
Katalon, an automation testing software launched in January 2015, is built on the open-source Selenium and Appian frameworks. Large companies, including AT&T and General Electric, trust Katalon to streamline their testing processes. Katalon continues to gain popularity for its powerful capabilities and efficiency among testing professionals globally.
Complex Object Repository
Katalon boasts a highly customizable object repository, allowing the user to fine-tune how objects are located within the DOM in countless ways. The flexibility within the object repository not only enhances adaptability to differing situations, but it also boosts overall reliability in testing.
Object Spy
Katalon Object Spy features allow the user to run the website being tested and verify that each object in the repository links to the correct element on the website. It also allows the user to customize the locators of the object and verify the updated version in real time, which is a lifesaver in test creation.
Advantages of Testim
Testim, another prominent automation testing software launched in 2014, has been innovative since its inception. Renowned companies, such as Salesforce and Microsoft, use Testim in their work environments to quickly ensure project quality. With its growing influence, Testim is becoming one of the go-to testing automation tools that companies can rely on consistently.
Team Oriented Platform
Testim emphasizes collaborative testing by implementing a team-based design that updates each project in real time based on each user's latest changes.
Clean and Streamlined UI
Testim's user interface is exceptionally intuitive, making it effortlessly interpretable and user-friendly. This fosters seamless collaboration among team members while enhancing overall clarity and understanding of the overall test goals.
Interacting with Each Software
User Interface
The user interface of both Katalon and Testim caters to differing preferences, with Testim using a minimalistic image-based design while Katalon has a more text-based approach.
Testim’s UI uses an image for each event to convey with certainty exactly what said event does. This greatly improves the clarity and comprehension of Testim tests and allows anybody to quickly understand what is being tested and how.
On the other hand, Katalon’s UI leans towards a text-heavy interface that provides extensive options and allows each event to be customized more easily. While this can be appealing to users who prefer a more detailed environment, it comes at the cost of being potentially overwhelming and confusing to users, and it will take them longer to comprehend what the tests are actually doing.
Recording Tests
Recording test cases on both Katalon and Testim is a very simple process. The user simply needs to input the URL for the testing site and press record. Then, all the actions the user does to interact with the site will be recorded, and each object the user interacts with will be saved.
Problem with Katalon
At times, Katalon can have one big problem with recording. If a test contains interactions of a page element, then reloads the page, then interacts with that element again, a Stale Element error can occur. This error occurs when you attempt to use a reference to a WebElement that is no longer valid against the current DOM. In other words, it is generated because Katalon has trouble relocating the element that is being interacted with. A fix requires some extra effort and some tuning to either the object or the test.
Ease of Use
Ultimately, because of the UI and lack of major problems, Testim is easier to pick up and use for users new to automated testing. Although with practice, Katalon also becomes easier to use and gives more options to manipulate objects.
User Experience
When analyzing user reviews and consumer ratings, the strengths of each tool become clear. Testim gets praise for its user-friendly interface and quality support. Katalon receives praise for its versatility and extensive list of features, such as its comprehensive object repository and analytics.
Pricing
Although both Katalon and Testim are similar products, their standard pricing models vary. Katalon Studio offers a freemium version, which gives the user access to basic functionality that works for proof of concept testing or building small QA projects with individual testers. For more advanced features, both offer customizable paid plans which include access to things like TestCloud, allowing instant test execution by an on-demand browser, and scheduled test execution.
Katalon also includes a set amount of tests that can be run per month, which can also be customized for different prices. Testim follows a more usage-based model than Katalon and only offers three desktop plans: Community, Essentials, and Pro. Community, the free version, starts with 500 runs per month with local running. The Essentials plan then includes support and cloud-based execution of tests. Finally, the Pro plan includes up to 1,000 tests and more features that allow faster test running. Ultimately, even though Katalon’s pricing is very customizable, the average price tends to come in around $350 per month, whereas Testim’s Essentials plan is $450. Read more about estimating the overall price of a website project.
Our Analysis
Both Katalon and Testim can significantly help companies enter the QA automation universe and reduce the manual testing workload of QA teams everywhere. Ultimately the selection of one over the other depends on different user needs. For example, Testim is very easy to pick up and offers high-quality and responsive support, making it overall easier to create tests. It’s also easier to use as a team. Katalon, on the other hand, has greater customizability and offers more out of the box tools.
Overall, if a company is looking to get into test automation for the first time or has a large team-based operation, Testim is probably the best tool for the job. Otherwise, where team QA projects require the complex manipulation of page objects and where there is more experience with automated testing in general, Katalon might well be the better choice.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Engine Room
Wondering which QA automation tool is best for your business? Schedule a free consultation with our Engine Room team to get personalized advice on this subject.
