To produce high-quality software, you need to make sure that your software is reliable, stable, scalable, secure, maintainable, and efficient. Software testing is an integral part of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) to improve its quality and improve features. Software testing helps identify bugs and performance issues to fix them before they affect the end user.
Testing can be performed manually or automatically. Manual testing involves testers acting as an end user to test all functionalities and features of the software according to a test plan, and defects are identified in the process. However, it is slow and very limited in identifying errors and performance issues. Automated testing uses scripts and tools to reduce testing time and increase problem identification capabilities. Automated testing is beneficial in performance testing, such as load testing and regression testing.
While there are many tools available to test your website or apps, SoapUI and JMeter are widely used. Which is the better between the two? Well, that depends on your testing goals and software quality. But let’s talk about the differences between the two, so you can make an informed decision.
Introduction: SoapUI and JMeter
Soapui
SoapUI is an open source testing tool that focuses on APIs and Quality Deprovisioning (QA) web services. It was first made available in 2005 and is widely used by developers working on soap and REST APIs. It can be used for functional testing as well as performance testing (load testing). It also has a paid version, expanding the capabilities of the open source version. The following are some main features provided by SoapUI:
- Functional testing of APIs and web services
- Web Services Simulation
- Safety testing and quality control
- Load testing
The following are the applications and protocols supported by SoapUI:
- Soap
- REST
- HTTP/S
- Jms
- Amf
- Jdbc
- OAuth 1.0 and OAuth 2.0
Jmeter
JMeter is an open source performance testing tool offered by the Apache Software Foundation whose primary goal is to perform load testing. However, it can also be used for functional tests, such as unit tests. It was first made available in 1998 and comes with enterprise-grade load testing capabilities. JMeter’s functionalities can be easily extended due to its plugin-based architecture. The following are the applications and protocols supported by JMeter –
- SOAP/REST
- HTTP/HTTPS and web applications
- JDBC database connections,
- FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
- Mail (SMTP, POP3, IMAP)
SoapUI vs. SoapUI JMeter
Let’s go into more detail and talk about different aspects of both tools.
Objectives
SoapUI is primarily used for functional testing to identify errors and defects in web services and APIs. It is useful for web applications that use service-oriented architecture (SOA). It has minimal load testing functionality. JMeter focuses on performance testing, primarily load testing. It is ideal for analyzing the performance of your website or application under a heavy load.
Ease of use
SoapUI has a user-friendly interface that is simple, easy to use and intuitive. You can easily import and adjust your WSDL/XML according to the scenario to run your tests. JMeter has a less complex form-based user interface and has many features for APIs and web applications. It is also due to the graphs, tables, and other forms of output features provided.
Reports
SoapUI automatically generates multiple reports, and these can be downloaded effortlessly. The paid soap version extends the reporting functionality and provides more detailed information. JMeter does not have any built-in reporting features, and you should do the reporting yourself by understanding the outputs of the load tests.
Limitations of SoapUI and JMeter
Although both tools are open source and offer many common functionalities, there are some limitations in load testing. Load testing in SoapUI requires significant programming efforts to create tests with assertion and scenario simulations. SoapUI also consumes a lot of memory when a considerable load is generated and hangs a lot. This makes load testing with SoapUI difficult if you’re used to doing things at high speed.
JMeter, on the other hand, lacks reporting capabilities, which are crucial for identifying performance bottlenecks and optimizing for them. Without built-in reporting, you’d waste a lot of time reporting and troubleshooting issues instead of solving performance issues. JMeter’s user interface is also not very good, so it is difficult to work with.
LoadView: Best Load Test Alternative to SoapUI and JMeter
LoadView is a cloud-based load testing tool that removes the limitations of SoapUI and JMeter. Let’s see how LoadView does it and what are the other features that make it stand out from other load testing tools.
User interface. LoadView has a simple, intuitive, utility-based user interface with no learning curve. You can get started quickly in a matter of minutes with your load tests.
Reports. LoadView generates detailed performance test reports with actionable insights so you can immediately start optimizing your website or application for performance issues.
No programming required. LoadView comes with a point-and-click feature called EveryStep Web Recorder, which you can use to capture complex user actions, such as mouse clicks, keystrokes, menu navigation, etc., and generate test scripts.
No initial investment. Unlike SoapUI and JMeter, where you need to set up your own test infrastructure and maintain it, LoadView is a fully managed, cloud-based load testing tool, and it pays according to your testing requirements.
Real browsers and devices. LoadView supports more than 40 browsers/devices to simulate real-world users for accurate load testing.
Geolocations. With LoadView, you can generate load from over 20 geographic locations to create the most realistic test scenarios, as users will come from different locations and experience different performance.
LoadView is perfect for load testing of your APIs, web applications, web pages, streaming services, as it is able to generate load according to your requirements without any limitations and programming skills.
Conclusion: The difference between SoapUI and JMeter
SoapUI and JMeter are open source APIs and web services testing tools that are good for load testing. However, both tools have their limitations. SoapUI is problematic at generating a huge load, and JMeter doesn’t offer out-of-the-box reports. LoadView is a cloud-based toad testing tool that overcomes all the limitations of SoapUI and JMeter with many other great features to optimize your websites. Learn more about the benefits of LoadView over SoapUI.
Try LoadView for free today and receive up to 5 free load tests to get started!