JMeter vs LoadRunner: Which App Is Better for Performance and Load Testing

Performance testing is necessary for evaluating the response time, scalability, reliability, speed, and resource usage of applications and web services under their expected workloads. The software market currently has various performance testing tools.

Nevertheless, when we speak of performance testing tools, Apache JMeter and OpenText LoadRunner (former HP LoadRunner) are the two names that automatically come to mind. Both these tools work well for detecting bugs and finding limitations of software applications by increasing their load. However, in this article, we would also like to discuss our in-house tool, PFLB.

A smart way to discover which tool is suited for your business needs is to compare the key features of JMeter vs LoadRunner vs PFLB. In this article, we discuss the key differences between JMeter, LoadRunner, and PFLB.

What is JMeter?

Apache JMeter is easily one of the most used best load testing tools for developers, and it can help you perform web service testing. It is available in open-source format, which makes it highly accessible to software businesses of all sizes. Furthermore, the performance testing tool supports a 100% Java-scripted desktop application and tests web application performance.

What makes this JMeter unique is that it’s extremely versatile despite being open-source. The tool is compatible with many web and networking protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, LDAP, SOAP, and TCP. Since the application is Java-oriented, it also offers compliance with JDBC and message-oriented middleware (MOM) through JMS.

At the same time, JMeter is compatible with email protocols such as IMAP(Server), POP3(Server), and SMTP(Server). These protocols help you reinforce security standards when using email transfer within your application. The option of using shell scripts and native commands during testing procedures makes it easier to implement during testing procedures.

Moreover, JMeter allows software testers to test their applications for dynamic and static resources, such as queries, servers, logs, scripts, and files. Similarly, testers can also inspect applications heavy-load applications and evaluate their robustness and performance against varying load types.

Lastly, JMeter is also highly extensible and, therefore, compatible with many third-party integrations and plug-ins. These plug-ins and third-party tools provide you with additional software testing features. Ultimately, the robust nature of JMeter makes performance testing extremely easy across several servers, testing platforms, and browsers.

JMeter Features in Performance and Load Testing

Apache JMeter has the following key features.

• GUI Design and Interface
• Result Analysis and Caches
• Highly Extensible Core
• 100% Java scripted
• Pluggable Samplers
• Multithreading Framework
• Data Analysis and Visualization
• Dynamic Input
• Compatible with HTTP, HTTPS, SOAP / REST, FTP, Database via JDBC, LDAP, Message-oriented middleware (MOM), POP3, IMAP, and SMTP
• Scriptable Samplers (JSR223-compatible languages, BSF-compatible languages, and BeanShell)

Pros and Cons of JMeter Application

JMeter is a robust performance testing tool with several amazing features. However, the application still has many pros as well as cons.

JMeter Advantages

Here are some key advantages that stand out the most.

• Available free of charge
• Data extraction in popular response formats, such as JSON, XML, HTML, etc
• Command-line interface for high-level configuration
• Test recording for native applications and browsers
• Easily integrated with plug-ins and third-party tools
• Readily available plug-ins for visualization and data analysis
• Specialized for Java
• Easy to install
• Highly extensible
• Highly portable
• Unlimited load generation capacity
• Excellent support community

JMeter Disadvantages

Although the Apache JMeter has several benefits, it also has a few shortcomings, which are mentioned below:

When Do You Need to Use JMeter?

Web and banking applications are designed and developed on a mass scale all around the world. With so many options available, users only choose software that provides the best results. Therefore, your web or banking application testing needs to be optimized for maximum performance to stay ahead of the competition.

Apache JMeter is the perfect performance testing tool for web application testing. It offers users various capabilities for performance testing and integration. Therefore, you can evaluate the functional capabilities of web services and apps and measure load strength and compatibility across several platforms.

Furthermore, software testers can transfer testing tools to various servers and browsers. At the same time, Apache JMeter offers robust features for running tailored tests on protocols such as HTTPS and HTTP for web, SOAP, POP3, JMS, and SMTP.  As a result, you can ensure that your web applications are high-performing and error-free.

At the same time, since the tool is available in an open-source framework, users of the tool can easily customize and develop features within the existing framework. This feature also allows software teams to create their structural test designs and infrastructure for web applications. The open-source framework also encourages developers to create an inclusive community of users.

JMeter Integrations

Apache JMeter currently has the following integrations:

• Maven
• Visual Studio
• Dynatrace
• JSUnit
• CloudGen
• Jenkins
• Meliora TestLab

What is LoadRunner?

LoadRunner is a highly sophisticated software performance testing tool that detects and prevents performance issues in web applications. It specializes in detecting bottlenecks before the application enters the implementation or the deployment phase. Similarly, the tool is extremely helpful in detecting performance gaps before a new system is implemented or upgraded.

However, LoadRunner is not limited to testing web applications or services. The application is also optimized for testing ERP software, legacy system applications, and Web 2.0 technologies.

LoadRunner Cloud on AWS is a great scalable cloud-based load testing service for fast-moving agile teams.

LoadRunner enables software testers to have complete visibility over their system’s end-to-end performance. As a result, these users can evaluate each component individually before it goes live.

At the same time, LoadRunner gives its users highly advanced forecasting features for expenses for up-scaling application capacity. By precisely forecasting expenses related to software and hardware, it is easier to enhance the capacity and scalability of your application.

LoadRunner is not open source and is owned by OpenText. Therefore, the application code is not available to users. However, since the application already offers many advanced and high-level testing features, it isn’t necessary to customize existing features.

LoadRunner Features in Performance and Load Testing

LoadRunner has the following key features:

• Interactive User Transaction Simulation
• Supports a Wide Range of Apps
• Mobile Testing
• Cloud Testing
• Continuous Testing
• Root Cause Analytics
• Accurate Scalability Expense Prediction
• Refined user interface
• Enables users to test a variety of applications including mobile, .NET, Java, SOAP, Flex, HTML 5, ERP, legacy, GWT, Silverlight, Ajax, and Citrix

Pros and Cons of LoadRunner Application

LoadRunner is an advanced performance testing tool. However, like any product, the tool has both pros and cons.

LoadRunner Advantages

Here are some key advantages that stand out the most.

• Accurate detection of system, end user, and code-level bottlenecks
• Determines root cause of application performance issues
• Minimizes cost of application downtime stemmed from performance issues
• Allows performance testing of existing legacy applications with new technologies
• Enables testers to test for mobile applications
• Minimizes software and hardware costs by forecasting software capacity and scalability
• Enables software teams develop 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

LoadRunner Disadvantages

Although LoadRunner is highly advanced and has several benefits, it also has a few shortcomings:

When Do You Need to Use LoadRunner?

Loadrunner is unique because it gives users an accurate and wholesome image of an application’s end-to-end performance. As a result, users can detect and resolve performance bottlenecks immediately.

You can use the performance testing tool to emulate thousands of users simultaneously. As a result, your team can simulate real-life user loads on your application and prepare it for the live environment.

During testing, Loadrunner will collect data from key infrastructure components such as database servers and web servers. After data collection, the application analyzes the collected data in detail and gives useful insight into why the application is misbehaving in a particular way. Therefore, users can easily identify the root causes of defects in the application.

At the same time, LoadRunner is highly versatile and supports many applications. Therefore, developers can test various applications, including mobile, .NET, Java, SOAP, Flex, HTML 5, ERP, legacy, GWT, Silverlight, Ajax, and Citrix.

Furthermore, LoadRunner gives developers and testers extensive options for testing mobile applications. Using the performance tool, you can evaluate the performance of your mobile app in terms of device level, backend, and network.

Since LoadRunner also offers users features for cloud-based testing, you can perform quick, robust, and realistic load testing from several locations. You can also try to vary the website load and replicate the requirements of business applications with the help of the cloud.

LoadRunner integrations

• Microsoft Visual Studio
• SiteScope
• Selenium
• HP Diagnostics
• DynaTrace
• AppDynamics
• Jenkings
• UFT

What is PFLB?

PFLB is the new generation AI-powered product that allows running tests in the cloud for all audiences interested in load testing service. You can be a marketer, product or project manager, developer, or, unsurprisingly, performance engineer, and you would be able to use PFLB to achieve your goals.

For marketers, PFLB provides an easy-to-use instrument that integrates with Google Analytics to retrieve production traffic patterns and run performance tests without coding or other engineering.

Developers and performance engineers find PFLB handy for conducting performance tests in the cloud. They can run a full suite of testing tools, such as API load testing tool with Postman collections import, AI-powered performance insights, and JMeter load testing tool as a service without worrying about infrastructure deployment, etc.

Product and project managers will be happy to analyze the results of the recurring tests online using real-time Grafana dashboards. 

Overall, PFLB represents a new generation of performance testing products that allows users to easily create, plan, run, and execute tests in the cloud using a simple and straightforward web interface.

PFLB Features in Performance and Load Testing

Cloning Traffic Patterns

One of the most complicated performance testing steps is creating a realistic load profile. PFLB helps solve this problem by importing statistical information from Google Analytics. This reduces tedious hours of work in a spreadsheet to a few clicks and generates a very realistic profile.

No-Code Script Builder

Nevertheless, once the profile is created users, especially technical ones, might want to adjust requests sent to the system. PFLB provides an easy-to-use script builder that allows you to create and edit with drag-n-drop all kinds of HTTP(-S) requests, including body, headers, and parameters. 

Parameterization

Those requests could be parameterized with variables defined as multi-value CSV parameters or single-value global constants.

Correlation

Sometimes, the parameter values described above need to be extracted from the responses. PFLB allows to do so with regex, jasonPath, and boundary conditions

Recording and Imports

To simplify test creation, you can record and import multiple requests using built-in Chrome functionality (exporting requests to HAR) or import a Postman or Insomnia package, JMX file,, or gRPC protobuf.

Pros and Cons of PFLB

PFLB is the next generation of performance testing products, trumping JMeter and LoadRunner in all aspects. 

PFLB Platform advantages:

• Web interface
• Ease of use
• Integration with Google Analytics and Yandex Metrika
• Import of HAR and Insomnia
• Cloud deployment

PFLB Platform Disadvantages:

When Do You Need to Use PFLB?

Are you testing the Web application, API, gRPC, or Kafka? Use PFLB and accelerate your testing cycles by a magnitude. You don’t have experience in performance testing, so you don’t need any with PFLB. 

If you are testing some proprietary, not web-based systems else, stick with LoadRunner or JMeter.

PFLB Integrations

• Grafana
• Postman
• Insomnia
• Google Analytics
• CI/CD tools via API
• JMeter

Conclusion

Depending on your testing needs, LoadRunner, Apache JMeter, and PFLB are excellent performance testing tools. 

If you are looking for a tool that provides in-depth bottleneck detection, root-cause analysis, and other advanced testing features, consider LoadRunner.

With that said, for most software teams, Apache JMeter is a reasonable option that gives them all essential performance testing features without charging them a single penny. The open-source platform has tremendous potential for customization and can help you tailor the performance testing tool to your needs.

If you want to conduct performance tests in the cloud and with popular marketing metrics integration, you could use the new generation product PFLB.