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 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 Micro Focus 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. But in this article we also would like to tell about our in-house tool PFLB Platform.
A smart way to discover which tool is suited for your business needs is to compare the key features of Jmeter vs Loadrunner vsPFLB Platform. In this article, we discuss the key differences between Jmeter, Loadrunner andPFLB Platform.
What is Jmeter?
Apache Jmeter is easily one of the most used performance testing tools for developers which 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 also tests the functional performance of web applications.
What makes this Jmeter unique is that it’s extremely versatile despite being open-source. The tool is compatible with a number of protocols web and networking protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, LDAP, SOAP, and TCP. Since the application has a Java-oriented system, 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 in used 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 offers software testers the opportunity to test their applications for both 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 a number of 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.
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.
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 applications are designed and developed on a mass scale all-around the world. With so many options available, users only go for software applications that give them the best results. Therefore, your web application has to be optimized for maximum performance in order 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 cannot only evaluate the functional capabilities of web services and apps, but also measure load strength and compatibility across several platforms.
Furthermore, software testers have the option to transfer testing tools for 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 gives software teams the freedom 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:
What is LoadRunner?
HP Loadrunner (now Micro-Focus 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 in 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 application, as well as Web 2.0 technologies.
LoadRunner Cloud on AWS is a great scalable cloud-based load testing service for the 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 are able to evaluate each component individually before it goes live.
At the same time, Loadrunner also gives its users highly advanced forecasting features for forecasting expenses for up-scaling application capacity. By precisely forecasting expenses related to both software and hardware, it is easier to enhance the capacity and scalability of your application.
Loadrunner is not open source, and is owned the technology giant Hewlett Packard. Therefore, the code of the application 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:
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.
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 are able to 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 the collection of data, the application analyzes the collected data in detail and gives useful insight behind 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 a large number of applications. Therefore, developers can test a variety of 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 geographic 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
What is PFLB Platform?
PFLB Platform is the new generation product which allows running tests in the cloud to all audiences interested in load testing. You can be a marketer, product or project manager, developer or unsurprisingly performance engineer and you would be able to use PFLB Platform to achieve your goals.
For marketers PFLB Platform provides an easy-to-use instrument which integrates with Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrika to retrieve statistical information and run performance tests without any coding or other engineering.
Developers and performance engineers will find PFLB Platform handy for conducting performance tests in the cloud. They can have a full suite of testing tools, such as HAR/Insomnia import, request definition, parameterization and correlation running in the cloud as SaaS service without need to worry about infrastructure deployment etc.
Product and project managers will be happy to analyse the results of the recurring tests online using grafana dashboards.
Overall, PFLB Platform represents a new generation of the performance testing products which allows to easily create, plan, run and execute tests in the cloud, using a simple and straightforward WEB interface.
PFLB Platform Features in Performance and Load Testing
Test profile creation
One of the most complicated steps in performance testing is to create a realistic load profile. PFLB Platform helps to solve this problem by importing statistical information from Google Analytics, Yandex.Metrika and other statisticals systems. That allows to reduce tedious hours of work in Excel to a few clicks and generate a very realistic profile.
Test editor
Nevertheless, once the profile is created users, especially technical ones, might want to adjust requests which are being sent to the system. PFLB Platform provides easy-to-use test editor which allow to create and edit 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 parameter values described above need to be extracted from the responses. PFLB Platform 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 Insomnia package.
Pros and Cons of PFLB Platform Application
PFLB Platform is the next generation of performance testing products, trumping JMeter and Loadrunner in all aspects.
PFLB Platform advantages:
PFLB Platform disadvantages:
When Do You Need to Use PFLB Platform?
Are you testing website, API or app ? Use PFLB Platform and accelerate your testing cycles by a magnitude. Don’t have experience in performance testing – you don’t need any with PFLB Platform.
If you are testing some proprietary not web-based systems else stick with loadrunner or jmeter.
PFLB Platform integrations
Conclusion
LoadRunner, Apache Jmeter and PFLB Platform are excellent performance testing tools depending on your testing needs.
If you are looking for tool that gives you in-depth bottleneck detection and root-cause analysis as well as other advanced testing features, then you should 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.
And if you want to conduct performance tests in the cloud and with popular marketing metrics integration you could use new generation product PFLB Platform.
Related insights in blog articles
Roles and Responsibilities of Performance Tester
The core of efficient performance testing is an experienced, certified and well-structured team of professionals, who have already worked in similar projects, and learned all the peculiarities of QA testing types, and protocols. If consciously chosen, they can evaluate a product, test its behavior under a load, check its response time, etc., and thus, empower […]
Tips for Efficient Web Application Performance Testing
Performance testing is one of the most challenging components of web application testing. But it is worth it: if done right, performance testing can forecast product behavior and its response to user’s actions with an impressive amount of detail and precision. Irrelevant web performance test data or wrong metrics chosen during testing cost companies a lot of money and effort, while not monitoring your web application performance at all can lead directly to a crash, say, on Black Friday, if you are not prepared to handle an increased number of concurrent users. Business or product owners needn’t know exactly how to performance test a website, but it’s useful to have a basic understanding of procedures that you pay for. From this post, you can learn what web application performance testing is, when it should be done, and how. Then, you will be able to make an informed choice whether to hire testing specialists or run testing sessions on your own.
Top Tools for Developers in 2024
The ratings of the best software development tools are time-sensitive: new tools emerge every now and then. Monitoring and mastering them is a full-time job, and sometimes a waste of time, too, since some oldies but goldies remain chosen by the team. Having done all the hard choices for you, we are sharing our list […]
Big Data Europe 2024
Big Data Conference Europe is a four-day conference with technical talks in the fields of AI, Cloud and Data. The conference will take place both on-site and online, providing the opportunity for everyone to participate in their preferred format.
Be first to know
Once a month we’ll be sending you a letter with all the useful insights that we could find and analise
People love to read
Explore the most popular articles we’ve written so far
- Android vs iOS App Performance Testing: What’s the Difference? Dec 9, 2022
- How to Save Money on Performance Testing? Dec 5, 2022
- Performance Testing: What It Is, and Why You Need It Oct 7, 2021
- Cloud-based Application Testing: Features & Types Apr 15, 2020