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Top 20 Automation Open-Source Testing Tools

Updated: Jul 12, 2022

Automation testing is the process of testing software and other tech products to ensure it meets strict requirements. It is used to identify bugs and can be run without any functional knowledge. These testing tools support testing activities such as automation and manual testing, functionality, regression, load, performance, stress, and unit testing, as well as testing on the web, mobile devices, and desktop computers.

1. Selenium




Selenium is one of the best open-source testing tools that is available today. It is a fantastic, automated testing solution for web apps since it works with a wide range of programming languages, testing frameworks, browsers, and OS systems. It helps you to create highly effective test scripts for regression testing, exploratory testing, and quick bug reproduction.


2. Cucumber



It is an open-source tool based upon the concept of Behavioral Driven Development using which Cucumber allows you to do automated acceptance testing by executing examples that optimally describe the behavior of the application. It supports multiple operating systems and is compatible with Ruby, Java, and.NET. The amazing feature of Cucumber is that it enables you to have a single living document that serves as both the specification and test documentation.


3. Sikuli




An open-source testing tool - Sikuli can automate anything that is displayed on the screen and is based on the idea of image recognition. Automating desktop programs that are not web-based is very handy. It is renowned for its rapid bug reproduction as well.



4. Appium




Appium open-source test automation framework is primarily envisioned for mobile apps. It facilitates the development of iOS and Android applications thanks to its client/server architecture. Due to its simple installation and use, it is a popular mobile automation testing tool.


5. TestNG




TestNG is an open-source testing framework enthused by Junit and Nunit with some new features added to make it a more powerful tool. It supports practically all types of testing, including end-to-end testing, data-driven testing, functional testing, integration testing, and unit testing. Annotations, sizable thread pools, configurable test configuration, support for parameters, various tools, plug-ins, etc. are just a few of its amazing features.


6. k6





k6 is an open-source load and performance testing tool for testing cloud-native applications, APIs and microservices. It’s a modern developer centric CLI tool with test cases written in ES6 JavaScript and with built in support for HTTP/1.1, WebSocket and HTTP/2 protocols. K6 was created with automation in mind and is simple to integrate into automation processes in Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps Pipelines and other CI/CD tools for performance regression testing.


7. Marathon




Marathon is an open-source test automation framework which is designed to test Java-based GUI applications. The primary use of this tool is acceptance testing. You can generate test reports as well as record and playback the tests. If you are testing a tiny project and your application's screen size is restricted to 10 screens, you should use Marathon.


8. Testlink




Test Link is an open-source web-based test management tool, which is primarily featured for test plans, test cases, user roles, test projects and test specifications. It supports multiple operating systems and integrates nicely with other bug tracking tools like JIRA, Bugzilla, Redmine, etc.


9. SoapUI




SoapUI is an extremely popular open-source API (Application Programming Interface) Test Automation Framework for SOAP & REST. It is the most widely used automation tool for testing web services and web APIs of SOAP and REST interfaces. It is a boon for testers to test functional and non-functional testing, such as automated testing, functional, load testing, regression, simulation and mocking without hindrance because its user interface is quite simple to use. It supports various standard protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, REST, AMF, JDBC, SOAP, etc., that exchange information in structured data such as XML, plain text or JSON, etc.


10. Apache JMeter




Apache JMeter is an open-source Java desktop app which is intended for web applications’ load testing. It also supports unit testing and limited functional testing. Additionally, it enables some functional testing and unit testing. It supports several types of programs, protocols, shell scripts, Java objects, and databases and provides many useful features like dynamic reporting, portability, a strong test IDE, etc.


11. Robotium




Robotium is an open-source tool that acts as a test automation framework which is mainly intended for Android UI testing. It supports Gray box UI testing, system testing, functional testing and user acceptance testing for both native and hybrid Android based applications.


12. Testia Tarantula




Testia Tarantula is a modern web tool for software test management mainly intended for agile projects. With the help of its simple drag-and-drop interface and tagging tools, test executions can be organized fast. Smart tags for fix verification and dashboard for managers are also some of its cool features.


13. Katalon Studio




Web, API, mobile, and desktop app test automation are all supported by Katalon Studio, a comprehensive solution. It is effective in facilitating cross-functional activities for large-scale product development teams. Katalon Studio, a codeless solution, has built-in keywords and project templates that make it simple to use, resilient to grow, and equipped to handle more complex needs. In addition, it provides a host of seamless integrations with SDLC management, CI/CD pipeline, team collaborate applications, etc. Users can use Katalon Store, a marketplace for plugins and extensions, to expand existing test automation tactics and improve them.


14. Wiremock




Wiremock is an open-source testing tool for Http based application programming interfaces. It serves as a tool for service virtualization that simulates the API to deliver quick and effective end-to-end testing. It allows us to configure the response returned by the HTTP API when it receives a specific request. Capture the incoming HTTP requests and write assertions for the captured HTTP requests.


15. Capybara



Capybara is an open-source acceptance test framework that is helpful in testing web applications. It mimics how a genuine user might behave when interacting with the application. Along with other testing tools like Cucumber, RSpec, Minitest, etc., it can be utilized.


16. QA Wolf




One of the quickest methods we've seen to develop QA tests is via the open-source end-to-end automated testing tool - QA Wolf. No downloads or installations are needed because it is entirely hosted. Your whole team, from non-technical team members to senior developers, may participate in test creation thanks to its automatic code generation and minimal learning curve.


17. WatiN




WatiN is the short form for Web Application Testing in.NET. WatiN is an open-source test automation framework that aids in UI and functional web app testing. This tool is primarily designed to work with the Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers.


18. Watir




Watir (enunciated as water) is the short form for Web Application Testing in Ruby. This is an extremely lightweight, technology independent open-source testing tool for web automation testing. It enables you to create straightforward, flexible, understandable, and maintainable automated tests.


19. Xmind





Xmind is an open source and free mind mapping software useful for regression testing. It is built on java platform and has cross-OS support. It is a light-weight app, provides good encapsulation and produces an artifact that talks about the total time spent on testing. In addition to the management elements, the software can be used to capture ideas, clarify thinking, manage complex information, and promote team collaboration.


20. Windmill





Windmill is an open-source web testing tool created for automating and debugging the web applications. Windmill is a cross-domain, cross-platform and cross-browser testing software. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It supports all major browsers: IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera. In all these browsers you can use sterling IDE. There is no need to additionally use Visual Studio or Eclipse since tests for any of the mentioned browsers can be written directly in the Windmill IDE.



These software testing tools come in both licensed and open-source varieties. Any software tool is referred to as open source if its source code is freely usable and modifiable from the original layout. Open-source tools don’t have a commercial license. All such open-source tools that serve a specific purpose of software testing are known as open-source testing tools.


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