Performance testing tools help in determining the speed, reliability, scalability, and interoperability of the system under test. FrugalTesting is one such company that provides a tool for performance and load testing of a website, API, or web application. This is a pure SaaS-based tool. Yes, you heard me right. You need no installation; just paste the URL, and you are all set to go and test your application.

In this blog post, we will be discussing the top 10 performance testing tools and their features. Below is a hand-picked list of web performance testing tools. The list contains a mixture of open-source and commercial tools with their features and download links.

1. Apache JMeter
2. LoadNinja
3. LoadRunner
4. Silk Performer
5. SmartMeter.io
6. LoadView
7. NeoLoad
8. LoadUI Pro
9. WebLoad
10. WAPT
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Note: There are so many tools available on the market for performance testing, but these are the ones that are most commonly used and preferred.Let's begin discussing these tools along with a brief description of their features and download links.

1. Apache JMeter: JMeter is an open-source tool used for monitoring and analyzing the performance of many services. This tool is mainly used for web service applications.

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Features:

1. Ability to load and performance test many different types of applications like HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SOAP/ REST Web Services and many more.
2. Since it is a Java Application, it is 100% portable.
3. A full multithreading framework is provided, allowing concurrent sampling by many threads and simultaneous sampling of different functions by separate thread groups.

Download Apache Jmeter
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2. LoadNinja: LoadNinja is a load testing tool by SmartBear that allows you to create scriptless and sophisticated load tests, thus reducing the testing time by 50%.

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Features:

1. Test with Real Browsers, at Scale: Allows you to run load tests with real browsers instead of using load emulators. Thus, guaranteeing unprecedented accuracy.
2. Test with Real Browsers, no Dynamic Correlation: With LoadNinja, you are testing on the real browser, in the cloud, without the need for dynamic correlation.
3. Record and Instantly Playback Load Tests: InstaPlay Recorder helps to cut script creation time from hours to minutes. No coding or correlation is needed, even with complex transactions.
4. Analyze and diagnose using Browser-based Metrics: It is now possible to evaluate navigation timings and other data, sourced straight from real browsers in your load test.

Download LoadNinja
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3. LoadRunner: LoadRunner is a premium, market-leading performance testing solution for project teams.

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‍Features:

1. Supports a wide range of apps: Loadrunner helps to reduce the amount of time and skill required to load testing software while simulating the user transactions.
2. Continuous testing: Integrate load testing into your development tools: IDE, jUnit, nUnit, Jenkins, Selenium and Microsoft Visual Studio. With version 12.5, you can run your JMeter scripts and integrate JMeter with additional script types in any performance test.
3. Root Cause Analytics: Identify performance bottlenecks by using seamless, integrated real-time performance monitors that leverage application-layer and code-level data for root cause and analytics.

Download LoadRunner
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4. Silk Performer: Silk Performer is a load and stress testing tool that can test multiple application environments with thousands of concurrent users.

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Features:

1. Test Asset reusability for performance monitoring: Silk performer allows you to reuse the existing functional tests. Thus, speeding up testing cycles.
2. Integrated scalability from the cloud: Silk performer load testing enables you to simulate any size load and thus helping to avoid huge investments in stress testing hardware and setup.
3. Monitor user experience with advanced diagnostics: Silk Performer provides a facility to design scripts that help to uncover errors from the user’s perspective and visual reporting helps to analyze results easily.
4. Comprehensive mobile performance testing: Silk Performer provides a complete profile for all popular mobile devices, application types, and connection speed, thus making it more convenient and reducing the cost and complexity of testing the mobile web and native applications.

Download Silk Performer
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5. SmartMeter.io: SmartMeter.io is a good alternative for JMeter. According to SmartMeter.io Developers, what they claim “Get the features you wanted in JMeter and retain 100% JMeter Compatibility”.

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Features:

1. Easy to use Test Scenario Recorder: SmartMeter.io enables you to create hassle-free test scenarios in embedded browsers.
2. Comprehensive Test Reports: This tool has a feature to generate test reports automatically with complete and detailed test results.
3. Test Environment Monitoring: SmartMeter.io enables you to monitor the test environment. Thus, you have control to see whether the long response times are due to insufficient resources in the test environment.
4. Real-time test results on multiple monitors: You have now the power to watch and monitor the results in real-time.
5. Distributed Load Testing: This is one of the best features of SmartMeter.io where it installs generators on multiple machines and creates a large number of virtual users from different locations.

Download Smart Meter
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6. LoadView: LoadView by Dotcom-Monitor helps the DevOps teams to stress test their websites, web applications, and APIs with thousands of concurrent connections in real browsers from a fully managed cloud.

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Features:

1. No Hardware to provision and No Network to Maintain: With this tool, your only task is to focus on designing and executing load tests. With a 100% managed cloud, where the company is taking the headache to manage the cloud for you.
2. Flexible Performance Testing for DevOps: LoadView enables the DevOps team to design multiple test scenarios for complex applications.
3. Observe Actual Performance of Your Application Under Load: Dynamic content on the website makes it difficult to perform tests on the website. Here comes the LoadView for rescue, it utilizes real browsers to show the actual performance of the website under load as experienced by the user.

Download LoadView
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7. NeoLoad: NeoLoad is designed to automate API and Application Performance Testing. It integrates with continuous delivery pipelines to support test across the life cycles.
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Features:

1. Application Testing: NeoLoad helps to accelerate end-to-end load testing for complex applications.
2. API Testing: NeoLoad helps to automate API testing within CI pipelines.
3. Collaboration: It is now possible to share and schedule resources across teams and applications.

Download NeoLoad
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8. LoadUI Pro: LoadUI Pro by SmartBear is a tool designed to load test REST & SOAP APIs, Databases and Microservices. Now it is possible to create, manage and execute load, endurance and stress tests right inside your CI/CD pipeline with just a few clicks.
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Features:

1. Reuse functional tests for complex load tests: LoadUi Pro enables you to reuse SoapUI tests with just a click.
2. Performance testing for the entire team: Now this is one of the features that lead to the popularity of this tool. This tool does not require one to have a background in load testing. Anyone can design and execute tests.
3. Get actionable insights into your API performance: LoadUI Pro helps you to fix performance bottlenecks by providing key insights. The tool provides insights in an intuitive and actionable format.

Download LoadUI Pro
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9. WebLoad: WebLoad is an enterprise-scale load testing tool capable of generating reliable, real-life load scenarios even for the most complex systems.

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Features:

1. Smart actionable insights: This tool facilitates automatic bottleneck detection.
2. Smart automatic scripting: Native JavaScript is used with powerful correlation, parameterization, and validation engines.
3. Smart load simulation: This tool facilitates easy test scenario creation.

Download WebLoad
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10. WAPT : WAPT is a perfect combination of efficiency and flexibility with ease of design and runs tests locally or in the cloud. What WAPT basically do is, record real-life web session from a browser or a mobile application and then represents each recorded session as a sequence of HTTP requests, which are easy to modify using a user interface.

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Features:

1. Easy Tests creation: It is very convenient to create tests using a browser or a mobile application.
2. Remote, distributed and cloud-based testing: Design and run tests locally or in the cloud.
3. Server and Database Monitoring
4. Flexible error handling: WAPT helps you by providing a feature to adjust pass/ fail criteria and thus helping inflexible error handling.
5. Instant Test results: WAPT helps you in providing charts with immediate test results.

Download WAPT

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