Overview

Selenium

Stacks15.9K

Followers12.6K

Votes527

GitHub Stars33.6K

Forks8.6K

Apache JMeter

Stacks440

Followers285

Votes10

Apache JMeter vs Selenium: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Key Differences between Apache JMeter and Selenium:

1. **Purpose**:
Apache JMeter is primarily used for performance testing to measure the performance of web applications under varying loads, while Selenium is primarily used for functional testing to automate web browsers for testing web applications' functionality.

2. **Testing Level**:
JMeter is more suitable for testing at the application layer, simulating multiple user requests with different parameters to evaluate the performance, whereas Selenium operates at the GUI level, interacting with elements on web pages like a real user.

3. **Scripting Language**:
JMeter uses its own scripting language (Beanshell) for scripting test scenarios, making it simpler for performance testing, while Selenium supports various programming languages like Java, Python, and C# for writing test scripts, providing more flexibility for functional testing.

4. **Browser Compatibility**:
Selenium supports multiple browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer, allowing testers to conduct cross-browser testing, whereas JMeter does not interact directly with browsers but mimics browser behavior for load testing.

5. **Reporting**:
JMeter provides comprehensive test result analysis and reporting features like graphs and statistical data, which are essential for performance testing, while Selenium requires additional plugins or frameworks like TestNG or ExtentReports for generating detailed test reports.

6. **Learning Curve**:
JMeter has a relatively simpler learning curve compared to Selenium due to its user-friendly GUI for creating test plans, making it easier for beginners to start performance testing, while Selenium requires programming skills and familiarity with testing frameworks for writing effective test scripts, suitable for testers with programming knowledge. 

Summary: In Summary, Apache JMeter is ideal for performance testing web applications under varying loads with a simple learning curve, while Selenium is preferred for functional testing at the GUI level using various programming languages to automate web browsers for testing web application functionality.

Advice on Selenium, Apache JMeter

Shivam

Mar 5, 2020

Needs advice

we are having one web application developed in Reacts.js. in the application, we have only 4 to 5 pages that we need to test. I am having experience in selenium with java. Please suggets which tool I should use. and why ............................ ............................ .............................

241k views241k

Comments

Ratan

QA Manager at Verisys

Feb 12, 2020

Needs advice

I have a team that is not heavy on programming skills. I am looking for a load testing tool that is easy to use. Preferably, the tool should be a record and playback tool without much programming. Also, the tool should be able to test APIs apart from web-based applications. What tool should I opt for?

36.3k views36.3k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Selenium	Apache JMeter
Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that. Boring web-based administration tasks can (and should!) also be automated as well.	It is open source software, a 100% pure Java application designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance. It was originally designed for testing Web Applications but has since expanded to other test functions.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 33.6K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks 8.6K	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 15.9K	Stacks 440
Followers 12.6K	Followers 285
Votes 527	Votes 10
Pros & Cons
Pros 177 Automates browsers 154 Testing 101 Essential tool for running test automation 24 Record-Playback 24 Remote Control Cons 8 Flaky tests 4 Slow as needs to make browser (even with no gui) 2 Update browser drivers	Pros 5 Requires no programming knowledge 3 Supports distributed 2 Open-source Cons 1 Too complicated 1 It's GUI-first

What are some alternatives to Selenium, Apache JMeter?

BrowserStack

BrowserStack is the leading test platform built for developers & QAs to expand test coverage, scale & optimize testing with cross-browser, real device cloud, accessibility, visual testing, test management, and test observability.

Sauce Labs

Cloud-based automated testing platform enables developers and QEs to perform functional, JavaScript unit, and manual tests with Selenium or Appium on web and mobile apps. Videos and screenshots for easy debugging. Secure and CI-ready.

LambdaTest

LambdaTest platform provides secure, scalable and insightful test orchestration for website, and mobile app testing. Customers at different points in their DevOps lifecycle can leverage Automation and/or Manual testing on LambdaTest.

Karma

Karma is not a testing framework, nor an assertion library. Karma just launches a HTTP server, and generates the test runner HTML file you probably already know from your favourite testing framework. So for testing purposes you can use pretty much anything you like.

Playwright

It is a Node library to automate the Chromium, WebKit and Firefox browsers with a single API. It enables cross-browser web automation that is ever-green, capable, reliable and fast.

k6

It is a developer centric open source load testing tool for testing the performance of your backend infrastructure. It’s built with Go and JavaScript to integrate well into your development workflow.

Rainforest QA

Rainforest gives you the reliability of a QA team and the speed of automation, without the hassle of managing a team or the pain of writing automated tests.

Locust

Locust is an easy-to-use, distributed, user load testing tool. Intended for load testing web sites (or other systems) and figuring out how many concurrent users a system can handle.

WebdriverIO

WebdriverIO lets you control a browser or a mobile application with just a few lines of code. Your test code will look simple, concise and easy to read.