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Apache JMeter vs IBM Rational Test Workbench vs OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Enterprise) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Performance Testing Tools category, the mindshare of Apache JMeter is 16.4%, down from 25.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Rational Test Workbench is 1.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Enterprise) is 5.8%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Performance Testing Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache JMeter16.4%
OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Enterprise)5.8%
IBM Rational Test Workbench1.3%
Other76.5%
Performance Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Shashidhara Allalappa - PeerSpot reviewer
Extensive Protocol Support and Precise Reporting Elevate Testing, Though GUI Usability Needs Improvement
The GUI of Apache JMeter is not that user-friendly because we have many proxies, and we have to record through the proxy. With the limited SSL we have, we cannot use it for UI, which is a drawback. However, Apache JMeter is really good for REST APIs. I don't think there are any other areas other than the GUI that I would want improved about Apache JMeter; it is generally good and supports multiple protocols.
KashifJamil - PeerSpot reviewer
Good integration with other tools, stable, scales easily
There are a number of things that they can do to simplify the tools, but the most important thing that they need to do is simplify the installation. This includes the workbench as well as the other tools. In the future, I would like to see the other types of tests supported, that are not already covered in the DevOps approach. This would include, for example, penetration testing.
VictorHorescu - PeerSpot reviewer
Ability to test almost every tool in the companies I enter and performs well in a distributed environment
It would be beneficial if LoadRunner could optimize resource usage, especially for protocols that require significant resources, like TrueClient, which interacts directly with the UI. If they could improve resource usage, like ingest or for the load generator, using less CPU or RAM memory, that would be great. That's where I have problems. In real time, when they ask for 5,000 or 10,000 concurrent users, I have to provision a lot of virtual machines to define this load. Then there are situations with certain platforms, especially document management platforms, where the technology is so weird that normal LoadRunner protocols cannot detect it. So, in that case, I have to use that special TruClient protocol. I have to use the TruClient protocol, which actually clicks on the object. Despite the SQL technology, I can still create a script and test for performance. So what I would appreciate a lot is if this protocol would require less resources on a normal virtual machine. I can use fewer concurrent users with TruClient protocols as opposed to almost one hundred with HTTP/HTML. As opposed to many more with HTTP/HTML from, let's say, JMeter. So, optimization at that level for resource consumption by OpenText would be much appreciated.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We like that Apache JMeter has different features and different plugins and that they are free of charge."
"It's easy to set up."
"Scripting with the solution is good."
"The solution helps by detecting bottlenecks."
"Overall, I would rate Apache JMeter as eight to nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature in JMeter is the Thread Group, which helps us to see whether the performance is good."
"The most valuable features are the integration with Jenkins and the reporting."
"API testing, Database Testing, and MQ testing can be done with ease."
"Reporting is pretty good. Its interface is also good. I'm overall pretty happy with the functionality and use of IBM Rational Test Workbench."
"This solution provides for API testing, functional UI testing, performance testing, and service virtualization."
"I think the number one feature everybody likes is the capability to easily generate virtual users as well as the reporting."
"The user interface is fine."
"It's a very powerful tool."
"For me, the test coverage and the performance and load testing aspects are valuable."
"Creating the script is very easy and user friendly."
"LoadRunner Enterprise's most valuable features are load simulation and creating correlation for parameters."
"The solution offers helpful guidelines and has good documentation."
"It allows you to work out how well you are doing project-wise because you see the number of scripts done, the number of tests run, and whether you have mapped all your requirements to it."
 

Cons

"Modeling a test is difficult. If you don't have much knowledge, you won't be able to do it easily. Testing APIs is also difficult."
"From an improvement perspective, consider a scenario where your application needs to retrieve data from PayPal and store it in an Excel file in an external network."
"Apache JMeter could be a more user-friendly product from the end user's perspective."
"We would like more documentation to be provided for the advanced level features that are available in this solution, in order to improve development."
"It should be easier to combine multiple scripts. If you have multiple scripts, you need to write a new script to combine those scripts. The virtual user generator is slow."
"The tool needs to have a better Graphical User Interface. Many of the solution's features are difficult to understand due to the complex user interface and user experience. The product needs to add plugins. It should also work on the integration with external partners like IDE and API gateways."
"If JMeter could integrate with the EPM solution, it would be great. It could also be improved by offering more integrations for security. For example, most applications are secure with OpenID Connect protocols."
"We would like some reporting and analysis tools to be added to this solution."
"It should have more interfaces. In terms of interfaces or protocols, what you can do with Rational is far limited as compared to other products out there. What it does, it does great, but it only gives you limited types of protocols. It supports between 8 to 15 types of protocols, whereas other test tools give you 20 to 30 types of protocols with which you can do testing and convert to script. It records Javascript-based scripts, and you got to know a little bit of Java to basically be able to edit them, but the level of editing you got to do is very low. I like that, but the ability to edit the script is not as good as Parasoft or LoadRunner, which have C-Script."
"There are a number of things that they can do to simplify the tools, but the most important thing that they need to do is simplify the installation."
"The debugging feature needs to include graphs."
"I know there are integrations with continuous testing. It's got tie-ins to some of the newer tools to allow continuous testing. I'd love to see us not have to customize it, but for it to be out of the box."
"The TruClient protocol works well but it takes a lot of memory to run those tests, which is something that can be improved."
"The solution can be improved by making it more user-friendly, and by including autocorrelation capability."
"Offering a direct integration feature would ensure a completely smooth experience."
"We are expecting more flexible to use Jenkins in continuous integration going forward."
"Third-party product integrations could be a little more slickly handled."
"Many of my customers have had to switch to different tools due to the cost of LoadRunner, despite its advantages, leading them to alternatives like JMeter and RPT."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source product."
"The product has reasonable pricing."
"Free"
"When comparing the price with Load Runner, and if the cost is an issue then JMeter is a better choice"
"Apache JMeter is far less expensive than HP Performance Center."
"The solution is open-source."
"JMeter is open source, so there are no licensing costs associated with it."
"This is an open-source solution, and there are no fees."
"The pricing is a little bit on the higher side, although it is really good."
"It doesn't really concern me. Licensing is on a yearly basis."
"They have a much more practical pricing model now."
"I rate the product's pricing a three out of ten."
"ROI is 200%."
"The price is a bit too high."
"I give the cost a one out of ten."
"It is a bit expensive when compared with other tools."
"We are content with the pricing and find it to be reasonable in terms of value for money."
"We got an 80 percent discount for the product. It was cost-effective, but licenses tend to get expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Non Profit
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise55
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise73
 

Questions from the Community

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Postman lets you easily define variables, which then get updated automatically. This is a huge time-saver and makes p...
How does BlazeMeter compare with Apache JMeter?
Blazemeter is a continuous testing platform that provides scriptless test automation. It unifies functional and perfo...
What do you like most about Apache JMeter?
I appreciate JMeter's simplicity and power for performance testing.
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What do you like most about Micro Focus LoadRunner Enterprise?
Now that LoadRunner integrates with Dynatrace and other monitoring tools, it simplifies the process of integration in...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus LoadRunner Enterprise?
The price of OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Enterprise), including pricing, licensing, and s...
What needs improvement with Micro Focus LoadRunner Enterprise?
The analytics and reporting features can be improved, though they are good enough. If you have expertise, you can man...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

JMeter
Rational Test Workbench, IBM Rational Performance Tester, IBM Functional Tester, IBM Rational Test Virtualization Server
Micro Focus LoadRunner Enterprise, Performance Center, HPE Performance Center
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AOL, Orbitz, Innopath Software, PrepMe, Sapient, Corporate Express Australia, CSIRO, Ephibian, Talis, DATACOM, ALALOOP, eFusion, Panter, Sourcepole, University of Western Cape
Financial Insurance Management Corp.
Hexaware, British Sky Broadcasting, JetBlue
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Perforce, Tricentis and others in Performance Testing Tools. Updated: September 2025.
868,288 professionals have used our research since 2012.