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Apache JMeter vs OpenText Silk Test 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache JMeter
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
Performance Testing Tools (1st), Load Testing Tools (1st), API Testing Tools (3rd)
OpenText Silk Test
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Functional Testing Tools (20th), Regression Testing Tools (8th), Test Automation Tools (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Quality Assurance solutions, they serve different purposes. Apache JMeter is designed for Performance Testing Tools and holds a mindshare of 11.2%, down 24.0% compared to last year.
OpenText Silk Test, on the other hand, focuses on Functional Testing Tools, holds 1.8% mindshare, up 0.9% since last year.
Performance Testing Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Apache JMeter11.2%
OpenText Professional Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Professional)12.8%
Tricentis NeoLoad10.7%
Other65.3%
Performance Testing Tools
Functional Testing Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenText Silk Test1.8%
Tricentis Tosca10.8%
OpenText Functional Testing6.3%
Other81.1%
Functional Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

RR
Principal Performance Architect at Tecnotree Corporation
Have built custom performance test scripts and integrated them into automated pipelines seamlessly
Apache JMeter has its own pros and cons when compared to other tools. It is easy to use the tool and it has open-source capability so we can build our custom scripts and execute them. It provides other capabilities, such as integrating a database and connecting to other application servers for monitoring and related functions. We use dynamic HTML reporting, which helps us in testing analysis by pinpointing the bottlenecks based on the reports. We can identify the specific areas that need attention, troubleshoot them, and report to the development team. The user-friendly GUI for creating and managing tests makes it very easy to drag and drop samplers. For example, if you want the HTTP sampler, you can drag and drop it and use it. For configurations, we have other samplers. For results, we have the view results samplers that we can also drag and drop. The UI is good in comparison with other tools. Regarding integration with CI/CD pipelines, we can create Apache JMeter scripts and use the Docker image. From the image, whatever scripting we have done can be connected. We can use the CI/CD pipelines and connect them with Jenkins tools and GitHub. Then we can create the pipelines and automate the end-to-end flow. For connecting Jenkins to Apache JMeter, JMeter plugins are available, and we have used them. Apache JMeter also has some third-party plugins, which are not native samplers. If we want to use custom test executions, we definitely use all the different plugins available in Apache JMeter. The capability to simulate users has impacted testing resources and outcomes as Apache JMeter is based on Java, which has a limit to the users in a particular load generator. Apache JMeter provides distributed load testing where you can connect multiple PCs in a master and slave concept, allowing you to pump the load with any number of users. In the past, I have done load testing with 10,000 users by connecting the Apache JMeter distributed network in BlazeMeter. There is a cloud version available, the updated BlazeMeter, and I used that. It is very easy to launch load generators in BlazeMeter, and then we can run the test, scaling up beyond 10,000 users.
JG
Manager of Central Excellence at Alpura
Easy to set up with good documentation and easy management of testing cycles
The solution allows for a complete test cycle. The management of testing cycles are easy. We have good control over test cases. We can capture functional testing very easily. We're actually able to accelerate testing now and have end-to-end cycles for testing. We didn't used to have these capabilities. It's easy to automate and accelerate testing. The product offers very good cross-browser testing capabilities. We can do continuous testing and regression testing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We had some challenges testing HTTP/2 APIs, which are becoming more prevalent with advancements like 5G. So, we added another plugin to help with HTTP/2 API load testing. Apache JMeter, with additional plugins, now supports HTTP/2, which is critical as everyone moves from HTTP/1 to HTTP/2."
"The ease of use is the solution's most valuable feature. Also, the ability to easily create test cases is also very good. It's easy to just ramp up on the solution."
"This solution allows us to have a detailed look at performance using different metrics."
"JMeter is very easy for a user who doesn't have too much programming knowledge, as scripting is not mandatory nor essential to create the testing scenarios."
"The solution helps by detecting bottlenecks."
"The scripting ability is most valuable. It is easy to use. There is a UI, and you can go in there and figure those things out. After you've got a good set of tests, you basically have a scripted document that you can grab and execute in a pipeline. It is pretty quick to set up, and you can scale it and version control it."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is being able to launch many requests and scheduling simulating human interactions with the application."
"The most valuable features of Apache JMeter are user-friendliness, large resource, and the quality of assistance they provide. Additionally, it is easy to integrate with cloud platforms, such as AWS."
"The OCR recognition is great, way over Sikulix or Robot Framework."
"The ability to develop scripts in Visual Studio, Visual Studio integration, is the most valuable feature."
"It's easy to automate and accelerate testing."
"The feature I like most is the ease of reporting."
"The statistics that are available are very good."
"The statistics that are available are very good, the solution offers very good detailed reports, and it's excellent for testing an application's performance levels."
"Scripting is the most valuable. We are able to record and then go in and modify the script that it creates. It has a lot of generative scripts."
"Using this DLL functionality we were able to automate our product."
 

Cons

"The tool should be made a bit more robust, and better support should be made available."
"You really need a technical team in order to really utilize the product."
"Apache should have a graphic interface. That would help beginner users a lot. Sometimes it's hard to do what you need to do via the command line."
"JMeter's reporting is extremely rudimentary. The fundamental reporting mechanisms need to be drastically improved."
"I think JMeter hangs up on large loads."
"To improve Apache JMeter, reducing the complexity of load generators and distribution testing would be beneficial."
"The UI of the solution needs to be better. The UI takes up a lot of our bandwidth."
"It's not stable. With every new release, they come up with newer features, which aren't always very stable."
"The pricing could be improved."
"I've seen a lot of potential users upset with the SilkTest due to broken installation."
"SilkTest has to improve on Firefox and Chrome as their versions change."
"Implementing a better integration with Git. It was extremely painful to implement the link from Silk Central to Git."
"We moved to Ranorex because the solution did not easily scale, and we could not find good and short term third-party help. We needed to have a bigger pool of third-party contractors that we could draw on for specific implementations. Silk didn't have that, and we found what we needed for Ranorex here in the Houston area. It would be good if there is more community support. I don't know if Silk runs a user conference once a year and how they set up partners. We need to be able to talk to somebody more than just on the phone. It really comes right down to that. The generated automated script was highly dependent upon screen position and other keys that were not as robust as we wanted. We found the automated script generated by Ranorex and the other key information about a specific data point to be more robust. It handled the transition better when we moved from computer to computer and from one size of the application to the other size. When we restarted Silk, we typically had to recalibrate screen elements within the script. Ranorex also has some of these same issues, but when we restart, it typically is faster, which is important."
"At that time, we never had good technical support in Bangalore."
"Everything is very manual. It's up to us to find out exactly what the issues are."
"The initial setup is somewhat complex if you're deploying on-prem."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"JMeter is open source, so there are no licensing costs associated with it."
"We didn't pay licensing fees for Apache JMeter because it's an open-source tool. We only paid for the machines where we installed Apache JMeter modules."
"The solution is open-source."
"Apache JMeter is an open-source solution, so it's free to use."
"This is an open-source solution, and there are no fees."
"In terms of open-source adoption, it is completely free."
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs associated with it."
"We paid annually. There is a purchase cost, and then there is an ongoing maintenance fee."
"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis, and while I think that the price is quite reasonable I am not allowed to share those details."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise56
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

How does Postman compare with Apache JMeter?
Postman lets you easily define variables, which then get updated automatically. This is a huge time-saver and makes processes very efficient. We can also export the test cases we create and share t...
How does BlazeMeter compare with Apache JMeter?
Blazemeter is a continuous testing platform that provides scriptless test automation. It unifies functional and performance testing, enabling users to monitor and test public and private APIs. We ...
What do you like most about Apache JMeter?
I appreciate JMeter's simplicity and power for performance testing.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silk Test?
The pricing depends on the license used. The pricing is similar to others in the market.
What is your primary use case for Silk Test?
The product is used for manual, functional, and performance testing. I'm using the tool for loading data into ERP systems.
 

Also Known As

JMeter
Segue, SilkTest, Micro Focus Silk Test
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AOL, Orbitz, Innopath Software, PrepMe, Sapient, Corporate Express Australia, CSIRO, Ephibian, Talis, DATACOM, ALALOOP, eFusion, Panter, Sourcepole, University of Western Cape
Krung Thai Computer Services, Quality Kiosk, Mªller, AVG Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Tricentis, OpenText and others in Performance Testing Tools. Updated: April 2026.
889,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.