IBM Rational Performance Tester vs Visual Studio Test Professional comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Test Management Tools category. IBM is ranked #25, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 1.5% mindshare in TMT, compared to Microsoft’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Read 17 IBM Rational Performance Tester reviews

581 Views
116 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Read 52 Visual Studio Test Professional reviews

997 Views
249 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

IBM Rational Performance Tester and Visual Studio Test Professional are competitors in the software testing market. Visual Studio Test Professional seems to have the upper hand due to better integration, customer service, and pricing.

Features:IBM Rational Performance Tester offers comprehensive load and performance testing, in-depth analysis tools, and detailed reporting. Visual Studio Test Professional provides robust test planning, tracking, and integrated continuous testing tools, along with superior integration within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Room for Improvement:IBM Rational Performance Tester has a complexity and steep learning curve, lacks an intuitive design, and needs smoother user experience. Visual Studio Test Professional occasionally experiences performance lags, needs enhanced cross-platform support, and requires optimization for faster operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IBM Rational Performance Tester's deployment is cumbersome and requires extensive support, but its customer service is positively recognized. Visual Studio Test Professional has smoother deployment experiences and benefits from extensive Microsoft support resources.

Pricing and ROI:IBM Rational Performance Tester is relatively expensive with a longer ROI period. Visual Studio Test Professional offers better value for money with quicker ROI and flexible pricing options.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

September 2025

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Helped 867,370 peers since 2012

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

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Ranking in Test Management Tools

25th

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Ranking in Test Management Tools

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Functional Testing Tools (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Test Management Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Rational Performance Tester is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Studio Test Professional is 2.6%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Test Management Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Visual Studio Test Professional	2.6%
IBM Rational Performance Tester	1.5%
Other	95.9%

Test Management Tools

Featured Reviews

KashifJamil

CEO at Xcelliti

Supports web and mobile applications, very scalable, very stable, and wonderful support

There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features. It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies.

Read full review

CharlesChang

Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry

Valuable performance and libraries but needs compatibility improvements

We use Visual Studio Test Professional to develop our internal applications for our company The performance of Visual Studio Test Professional is valuable. Additionally, there are many libraries that I can use, and it supports cross-platform functionality. Visual Studio Test Professional is…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It can support both web applications and mobile applications, and in certain cases, it can also support testing of desktop applications or software-based applications. You can write web applications, mobile applications, and software-based applications."

"Technical support is very good. I'm very satisfied with the assistance we've received so far."

"The solution is very stable; there's nothing in relation to stability to complain about."

"Code testing is the most valuable feature of this solution for developing software."

"Visual Studio Test Professional is highly valuable because it provides extensive extensions and plugins that assist in measuring code quality."

"I was satisfied with the support given by customer service."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability."

"The integrated unit testing and extensive search features have made things easier."

"The documentation is easy, and it helps us solve our problems."

"The ability to quickly make your own components has been valuable."

More Visual Studio Test Professional pros

Cons

"The solution is not easily scalable. If you want to extend the solution, you need to purchase a different kind of license. You also have to work with the IBM team to assist in scaling."

"There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features. It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies."

"Visual Studio Test Professional could improve by having better integration with external databases."

"The database administration could be better; you should be able to choose new tools with the development environment in Visual Studio. It could be easier to use."

"Sometimes, the product is too complex to use."

"The documentation is limited."

"The data flow can be improved."

"Enhancing the support for web application testing and load performance would be an improvement."

"It would be great to support other languages and applications, and that is one of the things we can improve."

"Visual Studio Test Professional needs to improve its scalability."

More Visual Studio Test Professional cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is much cheaper than Micro Focus LoadRunner. We need perpetual licenses. Support is included in the first sale. After that, you need to renew support every year."

"There are two versions of Visual Studio Test Professional: Community and Professional. We are currently using the Community version, but if we start working on a commercial product, we will consider upgrading to the Professional version. We need to identify how we will proceed with our projects, and based on that, we will decide on our licensing."

"We pay for the solution annually and the price could be reduced."

"For the cloud services option, you buy a subscription per account or per user. This costs around $52 a month per person."

"Our company pays a yearly licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional."

"The tool is expensive in my region."

"Visual Studio Test Professional is not an expensive solution."

"There is a paid version of the solution as well as a community version that is free."

"We use the solution’s community version, and the solution’s pricing could be cheaper."

More Visual Studio Test Professional pricing and cost advice

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867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

27%

Government

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Performing Arts

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Visual Studio Test Professional?

The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Studio Test Professional?

The tool is free, resulting in no costs associated with its use. The absence of price makes it cost-effective.

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What needs improvement with Visual Studio Test Professional?

The product needs contextual help integrated within its interface. Currently, I need to search online to find out how to use certain functions. This feature would save time by providing direct assi...

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Comparisons

Apache JMeter vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 52% of the time

OpenText Professional Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Professional) vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 30% of the time

Tricentis NeoLoad vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 18% of the time

More IBM Rational Performance Tester Competitors

Tricentis Tosca vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 22% of the time

Apache JMeter vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 20% of the time

SmartBear TestComplete vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 17% of the time

OpenText Functional Testing vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 16% of the time

Tricentis qTest vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 15% of the time

More Visual Studio Test Professional Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester

September 2025

Download IBM Rational Performance Tester product report

Buyer's Guide

Visual Studio Test Professional

August 2025

Download Visual Studio Test Professional product report

Also Known As

Rational Performance Tester

No data available

Overview

IBM Rational Performance Tester is a performance testing solution that validates the scalability of web and server applications. Rational Performance Tester identifies the presence and cause of system performance bottlenecks and reduces load testing complexity.

IBM

Visual Studio Professional Edition provides an IDE for all supported development languages. As of Visual Studio 2010, the Standard edition was dropped. MSDN support is available as MSDN Essentials or the full MSDN library depending on licensing. It supports XML and XSLT editing, and can create deployment packages that only use ClickOnce and MSI. It includes tools like Server Explorer and integration with Microsoft SQL Server also. Windows Mobile development support was included in Visual Studio 2005 Standard, however, with Visual Studio 2008, it is only available in Professional and higher editions. Windows Phone 7 development support was added to all editions in Visual Studio 2010. Development for Windows Mobile is no longer supported in Visual Studio 2010; it is superseded by Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

andagon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon

Transport for Greater Manchester, Ordina, Bluegarden A/S, CLEAResult, Jet.com, OSIsoft, Australian Taxation Office, BookedOut, Tracasa

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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