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IBM Rational Test Workbench vs Katalon Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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 Test Workbench
Ranking in API Testing Tools
15th
Ranking in Test Automation Tools
39th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Performance Testing Tools (21st)
Katalon Studio
Ranking in API Testing Tools
4th
Ranking in Test Automation Tools
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the API Testing Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Rational Test Workbench is 0.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Katalon Studio is 13.4%, up from 10.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Appu Ashok - PeerSpot reviewer
Expansive integrations boost automation potential across devices
I am in the field of product research and am familiar with Katalon Studio for product comparisons and test automation. Even though I am not an active tester, I have created a few tests using Katalon Studio Some of our customers use Katalon Studio, however, our own product, Tangene, is a…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 rate Katalon Studio's scalability a four out of five."
"The ability to build all libraries with codes and use them in many situations has been most valuable."
"Overall, I recommend it highly and find it easy to use with many integrations."
"We are now performing automated testing in 15 minutes, which were previously taking a long time when doing it manually."
"The product provides ease of automation for the cloud."
"Katalon Studio's biggest advantage is its price. It's a good tool for the price, albeit with some limitations when you compare it with tools like Tricentis Tosca."
"It provides us daily feedback on the status (failing/working) of the core features of our websites."
"The most valuable feature is that the browser and the API testing is available in a single tool, and I don't have to look at other options."
 

Cons

"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."
"There could potentially be more reporting within the solution. We need more issue reports, for example."
"Object Spy is brittle. When I try to capture objects, I have to proceed multiple times before it works."
"It would be helpful to have an automatic save feature."
"The tool's maintenance is very difficult since they do not follow call by value or call by reference. Due to this, any change happening is not reflected throughout all the test cases. There are some issues with data parameterization as well."
"It should be faster while executing, and there are some defects, like choosing the new device with the test case."
"Katalon's support is not very strong unless you opt for the enterprise version."
"I can say that in my company, we struggle a lot with iOS automation."
"We would like to see improved integration with various reporting tools; this would make our testing data more complete."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The price of Katalon Studio is reasonable. They recently had a price increase that might impact new subscribers. We are using a business license."
"There is no cost for setup or licensing."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"Katalon Studio is an expensive tool."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution is more affordable than other vendors."
"The prices are very high."
"The tool is free to use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Non Profit
8%
Educational Organization
19%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Katalon Studio?
Katalon Studio is on the expensive side. I rated it eight on a scale where ten is very expensive. I recommend optimizing the pricing, as a moderate value around five would be preferred.
What needs improvement with Katalon Studio?
The pricing could be improved. Offering a discount on Katalon Studio licenses could encourage more users. There is significant competition, so providing a good offer with extra features could be be...
 

Also Known As

Rational Test Workbench, IBM Rational Performance Tester, IBM Functional Tester, IBM Rational Test Virtualization Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Financial Insurance Management Corp.
Coca-Cola Tesla Black Board TaTa Consultancy Services Sony
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational Test Workbench vs. Katalon Studio and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.