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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
16th
Ranking in Test Automation Tools
37th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Performance Testing Tools (20th)
Katalon Studio
Ranking in API Testing Tools
4th
Ranking in Test Automation Tools
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the API Testing Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Rational Test Workbench is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Katalon Studio is 12.9%, up from 11.7% 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."
"Katalon Studio is easier to use compared to SmartBear TestComplete."
"I personally like the 'Object Spy' feature of this tool. It makes it easy to find an element on the web page."
"Overall, I recommend it highly and find it easy to use with many integrations."
"The report generated using Katalon Studio is extremely valuable."
"The product provides ease of automation for the cloud."
"The initial setup of Katalon Studio was easy."
"The most valuable feature of Katalon Studio is visual testing. It compares the look and feel of an application which is useful."
"Smart Wait and XPath healing are valuable features."
 

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."
"The price of Katalon Studio is an area of concern where improvement is required."
"The price of the solution is a bit high. It's one of the reasons we decided not to continue using the product."
"The pricing could be improved. Offering a discount on Katalon Studio licenses could encourage more users."
"The solution can be further improved with better loading time."
"They need to work on documentation to make it more centralized and easier to find what you are looking for."
"I can say that in my company, we struggle a lot with iOS automation."
"Support options need improvement. It is sometimes hard to find a solution to any given problem, thus you are forced to use another solution."
"There is not much support offered for the free version, which is something that could be improved."
 

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."
"Katalon Studio is a free tool."
"The tool is affordable."
"There is a free version of the tool to use and support is available through the community forums, but there is a licensed version as well."
"Its pricing is quite reasonable. If you require their help in getting started, then there is a professional services fee on top of the product license cost."
"The tool's pricing is cheap compared to other alternatives. I would rate the tool's pricing a three out of ten."
"In terms of pricing, Katalon, Selenium, and Cypress all represent a similar level of investment. The software for these tools are either true open source or almost open source (because they charge a small fee), so pricing is a neutral point for me."
"We are using the free version. We plan on getting a paid version because there is a limitation in terms of the number of users. We want to maximize it."
"The product is affordable. It has an average and competitive pricing compared to other vendors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Non Profit
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
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: July 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.