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Katalon Studio vs SmartBear TestLeft comparison

 

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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

Katalon Studio
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (2nd), API Testing Tools (4th), Test Automation Tools (2nd)
SmartBear TestLeft
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Functional Testing Tools (38th)
 

Featured Reviews

Ramanagowda Hullur - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Automation Engineer at Stryker
Recording limitations and remote access challenges have affected desktop application testing
Katalon Studio has proven effective in our deliverables, particularly in designing the framework where other tools typically require coding in client libraries such as Python or Java. With Katalon Studio, there is no such complexity, allowing us to organize projects modularly based on folder structures without needing to write separate code. The self-healing feature for web application automation and its built-in CI/CD ecosystem integration eliminates the need for external tools for pipeline setup. Katalon Studio excels in CI/CD integration, providing an inbuilt ecosystem without the need for external setup, and it features a postings structure along with keyword and library availability. Newcomers to the team can easily adapt to the setup or project structure, which contributes to its popularity, along with its low-code or no-code capability that allows for a comprehensive platform supporting web, mobile, API, and desktop automation. The self-healing mechanism for test cases autonomously identifies issues with locators and ensures they continue functioning, which is impressive, along with the robust object repository. Katalon Studio has significantly aided our team, especially when clients expect deliveries for CI/CD integration that requires automation test scripts to run on a daily schedule. The self-healing feature automatically identifies available locators for elements in the DOM, ensuring that test cases remain functional. Katalon Studio has positively impacted our organization by facilitating faster delivery when clients have urgent requirements. We can deliver quickly based on urgency due to the features Katalon Studio provides. This has led to significant reductions in time spent on framework configuration, designing, and training individuals who are unfamiliar with the tool, helping us save both time and costs.
reviewer1378161 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Consultant at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Simple to set up and the test execute feature is helpful, but the cost could be reduced
Our primary use case is Point of Sale (POS) testing The most valuable features are test executor and development. TestLeft captures a lot of space in terms of memory, which is one issue that can be improved. We have been using SmartBear TestLeft for the past month. Stability-wise, TestLeft is…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the features that I like is Object Recognition. It worked very well, and it allowed me to create a dynamic expert based on my requirements."
"The most valuable feature of Katalon Studio is visual testing. It compares the look and feel of an application which is useful."
"The automation is very fast and you don't need to be overly proficient in coding."
"The best feature is the split up between test cases and the test object. This allows us to easily change an error."
"Katalon Studio is easier to use compared to SmartBear TestComplete."
"It provides us daily feedback on the status (failing/working) of the core features of our websites."
"I would recommend Katalon Studio, especially if you do not require a license."
"Katalon Studio has positively impacted my organization by helping the team reduce manual regression effort and improve release confidence by catching UI issues earlier."
"The most valuable features are test executor and development."
 

Cons

"The free version of the solution is not user friendly at all."
"The integration process with Jira should be enhanced and facilitated."
"The price of the solution is a bit high. It's one of the reasons we decided not to continue using the product."
"It should be faster while executing, and there are some defects, like choosing the new device with the test case."
"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."
"One aspect that can be improved is testing for desktop applications. I would like to see them support more technologies in this area."
"Katalon Studio should improve its usability, it still needs some improvement where users can easily use it to build their automation suite. It requires some initial work to set it up. There should be more keywords in the library to limit the coding requirements, this will allow a non-technical person easily start using it, which would be better."
"One area for improvement in Katalon Studio is execution speed. Larger test suites can take more time to execute."
"TestLeft captures a lot of space in terms of memory, which is one issue that can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is freeware, so there is no charge for using it."
"The product is expensive."
"The cost of Katalon Studio is expensive but it is less than some of the other solutions, such as Micro Focus UFT or SmartBear TestComplete. The cost is the main reason we are using Katalon Studio."
"The approximate cost is around $8,000."
"The product is affordable. It has an average and competitive pricing compared to other vendors."
"Katalon Studio is an expensive tool."
"The price of Katalon Studio is reasonable. They recently had a price increase that might impact new subscribers. We are using a business license."
"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 cost should be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise25
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Katalon Studio?
Pricing felt reasonable for the features provided, especially considering the time saved during the automation setup and execution. From a user perspective, Katalon Studio offers good value, partic...
What needs improvement with Katalon Studio?
Katalon Studio could improve by making test maintenance easier for very large projects, especially when applications undergo frequent UI changes. It would help if Katalon Studio handled large test ...
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Sample Customers

Coca-Cola Tesla Black Board TaTa Consultancy Services Sony
American Red Cross, CISCO, HONDA, ADIDAS, TBC bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Tricentis, Katalon Studio, OpenText and others in Regression Testing Tools. Updated: December 2025.
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