Ranorex Studio vs SmartBear TestComplete comparison

Ranorex and SmartBear are both solutions in the Test Automation Tools category. Ranorex is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0, while SmartBear is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.8. Ranorex holds a 4.7% mindshare in TAt, compared to SmartBear’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Ranorex users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of SmartBear users who would recommend it.

Ranorex Studio

Read 46 Ranorex Studio reviews

2,699 Views
802 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

SmartBear TestComplete

Read 76 SmartBear TestComplete reviews

3,551 Views
852 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Ranorex Studio

SmartBear TestComplete

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 22, 2025

SmartBear TestComplete and Ranorex Studio are both competitors in the field of test automation tools. TestComplete appears to have the upper hand in data-driven testing and public cloud compatibility, while Ranorex Studio shines with flexible scripting language support and integration capabilities.

Features: SmartBear TestComplete offers dynamic find methods, integration with third-party tools, and JScript support for scripting flexibility, making it suitable for testing desktop, web, and APIs. It is also strong in data-driven testing. Ranorex Studio supports multiple scripting languages like C#, integration with Jenkins and TestLink, and provides a user-friendly interface along with Ranorex Spy for strong object recognition.

Room for Improvement: TestComplete could enhance its web and mobile testing frameworks and optimize resource consumption during testing. It also needs improvements in licensing management and integration support. Ranorex Studio requires expanding beyond Windows, improving browser compatibility, and enhancing continuous integration capabilities. Both tools need to improve their object recognition features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both TestComplete and Ranorex Studio primarily support on-premises deployments with limited cloud options. TestComplete provides compatibility with public cloud, whereas Ranorex Studio is praised for its swift and professional customer service, though improvement is needed in escalation handling. TestComplete offers responsive support but users report varied technical support experiences.

Pricing and ROI: TestComplete is considered more expensive with a complex licensing model, including node-locked and floating licenses, yet offers significant time savings and efficiencies. A basic TestComplete license is approximately $4,000 with flexible add-on options. Ranorex Studio is also costly but has flexible licensing, making it cost-effective for larger teams. Both claim good ROI through reduced testing times, but perceived value varies with organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Ranorex Studio vs. SmartBear TestComplete Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Ranorex Studio vs. SmartBear TestComplete

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 860,168 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

Ranorex Studio

Ranking in Functional Testing Tools

16th

Ranking in Regression Testing Tools

7th

Ranking in Test Automation Tools

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Mobile App Testing Tools (7th)

SmartBear TestComplete

Ranking in Functional Testing Tools

7th

Ranking in Regression Testing Tools

4th

Ranking in Test Automation Tools

5th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Test Automation Tools category, the mindshare of Ranorex Studio is 4.7%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SmartBear TestComplete is 6.0%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Test Automation Tools

Q&A Highlights

it_user500790

Works

Aug 24, 2016

SAP GUI Testing Tool

Thanks all, it's encouraging to see so much support and responses

See all answers

Featured Reviews

Aws V

IT Team Leader -Automation Manager at Citco

Good data security, allowing local installations to prevent data from going to the internet

There were a lot of issues we faced. One notable improvement would be better API integration within the tool itself, as we still rely on external tools like Postman. Additionally, expanding language support beyond C#, Java, and JavaScript to include Python would be beneficial. An AI feature that automatically detects automation object properties and suggests actions would be a great addition. So, in future releases, AI solutions for automated property identification would be helpful.

Read full review

Prakhar Goel

Sr Test Lead at Emerson

Used for integration automation, user-based automation, and web automation

The solution's most valuable features are the drag-and-drop feature, keyword-driven approach, and reusability of the scripts. The solution has introduced a new feature that helps us identify objects we cannot normally identify. It gives you a fair idea of objects, resolving the object recognition issue. The solution can be used to perform different tests on different machines.

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

"The most valuable feature of Ranorex Studio is the capture and replay tool. You don't need to do script testing. When you launch any application from Ranorex Studio it automatically captures these test case steps. The next time you can replay the tool the flow automatically happens again. For example, when you do the logging and all the activity will be captured by the tool, and re-execute the same step by using automatization."

"The solution is fast and includes built-in libraries that record and playback."

"I'm from a UFT background, so Ranorex Studio has a similar feel in terms of how it handles objects. It just felt familiar even though I'd never seen it before. However, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of UFT, but it's a pretty good start, and it's cost-effective."

"The solution is intuitive and pretty self-sustaining. You don't need a lot of help with it in terms of setup or assistance."

"Code Conversion is one of the great features because sometimes, the automation tool doesn't have the capability of maneuvering around two specific evaluations."

"The most valuable feature of Ranorex Studio is its user-friendly interface."

"Data security was prime for us. Being able to download and run tests on our local machines was a big plus. The flexibility Ranorex offers in terms of customization is outstanding."

"This is a powerful, reliable and versatile all-around application testing suite."

More Ranorex Studio pros

"I like the cross browser compatibility. It saves a lot of time re-writing scripts to accommodate different browsers."

"The ability to run a whole suite of tests automatically (which we did overnight)."

"The database checkpoints detect problems which are difficult for a human resource to find."

"Customer service and technical support responsiveness are high. Everyone is very professional."

"Test items, project variables helps in managing automation suite and scheduling execution."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ability to integrate with Azure DevOps for continuous integration and deployment."

"The product is stable for what we are currently using it for, and it is sufficient for us."

"It is a strong automation tool for desktop, browser, and API testing."

More SmartBear TestComplete pros

Cons

"One of the areas the service could be improved would be to have the training in Italian."

"I would like to be able to customize the data grids. They are currently written in Visual Basic and we are unable to get down to the cell level without hard-code."

"I'd like to know their testing strategies and to know what they can automate and what they can't. It can become pretty frustrating if you're trying to automate something that changes on a monthly or weekly basis."

"Ranorex is used in Windows while other solutions, for example, Katalon Studio, are cross-platform. (But in my opinion, overall, Ranorex is better)."

"When Ranorex is upgraded, the compatibility with other projects, in version control, in-house or on-premise, fails on occasion. However, overall, the stability is good."

"There were a lot of issues we faced. One notable improvement would be better API integration within the tool itself, as we still rely on external tools like Postman."

"Other OS Support, Ranorex Spy performance improvement (Especially for Silverlight controls)."

"The solution does not support dual or regression testing."

More Ranorex Studio cons

"The integration tools could be better."

"In the cross-browser domain, it has a few snags with Microsoft Edge and Chrome; although, these problems are not critical."

"Product is not stable enough and it crashes often."

"One notable drawback is the absence of native integration with Git."

"At times, identifying or locating an element can be somewhat challenging. However, in a recent test update, they introduced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability. This introduction has reduced the challenges to some extent, as we can now utilize OCR if the normal method doesn't work. Nevertheless, there is still significant potential for improvement in TestComplete's ability to identify various object elements. I don't have any specific concerns to mention. I have observed significant improvements in TestComplete over the past few years, especially in its support for highly dynamic object elements used in products like Salesforce Dynamics 365. In earlier versions, there were numerous challenges, but the current version is far superior to its predecessors."

"Name Mapping feature should be clearer. Whenever I use it, I do not really know what will work and what will not work."

"SmartBear products generally have a weak link when it comes to integration with other test management tools like Inflectra."

"Occasionally, image comparison results in failures, possibly due to issues with resolution or font size on the server side, which can be challenging to identify."

More SmartBear TestComplete cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is a more expensive solution compared to some of the other competitors."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"There are several types of licenses and you need to choose depending on your needs and level of usage."

"The licensing fees depend on the number of users."

"Our company has one license per user with each costing two lakh rupees."

"We paid €3,000 (approximately $3,300 USD) for this solution. When you add the runtime licenses it will be €3,500 (approximately $3,900 USD)."

"Overall, for us, the cost of the TestComplete platform and the three extra modules is around $8,000."

"The license price for a physical machine is cheap, and for virtual machine, it is very expensive."

"It is approximately $6,000 a year."

"The solution is around $1500. Some are perpetual licenses, and some get a yearly report card."

"The solution's licensing cost has increased because it has moved to some new SLM-based licenses."

"The price is less, compared to other products, such as QTP."

"SmartBear TestComplete is an expensive tool."

"My advice so far, is that while it’s not quite as powerful and easy to use as UFT, its price tag more than makes up for it."

More SmartBear TestComplete pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Answers from the Community

it_user500790

Works

Aug 24, 2016

SAP GUI Testing Tool

Thanks all, it's encouraging to see so much support and responses

2 out of 16 answers

it_user83412

Vice President at Tricentis

Aug 23, 2016

All of these solutions are based on scripts and face the associated limitations. Test data management, parameterization, dynamic TBOMs, BPCA, SolMan integration and script maintenance all pose potential issues. I'd recommend looking at Tricentis Tosca or Worksoft, both of which provide scriptless automation for SAP GUI. Tosca also supports Fiori and NWBC natively as well as over 30 different UI and API technologies. [FULL DISCLOSURE: I work for Tricentis, so obviously biased, but we serve many SAP clients]

Read full answer

it_user457878

Works at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 23, 2016

UFT will support or Tricentis TOSCA .

Read full answer

See all 16 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Ranorex Studio?

Data security was prime for us. Being able to download and run tests on our local machines was a big plus. The flexibility Ranorex offers in terms of customization is outstanding.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ranorex Studio?

I'd rate it around five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, not too cheap but not overly pricey.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Ranorex Studio?

See all answers

What do you like most about SmartBear TestComplete?

TestComplete has strong reporting capabilities. The reports they generate are really good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SmartBear TestComplete?

I am not involved in pricing or licensing; our management team handles these aspects.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SmartBear TestComplete?

While using SmartBear TestComplete, we are fine with the current capabilities, however, it would be beneficial to improve some performance aspects, especially the image comparison feature. Occasion...

See all answers

Comparisons

Tricentis Tosca vs Ranorex Studio

Compared 24% of the time

Qt Squish vs Ranorex Studio

Compared 15% of the time

Katalon Studio vs Ranorex Studio

Compared 14% of the time

Eggplant Test vs Ranorex Studio

Compared 8% of the time

OpenText Functional Testing vs Ranorex Studio

Compared 6% of the time

More Ranorex Studio Competitors

Tricentis Tosca vs SmartBear TestComplete

Compared 21% of the time

OpenText Functional Testing vs SmartBear TestComplete

Compared 12% of the time

Katalon Studio vs SmartBear TestComplete

Compared 9% of the time

Qt Squish vs SmartBear TestComplete

Compared 9% of the time

Eggplant Test vs SmartBear TestComplete

Compared 7% of the time

More SmartBear TestComplete Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Ranorex Studio

June 2025

Download Ranorex Studio product report

Buyer's Guide

SmartBear TestComplete

March 2025

Download SmartBear TestComplete product report

Overview

Ranorex is a leading software development company that offers innovative test automation software. Ranorex makes testing easy, saves time in the testing process and empowers clients to ensure the highest quality of their products. Its flexible tools and quick ROI make it the ideal choice for companies of virtually any size – and this is why thousands of clients in over 60 countries trust in its excellence.

Ranorex

What is SmartBear TestComplete?

TestComplete is a reliable, sturdy automated testing platform created by SmartBear Software. SmartBear Software is a worldwide technological leader known for developing quality enterprise-class development and testing solutions.

TestComplete simplifies the process of creating tests for numerous applications, including, but not limited to; Desktop, Android, IOS, Web browsers, and Windows. Application tests can be manual, scripted, and even recorded by using keyword-driven or data-driven functionality. There are even additional options for error reporting and automated playback. The object repository is extremely accurate and is fully customizable. TestComplete can easily be used by experienced developers and even by manual novice testers to develop quality automated UI tests quickly.

TestComplete offers three different testing scenarios:

Desktop: Users can easily and quickly automate UI tests using today’s most popular desktop applications, such as; Windows, Java, Python,.Net, VBScript, and more.
Web: Users can effortlessly create renewable tests for all of today’s popular web applications, including JavaScript frameworks on 2000+ trusted browser and platform integrations.
Mobile: Users can safely build and automate serviceable UI tests on actual or virtual android or IOS devices, locally or in the cloud. Users can create code or codeless tests. TestComplete seamlessly integrates with many of today’s popular frameworks.

Key Features

Easily create automated UI tests: TestComplete offers scriptless Record and Replay or simple keyword-driven tests to quickly develop any type of UI test users may require. Tests can be recorded once, then replayed when needed across various applications on mobile, web, or desktop environments. TestComplete integrates with many different languages, such as Java, Python, C+, and more.
Keyword driven tests: Users can easily divide testing steps, actions, objects, and data with an integrated keyword-driven test structure. This makes it easy for every user to participate in the test automation process; there is no programming experience needed. Everything is made simple with easy-to-use point-and-click options.
Data driven tests: Easily distinguish data from test commands to keep administrative efforts simple. Users can improve overall coverage by running various automated mobile, desktop, or web UI tests.
Record and Replay: Users can reuse created automated tests across every environment as often as desired. This helps to expand overall test coverage and represents a huge cost and time savings.

Reviews from Real Users

Sandhiya T S., Sr Solutions Engineer at Lexington Soft, relates, “The record and replay aspects of the solution are quite useful for people. With them, you don't have to write any scripts. Basically, you can record your actions and play them back later. The initial setup is also very easy.”

Sai S R., Staff Test Architect at a tech services company, says, "The most valuable features of the SmartBear TestComplete are self-healing, they reduce the maintenance required. The different languages SmartBear TestComplete supports are good because some of our libraries are written in Python, JavaScript, and C#. It's very easy to put them all under one project and use them."

SmartBear

Sample Customers

Siemens, TomTom, Adidas, Canon, Lufthansa, Roche, Cisco, Philipps, Dell, Motorola, Toshiba, Citrix, Ericsson, sage, Continental, IBM, Credit Suisse, Vodafone

Cisco, J.P. Morgan, Boeing, McAfee, EMC, Intuit, and Thomson Reuters.

Buyer's Guide

Ranorex Studio vs. SmartBear TestComplete

June 2025

Free Report: Ranorex Studio vs. SmartBear TestComplete

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