The document discusses the importance of functional testing tools in software development, highlighting their role in reducing software failure rates of 50-80%. It reviews the key features to consider when selecting functional testing tools, such as ease of use, scalability, technology compatibility, and support options. Additionally, it provides a list of the top functional testing tools for 2024, detailing their key features and capabilities.

1. Test Infrastructure & End-to-End Testing Cloud
10 Best Functional Testing Tools for 2024
Functional testing is one of the crucial processes in software testing
that tests for all of the necessary functions of your software.
According to studies, the software failure rate ranges from 50-80%.
Functional testing can mitigate failure rate to a large extent and
ensures that all the functions work properly. However, choosing the

2. right tool for this task is an uphill task since you need to consider
various functionalities.
That’s why we have come up with a list of the best functional testing
tools, keeping all the features in mind. First, let’s read about the
functional testing tools and what are the essential features needed.
What are Functional Testing
Tools?
Functional testing tools are a set of automated tools that test
software for its functionality and usability against a predefined set of
requirements. Functional testing involves testing software for various
aspects like user interface, APIs, databases, security, client or server
applications, and overall system operation.
Functional testing tools simulate user interactions with the software
to ensure that it performs as expected based on specified
requirements. Functional testing tools can automate test cases,
generate test data, and provide detailed reports on test results.

3. Factors To Consider When
Choosing Functional Testing
Tools
When choosing functional testing tools, it’s crucial to consider factors
like ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities, and more. Below,
we have discussed about these factors in detail:
Pricing
Pricing is an important element to evaluate when selecting a
functional testing tool because it’s directly related to your
organization’s budget allocation and ROI expectations.
There are open-source tools available that are free to use, while others
require a paid license that can vary widely in cost. Some tools offer
per-user licenses, while others have site-wide or enterprise licenses.
Many tools provide different pricing tiers based on features, user
limits, and other factors.
Some tools may charge extra on add-ons and extensions, which may
significantly increase the price.

4. Technologies used
The technology stack used in a functional testing tool significantly
determines its capabilities, performance, and ease of use. The tool
must be compatible and adaptable with various technologies such as
multiple operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux), databases
(SQL, Oracle), and applications (Web, Desktop, Mobile).
Also, keep in mind that the functional testing tool should support
leading automation frameworks like Selenium WebDriver or Appium
for web and mobile application testing. It’s also beneficial if the tool
supports multiple scripting languages like Java, Python, C#, and Ruby,
allowing better implementation within development teams.
Ease of use
A user-friendly tool can greatly enhance the team’s productivity and
efficiency by reducing the learning curve and allowing testers to start
test case creation and execution quickly. This includes a clean,
intuitive UI that makes navigation through different features and
options straightforward.
A valuable characteristic of a user-friendly functional testing tool is
providing “codeless” or “low-code” automation capabilities. These

5. capabilities enable non-tech savvy users to create and automate tests
without having primary programming knowledge.
Look out for features such as drag and drop interface, record & replay,
visual test creation functionality, and built-in object repositories that
make test case creation easier.
Support
Support can take multiple forms, including documentation, online
tutorials, community forums, and direct customer service via chat,
email, or phone. A responsive and knowledgeable support team can
drastically reduce the time to resolve issues and allow for
uninterrupted and seamless testing operations.
Furthermore, it’s also advantageous if the tool has a substantial
community influence. Active involvement in forums and community
engagement means access to a wealth of shared knowledge, real-life
experiences, tips, tricks, and recommended best practices from
various users worldwide.
Open-source tools leverage this advantage more, like Selenium, which
has a substantial community globally that helps users with solutions,
updates, and plug-ins.

6. Best Functional Testing Tools
2024
There are various useful functional testing tools that offer several
features for the testers. Based on our research and the above factors,
we have shortlisted these tools, highlighting their key features.
TestGrid.io
TestGrid is a no-code automated testing tool that uses AI/ML to
perform scriptless testing. This functional testing tool executes
various test cases and performs tests for software and web
applications of all types.

7. Above all, TestGrid eliminates the need to use external SDKs to test
the UI and UX of mobile apps since it has a visual validation capability
for testing. TestGrid uses drag-and-drop scriptless testing that gives
the flexibility to automate functional, performance, visual, and
compatibility testing.
The main USP of TestGris is its co-tester, which automates your
testing by creating workflows. Users can train the AI models and use
prompts to assign tasks to team members, perform testing, and even
identify bugs.
Key features:
● TestGrid uses 1,000+ real devices and browsers to perform and
create automated test cases.
● It uses the record and playback feature to capture app
interactions in an automated manner.
● Testers can write test cases in various formats, such as English,
BDD, and CSV to generate the best use case.
2. Cypress

8. Cypress.io is an open-source testing framework that is mainly used for
end-to-end testing and, preferably, Java projects. It integrates
seamlessly with other CI/CD tools such as CircleCI, GitHub Actions,
GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines and AWS CodeBuild which allow testers
to run parallel tests and smooth test execution.
The platform’s support for integration testing and continuous testing
further enhances the quality assurance process.
Key features:
● Provides cross-browser support for Firefox, Edge and Electron
browsers
● Cypress provides actionable insights into your test suites and
what needs improvement
● Performs parallel and cross-browser execution and loan
balancing tests
3. SmartBear

9. SmartBear is a low-code API testing tool that performs functional
testing for testing APIs. This API testing tool is most suitable for the
DevOps and agile teams, enabling them to create test automation
cases across any workflow.
It also supports various security aspects and runs load testing of
RESTful, SOAP, and GraphQL. Even more, this functional testing tool
also provides flexibility by integrating API testing into any third-party
CI/CD tool pipelines.
Key features:
● Integrates with various CI/CD tools like Jenkins, Git, and Docker
● Smart assertion feature uses the API responses to create
maximum test coverage
● Supports multiple scripting languages including JavaScript,
Python, VBScript, and more.

10. 4. Appium
Appium is a popular open-source tool for automating native, web, and
hybrid applications on iOS, Android, and Windows platforms. As an
open standard for automating these platform-specific apps, Appium
promotes cross-platform app testing, allowing you to write tests
against multiple platforms using the same API.
This enables code reuse between iOS, Android, and Windows
testsuites. Appium can be run on both emulators and real devices.
Key features:
● Supports multitudes of programming languages like Java, Ruby,
C#, etc.
● Compatible with all major systems and allows integration with
other software.
● Users can use same APIs for multiple platforms allowing for
code reuse

11. 5. Apache Jmeter
Apache JMeter is a popular open-source software testing tool
primarily used for load testing and measuring the functional behavior
of software applications. It stands out for its ability to simulate heavy
loads on servers, networks, or objects to analyze overall performance
under different load types.
The platform’s friendly GUI helps you easily visualize test results, and
it can execute tests built with Selenium, a feature that adds to its
versatility in handling different testing scenarios.
**Key features:
**
● It simulates heavy loads on servers or networks for
stress-testing.
● Apache offers portability across various systems and multiple
testing

12. ● Supports a wide range of application servers and protocols
including Web, SOAP, FTP, TCP, LDAP, SOAP, MOM, Mail Protocols
and shell scripts.
6. SauceLabs
SauceLabs is considered as one of the top-rated testing tools that
provides secure and highly scalable automation methods for testing
desktop, mobile web, native, and hybrid applications.
Sauce Labs provides access to more than 400 browser-platform OS
combinations, including JavaScript unit and functional testing
frameworks. It offers continuous integration with all popular CI
systems.
Key features:

13. ● Provides access to scalable and effective Android emulators and
iOS simulators
● Creates extensive reports and captures actionable signals for
crashes and errors
● Performs manual and automated testing through different
testing channels
7. SoapUI
SoapUI is an open-source functional testing tool that supports API
solutions and requirements-based testing. SoapUI can handle
everything from manual calls to automated implementations and
supports parallel execution.
The noteworthy feature of SoapUI is the smart endpoint explorer
feature, which allows you to select the web service you wish to test.
After sending the request, you receive instant raw data. Users can also

14. execute and perform end-to-end tests on REST, SOAP, & GraphQL APIs,
JMS, JDBC, and other web services.
Key features:
● Supports execution of multiple commands/tests simultaneously
● Offers native integration with tools like Jenkins, Maven,
TeamCity, and other API lifecycle tools
● Users can run parallel tests to accelerate the cycle and automate
processes
8. Watir
Watir, which stands for Web Application Testing in Ruby, is an
open-source automated testing library primarily used for automating

15. web browsers. Based on Ruby, it supports Ruby scripting, which
makes it easy to learn and execute within your team.
Watir allows efficient interactions with your web browsers like Chrome,
Safari, Edge, Firefox, and more by performing tests on your Document
Object Model (DOM). You don’t need any external server since Watir
implements OLE ((Object, Linking and Embedding) protocol over COM
((Component Object Model) that facilitates easy communication
between the browser and Ruby.
Key features:
● Facilitates tests on multiple browsers such as Chrome, Firefox,
etc.
● Supports manipulation and automatic creation of objects
● Provides a test recorder to record and execute successful testing
9. Robotium

16. Robotium is a renowned open-source test framework designed
specifically to make the task of writing robust and powerful automatic
black-box UI tests for Android applications. It allows testers to write
robust and reliable automated test cases for Android applications.
With features like automatic waiting, seamless integration with
Android Studio, and support for native and hybrid apps, Robotium
simplifies the testing process and helps ensure the quality and
functionality of mobile applications.
Key features:
● Requires less project-specific information, easing test case
generation
● Reduced complexity in generating automated integrity and
functional tests
● Requires less project-specific information, easing test case
generation
10. Playwright

17. Playwright is a Node.js library that automates Chrome, Firefox, and
Webkit browsers with a single API. Developed and maintained by
Microsoft, Playwright enables reliable end-to-end testing for modern
web applications, allowing users to test across all modern browsers.
One of the standout features of Playwright is its ability to automate
the broadest set of user interactions, including inputs of keyboard,
mouse, touch, etc., making it significantly closer to what end users
experience.
Key features:
● Compatible with several CI/CD tools such as CircleCI, GitLab,
Azure Pipeline, and TravisCI
● Users can view the recordings and take snapshots to track what
went wrong

18. ● Facilitates the automation of the broadest possible user
interactions
Conclusion
Choosing the right functional testing tool can make a significant
difference in the quality of your software, agility of your development
cycle, and eventually the satisfaction of your end-users.
Each of the testing tools discussed above offers unique strengths and
capabilities that cater to distinct testing requirements and software
environments.
Source: This article was originally published at tesgrid.io