Article

Katalon vs Tricentis

August 15, 2023

Compare Katalon and Tricentis automated testing tools, and choose the best QA tool for your organization.

Compare Katalon and Tricentis automated testing tools, and choose the best QA tool for your organization.

As organizations continue to accelerate their software development processes, software testing has become an essential part of the software development life cycle. To keep up with the pace of development, many organizations are turning to test automation solutions to help them test their software quickly and efficiently.

Two popular test automation tools in the market today are Katalon and Tricentis. While both products offer similar solutions, they differ in terms of their features, pricing, and target users.

In this article, we'll compare Katalon and Tricentis and highlight their usefulness for different types of professionals. We'll explore the features of each tool, the types of applications they support, and their pricing models. By the end of this article, you should have a better understanding of which tool is best suited for your testing needs based on your role and the type of software you need to test.

What is Katalon

Katalon logo

Katalon is a test automation tool that provides a comprehensive solution for web, mobile, API, and desktop applications. It is designed to be easy to use, even for those with little to no coding experience. Katalon offers a range of features that enable users to automate their testing processes quickly and efficiently. These features include record and playback, test case management, and integrations with popular testing frameworks such as JUnit, TestNG, and Cucumber.

One of the key strengths of Katalon is its ease of use. The tool has a user-friendly interface that allows users to create and execute tests quickly and easily. Additionally, Katalon provides a wide range of pre-built keywords and test scripts that users can easily customize to fit their testing needs. This makes it an ideal tool for individual testers, small teams, and organizations that are new to test automation. Katalon also offers a free version, which makes it accessible to those on a tight budget.

What is Tricentis

Tricentis logo

Tricentis is a comprehensive test automation tool that is designed to help organizations streamline their software testing processes. It offers a wide range of features that enable users to create, execute, and manage tests for a variety of applications, including web, mobile, and enterprise applications. One of the key strengths of Tricentis is its advanced test automation capabilities. The tool uses a model-based approach to testing, which allows users to create tests quickly and efficiently using visual models. This approach can save users a significant amount of time compared to traditional test automation methods that rely on coding.

Another notable feature of Tricentis is its risk-based testing approach. The tool uses machine learning algorithms to identify the areas of an application that are most likely to fail and prioritize testing accordingly. This can help users identify critical defects early in the development process and reduce the risk of software failures in production. Tricentis also offers integrations with popular test management tools, such as JIRA and HP ALM, making it easy for users to manage their testing processes in a single location.

Do these software support both mobile and desktop testing?

Tricentis

Tricentis supports both mobile and desktop testing. It offers a comprehensive test automation solution that can be used to test a variety of applications, including web, mobile, and enterprise applications. Tricentis provides a range of features that enable users to create, execute, and manage tests for both mobile and desktop applications.

For mobile testing, Tricentis offers support for both iOS and Android applications, and provides a range of features such as object recognition, image-based testing, and mobile gestures simulation. Users can create and execute tests for mobile applications using Tricentis' visual test automation tool, Tosca Mobile+, which allows users to create test cases using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

For desktop testing, Tricentis offers support for a wide range of desktop applications, including Windows, macOS, and Linux applications. Users can create and execute tests for desktop applications using Tricentis' visual test automation tool, Tosca Desktop+, which allows users to create test cases using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

Katalon

Katalon offers support for both mobile and desktop testing. Its mobile testing feature supports iOS and Android applications, and comes with features such as object spying, image-based testing, and simulation of mobile gestures.

With Katalon's mobile testing solution, users are able to develop and run tests for mobile applications through recording and playback, or by creating customized test scripts using scripting languages such as Java and Groovy.

Katalon also caters to desktop testing, and it supports a vast range of desktop applications including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Katalon's desktop testing solution enables users to develop and execute tests for desktop applications by either recording and playing them back or creating custom scripts using scripting languages such as Java and Groovy.

What types of testing do these softwares support?

Testing Types Supported by Both Katalon and Tricentis:

Here are some testing types supported by both platforms. However, this is not an exhaustive list, and both Katalon and Tricentis may have additional testing types that are specific to their platforms.

  • Functional testing
  • Regression testing
  • Integration testing
  • API testing
  • Performance testing
  • Security testing
  • Mobile testing
  • Desktop testing
  • Cross-browser testing
  • Test case management

Localization possibility 

Localization testing is the process of verifying that a software application is adapted and translated to meet the linguistic, cultural, and functional requirements of a specific locale or target market.

Both Tricentis and Katlon offer localization testing capabilities. 

Integration capabilities: 

Both SmartBear and BrowserStack provide integration capabilities with a wide range of popular testing frameworks, development tools, and CI/CD pipelines. Some of the popular integrations include:

  • Test frameworks - Selenium, Appium, Espresso, XCTest, and more
  • CI/CD - Jenkins, Travis CI, CircleCI, and more
  • Code repositories - GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, and more
  • Bug tracking and project management tools - Jira, Trello, Asana, and more

Cross-Browser Testing 

Both SmartBear and BrowserStack support cross-browser testing, which means that you can record tests in any supported browser and run them using other browsers. 

In its resources SmartBear even provides guides following which you will be able to:

  • Run parallel tests on multiple browsers 
  • Create a single cross-browser testing report 
  • Do it all in a fraction of time required to prepare and run browser-specific tests

Do these platforms use AI or ML?

Tricentis

As it’s stated on Trisentis.com website, Tricentis offers a fundamentally different way to tackle enterprise software testing. Their  approach is totally automated, fully codeless, and intelligently driven by AI.  

Moreover, Tricentis also utilizes a feature called Vision AI, which is a component of Tosca's Model-based Test Automation approach.which utilizes AI and ML technologies to automate software testing processes. With Vision AI, Tosca can recognize and interact with UI elements by analyzing screenshots of the application under test.

Katalon

Regarding Katalon, we came across some content on their website that discusses the use of AI in their technology. For instance, in their FAQ section, they address how they utilize AI to minimize false positives in visual regression.

When asked about this, Katalon responded by stating: "Aside from the pixel comparison approach, we provide two new image comparison methods using AI: layout-based and text/content-based.

Katalon leverages AI to define and match various zones between the checkpoint image and the baseline image, then highlight changes in the layout. We also use machine learning models to extract and compare texts from the two images regardless of font family, font size or color, which helps the user to quickly identify texts modified from the original version."

Pricing and a free trial

Katalon provides three pricing plans for its complete and standalone packages: Free, Premium, and Ultimate. The Premium plan starts at $354 per month for the Complete Software Quality Management product and $300 per month for the Test Automation Solution product. Both packages are available for a 30-day trial and a 30% discount for new customers.

Regarding Tricentis pricing, the company does not publish its pricing plans, and interested parties should contact the sales team to request pricing information.

Customer Support, training and education

Tricentis and Katalon both provide various means of customer support, including:

  • Online documentation: Both companies offer comprehensive documentation and user guides that cover their products' features and functionalities.
  • Community forums: Both companies have community forums where users can ask questions, share knowledge, and get help from other users.
  • Email support: Both companies offer email support for users who need assistance with their products.
  • Live chat: Katalon provides a live chat support feature on their website where users can chat with a support representative in real-time.
  • Phone support: Tricentis offers phone support for customers who need more personalized assistance with their products.
  • Training and certification: Both companies provide training and certification programs to help users become more proficient in their products and improve their testing skills.

In conclusion, both Tricentis and Katalon offer powerful tools for automated software testing, with unique features and functionalities that cater to different needs and preferences. Tricentis provides a robust and comprehensive platform that leverages AI and ML technologies, offering advanced capabilities for complex enterprise testing scenarios. Katalon, on the other hand, offers an easy-to-use and affordable solution that is suitable for small to mid-sized teams and individual users. Ultimately, the choice between Tricentis and Katalon depends on the specific needs, budget, and preferences of the organization or individual. However, both companies provide excellent customer support and resources to ensure users can get the most out of their products.

About the author

author photo: Tamas Cser

Tamas Cser

FOUNDER & CTO

Tamas Cser is the founder, CTO, and Chief Evangelist at Functionize, the leading provider of AI-powered test automation. With over 15 years in the software industry, he launched Functionize after experiencing the painstaking bottlenecks with software testing at his previous consulting company. Tamas is a former child violin prodigy turned AI-powered software testing guru. He grew up under a communist regime in Hungary, and after studying the violin at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, toured the world playing violin. He was bitten by the tech bug and decided to shift his talents to coding, eventually starting a consulting company before Functionize. Tamas and his family live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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