Software testing does not stop at checking individual components. Even if those components are working perfectly fine individually, issues can still arise when we combine them together into a unified system. Integration testing ensures that components communicate well with each other to form a complete application, and QA teams usually leverage integration testing tools to achieve that.
In this article, we will review in-depth the top 10 integration testing tools on the current market, with detailed information about the key features, pricing, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each tool so that you can make a more informed decision.
Read More: What is Integration Testing? A Complete Guide
Integration testing tools are software applications designed to support the testing of interactions between software components. These tools come with ready-to-use features built with integration testing best practices in mind, so that QA teams can get started more quickly without any concerns regarding configuration, management, maintenance, or reporting. All of the administrative and repetitive tasks can be handled by the tool.
Without using integration testing tools, QA teams have 2 options:
This is where integration testing tools shine through. They come with unique benefits that save your team from a lot of headaches:
Integration testing tools usually comes with the following features:
Katalon Platform is an all-in-one integration testing tool for any type of AUT, including web, mobile, desktop, and especially API testing, which is a crucial part of integration testing.
Integration testing in Katalon is especially effective thanks to the comprehensive set of features it provides. You can quickly build test cases to check interactions among software components, or even between those components and external services (such as testing if a finance software effectively connects to a web service to retrieve financial news for traders). The all-in-one nature of Katalon enables you to build test cases across AUTs.
Not just that, you also get to create test scripts without any coding in Katalon Studio. Simply drag-and-drop the built-in keywords (which are basically code snippets for the action you want to perform), or use the Record-and-Playback feature to record your sequence of test steps. Katalon transforms all of that into re-executable test scripts that you can run across environments.
You can also easily manage your test cases and test objects in the Object Repository with a clear hierarchy. When it comes to test execution, Katalon gives you access to a wide range of browsers & mobile versions (both iOS and Android), and you can choose to run locally, remotely, or on-cloud. After test runs, Katalon generates detailed test reports for you to make informed decisions.
Want to communicate with your team about the test results? Katalon integrates seamlessly with your communication techstack (Slack, Microsoft Teams, JIRA, etc.) to give you visibility over your software quality. Check out our interactive demo here:
Website: Katalon AI-augmented Software Quality Management Platform
Pricing: Katalon offers flexible pricing with a Free Forever tier for you to experience the low-code test creation and execution features. A 30-day Free Trial is available to unleash the full Katalon portfolio, as well as the homegrown AI designed to supercharge your testing.
Download Katalon For Free or Book A Call With Our Team
Postman is a comprehensive API development and testing platform designed to simplify the process of building, testing, and documenting APIs. While its main use case is API testing, Postman is also commonly leveraged for integration testing. You can easily create test suites that cover API endpoints to test integration scenarios with external digital services.
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Website: Postman API Platform
Pricing: Postman pricing starts from $14/month per user (Basic plan), billed annually. There is also a Free plan for testers to experiment with the Platform without initial commitments.
SoapUI is a popular open-source tool used for testing web services, including SOAP and REST APIs. It is also commonly used as an integration testing tool with a user-friendly graphical interface that allows users to create test cases, define test steps, and configure test data easily.
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Website: SoapUI
Pricing: There are 3 modules for you to choose from, including API Test Module, API Performance Module, and API Virtualization Module
Citrus is an open-source Java-based integration testing framework designed for automated integration testing of messaging systems, APIs, databases, and so much more. It is tailored for testing scenarios that involve interactions between different components and systems in an enterprise architecture.
Citrus can play a dual role during integration tests, acting both as a client and a consumer. As a client, Citrus sends messages (requests) to the System Under Test. As a consumer, it receives and processes messages (responses) from the System Under Test, simulating real-world interactions between systems.
Source: Citrus Framework
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Pricing: Open-source
Selenium is a popular open-source automation testing framework widely favored by developers for its capability to automate web browser interactions. Not just integration testing, Selenium can be leveraged to test a wide variety of web scenarios. You can script and automate actions such as clicking buttons, filling out forms, navigating between pages, and much more.
However, to fully leverage Selenium, the tester must have a decent level of coding experience. It is only a framework, and to truly automate test cases, testers must actively write and maintain test scripts they build. There are no built-in frameworks for data-driven testing or reporting features, so QA teams also have to build that all by themselves. This high learning curve is worth it considering the level of customization it gives to the team.
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Website: Selenium Dev
Pricing: Open-source
IBM Rational Integration Tester simplifies testing for SOA (service-oriented architecture) messaging and business process integration projects. You can create tests without scripting, either by recording existing system actions or based on requirements. Simply specify the data to send and what data you expect in return.
IBM also lets you make virtual services to remove dependencies and enable testing at any stage. These virtual services can be used with IBM Rational Test Virtualization Server to create flexible, on-demand test environments for all testing phases.
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Website: Rational Integration Tester
Pricing: You can use IBM Rational Integration Tester Starter Edition to get started quickly writing and running, stubs, and tests. The starter edition is no-charge and can be downloaded from the Continuous Testing web site.
Leapwork is a no-code automation platform designed for test automation, process automation, and robotic process automation (RPA). It enables users to create automation workflows and test cases without the need for coding or scripting.
As an integration testing tool, Leapwork's no-code approach allows both testers and non-technical users to design integration test cases and workflows through a visual interface, making it accessible to a wide range of team members.
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Website: Leapwork
Pricing: Free Trial option available. For detailed quote, you can contact Sales.
Tessy is a commercial tool developed by Razorcat, specifically designed for testing embedded software, allowing you to create and execute test cases at the unit level (testing individual functions or methods) and at the integration level (testing the interaction between various components or modules).
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Website: Tessy from Razorcat
Pricing: Contact Sales
LDRA is a well-known company that specializes in software testing and verification tools for safety-critical and embedded systems. LDRA offers a range of tools and solutions for software quality assurance, including static analysis, dynamic analysis, and unit testing.
In the LDRA toolsuite, LDRA TBrun is a unit and integration test tool that streamlines the creation and management of test harnesses and tests. It automates these processes, reducing manual testing efforts and enabling developers to focus on implementing correct software functionality.
TBrun is user-friendly and suits both those aiming to meet structural analysis and unit test requirements for functional safety and cybersecurity standards, as well as those seeking to enhance software quality. LDRA TBrun supports testing on various platforms, including host, target, and simulator environments, and its instrumentation technology is optimized for a wide range of processors, from highly constrained microcontrollers to high-performance processors.
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Website: LDRA TBrun
Pricing: 30-day Free Trial upon registering
TestSigma is an emerging automation testing tool that supports testing on many AUTs, including web, API, desktop, and also mobile. This makes it a good choice for integration testing also.
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Website: TestSigma
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting from $349/month