Functional Testing Tools are the type of tools mainly used to test the software application’s functionality depending on the software’s requirements. The functional testing tools are used to test the quality of the software, its usability, and whether the software is meeting the needs of the customer since these things should be considered while testing software.

Learn how Functional Testing Tools play a crucial role in ensuring software quality and customer satisfaction. Therefore, the selection of an efficient tool is one of the important parts of the process of software development. Thus, in this article, a comprehensive overview has been provided about the Functional testing tools and the top 10 functional testing tools and frameworks used in 2024.

What are Functional Testing Tools?

Functional Testing Tools are the tools that are used to automate and streamline the functional testing process in software development. The main objective of these functional testing tools is to verify the quality of the software, and its usability and also help in satisfying the needs of the customers. These tools check the quality and functionality of the software which helps the software developers to know about the defects or bugs in the software and to work better on the issues to make the software more efficient.

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Why Automation of Functional Testing is Essential?

Automating functional testing is like having a reliable assistant who tirelessly checks your software for bugs and issues. It saves time by quickly running tests over and over again, ensuring that any changes you make to your software don’t introduce new problems. This automation also boosts accuracy, catching even the smallest mistakes that human testers might miss. Plus, it allows you to test a wide range of scenarios, including unusual and challenging ones, which can be difficult to do manually. In the end, automating functional testing helps you create better software more efficiently.

Top 10 Functional Testing Tools and Frameworks in 2024

There are various Functional Testing tools used by software developers to check the quality of the software and to make the software efficient by using the features of these functional testing tools. Some of the 10 best functional testing tools and frameworks that every developer should try in 2024 are mentioned below:

1. Selenium

Selenium is an open-source testing tool that consists of a wide range of libraries that are mainly used for the testing of website applications across multiple web browsers. Selenium is used to determine the feature or the system functions properly without any issues. This testing tool is only used to test the web applications and not the mobile or desktop application.

Key Features

1. Selenium testing tool is used to enable testers to write automated tests in multiple programming languages.
2. Selenium tests can be run on multiple browsers and operating systems.
3. Selenium tool consists of a component for the automation of website application testing known as WebDriver.
4. With the help of the Selenium testing tool, dynamic website elements can be handled easily.

2. Playwright

Playwright is one of the popular testing tools that lets users automate and script browsers by using the same API, it is particularly used to support testing on multiple browsers such as Chromium, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, WebKit, and Firefox. Playwright also provides reliable end-to-end and cross-browser testing for modern website applications.

Key Features

1. The playwright is compatible with various CI/CD tools as well as CircleCI, GitLab, Jenkins, and so on.
2. Playwright provides a cross-platform support feature that helps to test the software on multiple devices.
3. With the help of the playwright, users can run a single test, a set of tests, and all tests.
4. Playwright also provides end-to-end automated testing of web apps.

3. Appium

Appium is a functional testing tool that allows testing for native, hybrid, and mobile apps with multiple languages such as Ruby, Python, Java, and C#. It is an automation framework that allows the test engineers to conduct automated app testing in Android, iOS, and Windows. Appium tests can be run on real devices and emulators.

Key Features

1. Appium provides multi-platform support, therefore it can run similar test cases on different platforms.
2. Appium allows automated testing in mobile, native, and hybrid applications.
3. With the help of Appium, software developers write test scripts that work on both Android and iOS apps.
4. It supports robust and highly reusable tools for mobile automation.

4. Cypress

Cypress is one of the fast and easy-to-use JavaScript frameworks which is mainly used for JavaScript projects. Cypress tool is a framework independent which particularly means that the test engineers are not required to rewrite the test scripts if they want to rewrite the application in other frameworks. Cypress also enables the software developers to perform unit integration and end-to-end testing.

Key Features

1. Cypress can be integrated with various CI/CD tools.
2. Cypress tool allows the QA engineers to write the automated tests efficiently.
3. Cypress also integrates seamlessly with modern front-end frameworks.
4. Cross-browser testing is one of the main features of Cypress and it allows the developers to debug tests in real time.

5. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is one of the most popular automation tools that is used for automating Chrome browsers to the website tests. It is a node library that provides a high-level API to control headless Chromium. This testing tool is easy to install and helps the test engineers carry out web scraping, testing, and automation efficiently. It also allows the software testers to use the JavaScript commands to interact with the browsers.

Key Features

1. Puppeteer helps the developers control the browser using the commands written in JavaScript.
2. Puppeteer allows software developers to automate the testing of websites in Google Chrome.
3. This functional testing tool provides high-level API control to chrome/chromium tools over the DevTools protocol.
4. Puppeteer testing tool is easy to use with web scraping and easy automation features.

6. Watir

Watir is an open-source website application testing framework that was developed by Paul Rogers and RubyGems Gem. It was designed to make writing Selenium tests easier and more efficient. It works nicely with the latest browsers and it is also very usable. Watir mainly supports Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Internet Explorer. With the help of Watir users can easily run visual, manual, and selenium tests in the cloud on real desktop and mobile browsers.

Key Features

1. With the help of Watir, it is easy to use the APIs to test popups and alerts.
2. Watir is mostly used for its browser support with testing frameworks like Cucumber, RSpec, and so on.
3. Watir supports headless browser execution.
4. It also supports the page object design pattern.

7. SoapUI

SoapUI is an open-source testing tool that is used for development and simulation as well as testing, thus making it a multi-faceted testing tool. It is also used for testing web services like HTTP-based services and soap web services. With the help of the SoapUI testing tool, software developers easily write, integrate, and automate API tests.

Key Features

1. SoapUI allows users to easily develop and execute automated functional tests.
2. Soap UI tool allows the testers to write, automate, and integrate the tests in APIs.
3. Soap UI tool provides a data-driven testing kind of feature.
4. With the help of SoapUI, software testers to easily analyze, debug, and test the website services in multiple ways.

8. TestComplete

TestComplete is one of the popular commercial testing tools for mobile, desktop, and website testing. This testing tool mainly offers an easy-to-use record and playback feature. It particularly supports multiple scripting languages such as Python, VBScript, C++ Script, and JavaScript. TestComplete also integrates with Jenkins in a CI process.

Key Features

1. TestComplete is used to identify the objects and controls in tested apps.
2. TestComplete tool offers special checkpoints that let the users verify the application state during the test run.
3. It integrates with source code control tools and CI/CD platforms.
4. It also provides the testers the ability to develop automated tests for Microsoft Windows, website, iOS, and Android applications.

9. Ranorex

Ranorex is one of the popular tools which is used for test automation. It consists of a GUI test automation framework which is mainly used for testing the website, mobile, and desktop applications. Ranorex consists of its scripting language to automate the application. It also delivers a complete set of automation tools that help in testing and it also uses standard programming languages such as VB.NET and C#.

Key Features

1. Ranorex is easily customizable and consists of easy-to-read reports.
2. It integrates with complete testing toolchains such as Jira, Jenkins, Git, Azure, and so on.
3. With the help of Ranorex, cross-platform and cross-browser testing is possible.
4. This testing tool helps enable testing in parallel or distributed on a Selenium grid with the built-in Selenium WebDriver.

10. Sahi Pro

Sahi Pro is another famous functional testing tool for website applications which mainly supports web apps and REST API automation. This testing tool is good for cross-browser or multi-browser testing for complex Web 2.0 applications, it also supports the developers to test web browsers and mobile and desktop apps.

Key Features

1. Sahi Pro is used to test any browser on any of the operating systems.
2. Automatic logging, reporting, and continuous integration are some of the features of Sahi Pro.
3. This functional testing tool helps in testing Android, native, hybrid, and iOS applications.
4. Non-automation testers can also easily use this tool due to its easy-to-use features.

Comparison Table of Functional Testing Tools and Frameworks

Here’s a brief comparison table for the top 10 functional testing tools and frameworks: