IBM Rational Performance Tester vs Visual Studio Test Professional comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Test Management Tools category. IBM is ranked #25, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 1.5% mindshare in TMT, compared to Microsoft’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Read 17 IBM Rational Performance Tester reviews

588 Views
106 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Read 52 Visual Studio Test Professional reviews

949 Views
256 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

IBM Rational Performance Tester and Visual Studio Test Professional are competitors in the software testing market. Visual Studio Test Professional seems to have the upper hand due to better integration, customer service, and pricing.

Features:IBM Rational Performance Tester offers comprehensive load and performance testing, in-depth analysis tools, and detailed reporting. Visual Studio Test Professional provides robust test planning, tracking, and integrated continuous testing tools, along with superior integration within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Room for Improvement:IBM Rational Performance Tester has a complexity and steep learning curve, lacks an intuitive design, and needs smoother user experience. Visual Studio Test Professional occasionally experiences performance lags, needs enhanced cross-platform support, and requires optimization for faster operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IBM Rational Performance Tester's deployment is cumbersome and requires extensive support, but its customer service is positively recognized. Visual Studio Test Professional has smoother deployment experiences and benefits from extensive Microsoft support resources.

Pricing and ROI:IBM Rational Performance Tester is relatively expensive with a longer ROI period. Visual Studio Test Professional offers better value for money with quicker ROI and flexible pricing options.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 865,295 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

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Ranking in Test Management Tools

25th

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Ranking in Test Management Tools

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Functional Testing Tools (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Test Management Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Rational Performance Tester is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Studio Test Professional is 2.6%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Test Management Tools

Featured Reviews

KashifJamil

CEO at Xcelliti

Supports web and mobile applications, very scalable, very stable, and wonderful support

There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features. It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies.

Read full review

CharlesChang

Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry

Valuable performance and libraries but needs compatibility improvements

We use Visual Studio Test Professional to develop our internal applications for our company The performance of Visual Studio Test Professional is valuable. Additionally, there are many libraries that I can use, and it supports cross-platform functionality. Visual Studio Test Professional is…

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

"Technical support is very good. I'm very satisfied with the assistance we've received so far."

"It can support both web applications and mobile applications, and in certain cases, it can also support testing of desktop applications or software-based applications. You can write web applications, mobile applications, and software-based applications."

"The most valuable features of Visual Studio Test Professional are the IntelliSense and the ease of adding the NuGet packages."

"Performance-wise, it is a great tool."

"One of the best documentation in the world."

"The tool is flexible and easy to manage. We use it since it is scalable and easy to use. It integrates with solutions."

"Visual Studio Test Professional's most valuable feature is the rich IDE for doing code and test development."

"This product is a nine out of ten."

"The ability to quickly make your own components has been valuable."

"Customization is the most powerful feature of this product."

More Visual Studio Test Professional pros

Cons

"The solution is not easily scalable. If you want to extend the solution, you need to purchase a different kind of license. You also have to work with the IBM team to assist in scaling."

"There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features. It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies."

"The product needs contextual help integrated within its interface. Currently, I need to search online to find out how to use certain functions."

"The solution's deployment is not very easy and should be made easier."

"Sometimes, the product is too complex to use."

"The integration with Git needs improving because it is a bit disjointed and unpredictable."

"The data flow can be improved."

"In Visual Studio we still don't have anything which can pinpoint memory leaks on a certain code line."

"Visual Studio Test Professional is a little pricey."

"The interface should be made attractive."

More Visual Studio Test Professional cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is much cheaper than Micro Focus LoadRunner. We need perpetual licenses. Support is included in the first sale. After that, you need to renew support every year."

"Visual Studio Test Professional is a very expensive solution."

"Our company pays a yearly licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional."

"We use the solution’s community version, and the solution’s pricing could be cheaper."

"Users have to pay a licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional."

"The product is very expensive."

"I think that the pricing is quite good."

"The tool is affordable."

"It is a price-effective solution"

More Visual Studio Test Professional pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Test Management Tools solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

26%

Government

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What do you like most about Visual Studio Test Professional?

The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Studio Test Professional?

The tool is free, resulting in no costs associated with its use. The absence of price makes it cost-effective.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Visual Studio Test Professional?

The product needs contextual help integrated within its interface. Currently, I need to search online to find out how to use certain functions. This feature would save time by providing direct assi...

See all answers

Comparisons

Apache JMeter vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 53% of the time

OpenText Professional Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Professional) vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 29% of the time

Tricentis NeoLoad vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 18% of the time

More IBM Rational Performance Tester Competitors

Tricentis Tosca vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 16% of the time

SmartBear TestComplete vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 14% of the time

Apache JMeter vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 14% of the time

OpenText Functional Testing vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 13% of the time

Tricentis qTest vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 13% of the time

More Visual Studio Test Professional Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester

August 2025

Download IBM Rational Performance Tester product report

Buyer's Guide

Visual Studio Test Professional

July 2025

Download Visual Studio Test Professional product report

Also Known As

Rational Performance Tester

No data available

Overview

IBM Rational Performance Tester is a performance testing solution that validates the scalability of web and server applications. Rational Performance Tester identifies the presence and cause of system performance bottlenecks and reduces load testing complexity.

IBM

Visual Studio Professional Edition provides an IDE for all supported development languages. As of Visual Studio 2010, the Standard edition was dropped. MSDN support is available as MSDN Essentials or the full MSDN library depending on licensing. It supports XML and XSLT editing, and can create deployment packages that only use ClickOnce and MSI. It includes tools like Server Explorer and integration with Microsoft SQL Server also. Windows Mobile development support was included in Visual Studio 2005 Standard, however, with Visual Studio 2008, it is only available in Professional and higher editions. Windows Phone 7 development support was added to all editions in Visual Studio 2010. Development for Windows Mobile is no longer supported in Visual Studio 2010; it is superseded by Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

andagon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon

Transport for Greater Manchester, Ordina, Bluegarden A/S, CLEAResult, Jet.com, OSIsoft, Australian Taxation Office, BookedOut, Tracasa

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional report.

See our list of best Test Management Tools vendors.

We monitor all Test Management Tools reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.