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IBM Rational Test Workbench vs Katalon Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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 Test Workbench
Ranking in API Testing Tools
17th
Ranking in Test Automation Tools
36th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Performance Testing Tools (20th)
Katalon Studio
Ranking in API Testing Tools
4th
Ranking in Test Automation Tools
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the API Testing Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Rational Test Workbench is 1.1%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Katalon Studio is 12.6%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Testing Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Katalon Studio12.6%
IBM Rational Test Workbench1.1%
Other86.3%
API Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

KashifJamil - PeerSpot reviewer
Good integration with other tools, stable, scales easily
There are a number of things that they can do to simplify the tools, but the most important thing that they need to do is simplify the installation. This includes the workbench as well as the other tools. In the future, I would like to see the other types of tests supported, that are not already covered in the DevOps approach. This would include, for example, penetration testing.
Appu Ashok - PeerSpot reviewer
Expansive integrations boost automation potential across devices
I am in the field of product research and am familiar with Katalon Studio for product comparisons and test automation. Even though I am not an active tester, I have created a few tests using Katalon Studio Some of our customers use Katalon Studio, however, our own product, Tangene, is a…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Reporting is pretty good. Its interface is also good. I'm overall pretty happy with the functionality and use of IBM Rational Test Workbench."
"This solution provides for API testing, functional UI testing, performance testing, and service virtualization."
"Katalon Studio is easier to use compared to SmartBear TestComplete."
"It is good with iOS and Android."
"It provides us daily feedback on the status (failing/working) of the core features of our websites."
"The initial setup of Katalon Studio was easy."
"The most valuable features of Katalon Studio are its user-friendliness and the AI smart healing capabilities."
"Katalon Studio has positively impacted my organization because I have noticed that I can save more than 50% of our time automating test cases."
"User-friendly and a good solution."
"We are now performing automated testing in 15 minutes, which were previously taking a long time when doing it manually."
 

Cons

"There are a number of things that they can do to simplify the tools, but the most important thing that they need to do is simplify the installation."
"It should have more interfaces. In terms of interfaces or protocols, what you can do with Rational is far limited as compared to other products out there. What it does, it does great, but it only gives you limited types of protocols. It supports between 8 to 15 types of protocols, whereas other test tools give you 20 to 30 types of protocols with which you can do testing and convert to script. It records Javascript-based scripts, and you got to know a little bit of Java to basically be able to edit them, but the level of editing you got to do is very low. I like that, but the ability to edit the script is not as good as Parasoft or LoadRunner, which have C-Script."
"The solution can be further improved with better loading time."
"Katalon Studio should improve its usability, it still needs some improvement where users can easily use it to build their automation suite. It requires some initial work to set it up. There should be more keywords in the library to limit the coding requirements, this will allow a non-technical person easily start using it, which would be better."
"The free version of the solution is not user friendly at all."
"Katalon doesn't support testing of hybrid applications. It's a limitation."
"It would be helpful if they can integrate a feature for performance testing."
"The price of Katalon Studio is an area of concern where improvement is required."
"Now we are having difficulties in using it and had to limit our automation experts to the features that Katalon allows us to use for free. It was free access and they claimed that it would be free for all time."
"I've seen that our clients are not truly aware of the power behind Katalon."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is a little bit on the higher side, although it is really good."
"It doesn't really concern me. Licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The price is not high it's good."
"Its pricing is quite reasonable. If you require their help in getting started, then there is a professional services fee on top of the product license cost."
"The approximate cost is around $8,000."
"The pricing is good. It is the market average."
"There is a free version of the tool to use and support is available through the community forums, but there is a licensed version as well."
"In terms of pricing, Katalon, Selenium, and Cypress all represent a similar level of investment. The software for these tools are either true open source or almost open source (because they charge a small fee), so pricing is a neutral point for me."
"We were using the free version of this tool."
"The price of Katalon Studio is reasonable. They recently had a price increase that might impact new subscribers. We are using a business license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Non Profit
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Katalon Studio?
Katalon Studio is on the expensive side. I rated it eight on a scale where ten is very expensive. I recommend optimizing the pricing, as a moderate value around five would be preferred.
What needs improvement with Katalon Studio?
The pricing could be improved. Offering a discount on Katalon Studio licenses could encourage more users. There is significant competition, so providing a good offer with extra features could be be...
 

Also Known As

Rational Test Workbench, IBM Rational Performance Tester, IBM Functional Tester, IBM Rational Test Virtualization Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Financial Insurance Management Corp.
Coca-Cola Tesla Black Board TaTa Consultancy Services Sony
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational Test Workbench vs. Katalon Studio and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.