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Katalon Studio vs k6 Open Source comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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

k6 Open Source
Ranking in Regression Testing Tools
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Load Testing Tools (7th)
Katalon Studio
Ranking in Regression Testing Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
API Testing Tools (4th), Test Automation Tools (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Regression Testing Tools category, the mindshare of k6 Open Source is 1.1%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Katalon Studio is 9.7%, down from 17.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Regression Testing Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Katalon Studio9.7%
k6 Open Source1.1%
Other89.2%
Regression Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

ArtemCheremisin - PeerSpot reviewer
Performance Test Engineer at BETBY
Lighter on the RAM and has native Grafana support
The tool's big advantage is that it is more performance-test oriented for experienced testers who know what they are doing. In a normal working setup, performance engineers frequently work with DevOps and development teams. For these teams, k6 Open Source's syntax is much simpler and easier to understand and apply in the working process. Recently, I had a case where I was using another tool, and there wasn't enough memory for it because it required more RAM. k6 Open Source, on the other hand, is lighter and doesn't have a UI, which is beneficial. An engineer I was training could use k6 Open Source scripts even without my help. The tool is more efficient and has native support with Grafana, as both are developed by the same company. This integration enhances monitoring and loss ratio tracking. Thanks to its intelligent GUI, k6 Open Source's design is simpler, particularly for complex scenarios. When we need to manage hundreds of thousands or millions of transactions per minute, the solution becomes a game-changer compared to JMeter.
Ramanagowda Hullur - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Automation Engineer at Stryker
Recording limitations and remote access challenges have affected desktop application testing
Katalon Studio has proven effective in our deliverables, particularly in designing the framework where other tools typically require coding in client libraries such as Python or Java. With Katalon Studio, there is no such complexity, allowing us to organize projects modularly based on folder structures without needing to write separate code. The self-healing feature for web application automation and its built-in CI/CD ecosystem integration eliminates the need for external tools for pipeline setup. Katalon Studio excels in CI/CD integration, providing an inbuilt ecosystem without the need for external setup, and it features a postings structure along with keyword and library availability. Newcomers to the team can easily adapt to the setup or project structure, which contributes to its popularity, along with its low-code or no-code capability that allows for a comprehensive platform supporting web, mobile, API, and desktop automation. The self-healing mechanism for test cases autonomously identifies issues with locators and ensures they continue functioning, which is impressive, along with the robust object repository. Katalon Studio has significantly aided our team, especially when clients expect deliveries for CI/CD integration that requires automation test scripts to run on a daily schedule. The self-healing feature automatically identifies available locators for elements in the DOM, ensuring that test cases remain functional. Katalon Studio has positively impacted our organization by facilitating faster delivery when clients have urgent requirements. We can deliver quickly based on urgency due to the features Katalon Studio provides. This has led to significant reductions in time spent on framework configuration, designing, and training individuals who are unfamiliar with the tool, helping us save both time and costs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool's big advantage is that it is more performance-test oriented for experienced testers who know what they are doing. In a normal working setup, performance engineers frequently work with DevOps and development teams. For these teams, k6 Open Source's syntax is much simpler and easier to understand and apply in the working process."
"The standout feature of k6 is its strong focus on API performance testing."
"I would recommend Katalon Studio, especially if you do not require a license."
"Katalon Studio offers an all-in-one commercial platform usable by all skill levels, including beginners and manual testers, enabling us to work with web, mobile, API, and desktop applications within a single tool while saving time and cost through CI/CD pipelines and cross-platform testing."
"Katalon Studio is user-friendly."
"Katalon Studio is a very useful tool and very easy to use, and it can save almost 80% of your manual testing time by allowing you to record up to 1000 test cases, create scenarios, place them in a test suite, and reduce 12 hours of testing to about one hour or 90 minutes."
"Whenever I speak to the support team of Katalon Studio, I learn that some new features will be included in the product. It is a scalable product."
"It is good for API testing. It is also good for continuous integration testing. You can connect it to Jenkins."
"Katalon Studio has positively impacted my organization because I have noticed that I can save more than 50% of our time automating test cases."
"Our clients have requested by all types of testing, including mobile, desktop, and API testing and all of those are covered by Katalon. I find that very valuable, very complete."
 

Cons

"One area where k6 could improve is by introducing a GUI similar to JMeter."
"The pricing could be improved. Offering a discount on Katalon Studio licenses could encourage more users."
"Katalon Studio's pricing is expensive."
"Currently, I'm the only one who can use it because I have a Mac. It is giving a hard time to my team members who are on Linux. My team members are using Linux, and Katalon doesn't support Linux very well. It keeps on crashing. It crashes and shuts down almost every time they save their work, so they are not able to use it. It should have good support for Linux. We don't know what the problem is. If the Katalon team can pick up this issue, it will be very helpful."
"Extending the certification validity, especially after the trial period, would be beneficial."
"What it lacks is the Selenium Grid capabilities."
"It is difficult to identify elements on websites that use Angular or ReactJS because they don't have an option to view source code."
"The integration process with Jira should be enhanced and facilitated."
"It would be helpful if they can integrate a feature for performance testing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing is good. It is the market average."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"There is no cost for setup or licensing."
"The cost of Katalon Studio is expensive but it is less than some of the other solutions, such as Micro Focus UFT or SmartBear TestComplete. The cost is the main reason we are using Katalon Studio."
"We are using the free version. We plan on getting a paid version because there is a limitation in terms of the number of users. We want to maximize it."
"It is freeware software, so start using it."
"This product is freeware, so there is no charge for using it."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Retailer
7%
Media Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Katalon Studio?
Pricing felt reasonable for the features provided, especially considering the time saved during the automation setup and execution. From a user perspective, Katalon Studio offers good value, partic...
What needs improvement with Katalon Studio?
I feel nothing needs improvement for Katalon Studio, as it is already the best in the industry, providing the best enhancement for users. Katalon Studio is already top-notch with no need to improve.
 

Also Known As

Load Impact
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

rackspace, salesforce.com, IBM, servicenow, Nasdaq, JWT
Coca-Cola Tesla Black Board TaTa Consultancy Services Sony
Find out what your peers are saying about Katalon Studio vs. k6 Open Source and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.