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SmartBear TestComplete vs Visual Studio Test Professional comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
SmartBear TestComplete automation saves time, enhances client satisfaction, and boosts efficiency, with annual savings of approximately $10,000.
Sentiment score
6.8
Visual Studio Test Professional boosts efficiency and productivity with cost-saving benefits, significantly enhancing development environments and quality.
Once set up, only one person is needed to handle all tasks, reducing the requirement for multiple personnel.
QA Analyst at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
SmartBear TestComplete's customer support is knowledgeable but inconsistent, with delays and unresolved issues needing faster escalation and responses.
Sentiment score
6.8
Customers appreciate Visual Studio Test Professional's support, though some highlight navigation challenges and delays reaching knowledgeable staff.
Sometimes, the documentation is not readable, being too long or too detailed and not connected to my problem.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
SmartBear TestComplete is scalable and adaptable, with flexible scripting, but may require licensing for wider deployment.
Sentiment score
7.4
Visual Studio Test Professional is highly scalable, adaptable, and supports large teams, though some find licensing costs a concern.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
SmartBear TestComplete generally stable, but users report crashes, memory leaks, and HTML5 testing delays in certain scenarios.
Sentiment score
7.9
Visual Studio Test Professional is stable with high ratings, minor bugs, and reliable updates, despite occasional third-party integration issues.
 

Room For Improvement

SmartBear TestComplete faces challenges in object recognition, integrations, licensing, performance, and support across browsers and mobile devices.
Visual Studio Test Professional needs better integration, user-friendliness, scalability, modern features, and improved performance and documentation.
While using SmartBear TestComplete, we are fine with the current capabilities, however, it would be beneficial to improve some performance aspects, especially the image comparison feature.
QA Analyst at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Sometimes, the library version is not compatible with other libraries, causing errors in my application.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
The product needs contextual help integrated within its interface.
Chief Product Officer at Gradiant
Additionally, in Visual Studio Code, we have an agent mode for GitHub Copilot, which is very helpful in testing or development phases, while Visual Studio's GitHub Copilot is a bit tricky and sometimes does not provide my desired output.
Test Automation Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

SmartBear TestComplete's pricing and licensing receive mixed reviews, seen as both reasonable and costly depending on usage and modules.
Visual Studio Test Professional's pricing is high, yet valued for its functionality, offering free and professional licensing options.
The price is expensive.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
 

Valuable Features

SmartBear TestComplete excels in cross-platform automation, integration, and support for multiple languages, enhancing automated testing efficiency and maintenance.
Visual Studio Test Professional offers robust integration, user-friendly tools, and customization for efficient cross-platform development and team collaboration.
The most valuable feature of SmartBear TestComplete for me is the image comparison functionality.
QA Analyst at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
It supports cross-platform functionality.
Department Manager, Certification Project Management at Institute for Information Industry
We have a retrospective in our auto projects that we are using frequently to get lessons learned, what went well, and what is going wrong.
Test Automation Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Visual Studio Test Professional is highly valuable because it provides extensive extensions and plugins that assist in measuring code quality.
Chief Product Officer at Gradiant
 

Categories and Ranking

SmartBear TestComplete
Ranking in Functional Testing Tools
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (5th), Test Automation Tools (7th)
Visual Studio Test Professi...
Ranking in Functional Testing Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Test Management Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Functional Testing Tools category, the mindshare of SmartBear TestComplete is 5.1%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Studio Test Professional is 1.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Functional Testing Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SmartBear TestComplete5.1%
Visual Studio Test Professional1.2%
Other93.7%
Functional Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Prakhar Goel - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Test Lead at Emerson
Used for integration automation, user-based automation, and web automation
The solution's most valuable features are the drag-and-drop feature, keyword-driven approach, and reusability of the scripts. The solution has introduced a new feature that helps us identify objects we cannot normally identify. It gives you a fair idea of objects, resolving the object recognition issue. The solution can be used to perform different tests on different machines.
Payel Saha - PeerSpot reviewer
Test Automation Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Integrated collaboration with automated test management has improved our agile workflows and continuously supports quality reporting
Visual Studio Test Professional could be improved as earlier we had flexibility in automation testing with TFS, which became a bit difficult moving to Azure DevOps. Additionally, in Visual Studio Code, we have an agent mode for GitHub Copilot, which is very helpful in testing or development phases, while Visual Studio's GitHub Copilot is a bit tricky and sometimes does not provide my desired output.For future improvements, I would like to see prompt fixing, as currently, if something goes wrong in Visual Studio, the fixing options are not always correct. If that intelligence is embedded, it would be very helpful.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Functional Testing Tools solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Performing Arts
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise32
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SmartBear TestComplete?
TestComplete has strong reporting capabilities. The reports they generate are really good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SmartBear TestComplete?
I am not involved in pricing or licensing; our management team handles these aspects.
What needs improvement with SmartBear TestComplete?
While using SmartBear TestComplete, we are fine with the current capabilities, however, it would be beneficial to improve some performance aspects, especially the image comparison feature. Occasion...
What do you like most about Visual Studio Test Professional?
The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability.
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.
What needs improvement with Visual Studio Test Professional?
Visual Studio Test Professional could be improved as earlier we had flexibility in automation testing with TFS, which became a bit difficult moving to Azure DevOps. Additionally, in Visual Studio C...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco, J.P. Morgan, Boeing, McAfee, EMC, Intuit, and Thomson Reuters.
Transport for Greater Manchester, Ordina, Bluegarden A/S, CLEAResult, Jet.com, OSIsoft, Australian Taxation Office, BookedOut, Tracasa
Find out what your peers are saying about SmartBear TestComplete vs. Visual Studio Test Professional and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.