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SpecFlow vs TFS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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

SpecFlow
Ranking in Test Management Tools
19th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
TFS
Ranking in Test Management Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Test Management Tools category, the mindshare of SpecFlow is 2.5%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TFS is 4.7%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Test Management Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
TFS4.7%
SpecFlow2.5%
Other92.8%
Test Management Tools
 

Featured Reviews

SD
Senior QA Automation Engineer at AMCS Group
Ensures efficient testing and validation of both business and technical requirements
In terms of improvement, SpecFlow's installation and configuration can be a bit challenging due to its flexibility as an open-source tool. While it offers a balanced flexibility, setting it up might require more effort compared to some licensed products that handle everything. However, SpecFlow is a framework, not an automation tool, so the actual automation is carried out through tools like Selenium. Despite setup complexities, the framework itself serves its purpose effectively. In future releases of SpecFlow, it would be beneficial to have some built-in methods for common actions like opening and closing browsers or implementing loops. Having predefined libraries for these functions would save automation engineers time and make the framework more user-friendly. While I'm not sure if such features already exist, they could be valuable, especially for those working on web applications. It would provide a generic and optimized solution that anyone can easily implement without worrying about performance issues.
PS
Service delivery manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Ensures team collaboration with strong version control but could improve testing capabilities
Version control is the most basic feature in TFS. It has been there since the beginning. We use it primarily for that purpose. Basically ensuring that the code is not overwritten by other team members and maintaining the sanctity of the code. Bringing order to a disparate team which is virtual at different locations is very important, and TFS provides that control. Once you update a code, nobody can modify it until you are done working on it and check in. It is a great product that revolutionized the way teams work together on Microsoft pieces of code. The versioning part has unique features and capabilities which are unmatched with other products out there.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is easy."
"SpecFlow's best feature is the ability to add additional layers to the programming."
"One of the most valuable features of SpecFlow for us is its risk identification capabilities."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is unit testing...It is also an easy-to-use and user-friendly product that can easily adapt to any framework."
"A notable feature of TFS is its ease of creating user stories and tasks, which simplifies the process of adding and editing them."
"The most valuable feature of TFS is its compatibility with Microsoft Windows systems. We have predominantly Microsoft solutions and TFS work well."
"User alerts are very helpful for knowing when work is required."
"The interface is good with TFS."
"The API for managing TFS programmatically is very powerful, you can listen on work items changes by TFS events."
"It is a stable solution."
"I like the build management features and the integration with Jenkins and many other tools."
"The interface is easy to navigate."
 

Cons

"I'd prefer in TFS if we could be writing test cases, not in the old classical version. We should be writing in Gherkin and then automatically have it convert that Gherkin test case into SpecFlow feature files."
"SpecFlow's installation and configuration can be a bit challenging due to its flexibility as an open-source tool."
"SpecFlow would be improved with the addition of functionality reporting, which would be really helpful for automation testing."
"Regarding improvement, it would be good if SpecFlow could provide chain testing, which it currently doesn't allow."
"TFS's CI/CD, project pipelines, and management development could be improved."
"The price could be cheaper."
"The user interface could improve and test management was not useful in TFS."
"TFS on-premise does not support integration with SharePoint Online."
"The usability of TFS is not that great."
"The test management interface is not very handy."
"I'm looking for specific options that aren't currently available, such as active status, new status, or what's currently in progress."
"TFS isn't a great tool if you're on the cloud."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"SpecFlow is an open-source product."
"SpecFlow is open-source and free of charge."
"You will need to obtain server and account licenses."
"I would like to see TFS improve its web interface as there are some limitations with IDs and the integration behind it and with open source tools like VS Code."
"We pay subscription fees on a yearly basis and the price is reasonable."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"I wouldn't say that this tool is cheap or expensive but in the middle."
"Use the Microsoft recommended “seat-based” licensing model. This allows a single developer with multiple machines to consume only one client license."
"I believe we pay on a yearly basis. I don't know the current costs of them. We outsource all that to a third party. Each of the developers gets a Microsoft Visual Studio Azure DevOps license, which gives them access to the TFS server as well. We probably pay on average about 1,800 Canadian Dollars a year for every developer, but that covers a lot more than just TFS."
"The price of the solution is cheaper than other competitors and it is a per-user license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Healthcare Company
7%
Media Company
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Marketing Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise64
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
Which is better - TFS or Azure DevOps?
TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very fri...
What do you like most about TFS?
Microsoft's technical team is supportive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TFS?
While I do not know the exact pricing, TFS is likely more expensive than GitLab.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SpecFlow+
Team Foundation Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft, Caterpillar, Siemens, Charles Schwab, IBM, Deloitte, Accenture, Philips, Dell, Deutsche Bank
Vendex KBB IT Services, Info Support, Fujitsu Consulting, TCSC, Airways New Zealand, HP
Find out what your peers are saying about SpecFlow vs. TFS and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.