5 Open Source JMeter Alternatives: A Guide

For many testing teams, JMeter is a popular choice for a load testing tool for a reason. It is open source, which makes it a flexible option for a variety of needs. It is designed specifically for load testing — as opposed to it just being feature — and has effective functionality for measuring app performance and response times. 

Yet with all that said, it does present some difficulties in its use. Many testers can struggle with JMeter’s interface, which means its steep learning curve inherently weeds out all but the experienced testers. It also does not offer automatic support for AJAX requests — a detriment to creating and testing web applications. 

The good news is there are other JMeter alternatives out there! 

In this blog, we will analyze five of the best open source JMeter alternatives, what they do best, their key features, and how they compare to JMeter. 

Why Use Open Source Tools for Load Testing?

Because load testing is a critical component for any testing strategy for identifying bottlenecks and issues that arise under heavy loads, a proper load testing tool is a must. While there are some commercial tools out there, open source load testing tools are a popular option because of their cost-effectiveness, flexibility for developers, and the support community that comes with them. 

If your organization provides your testing team with unlimited options, there are a lot of powerful commercial tools out there. But that is more likely a fantasy rather than reality, so it is important to get acquainted with load testing tools that will fit your budget. 

5 Open Source JMeter Alternatives

There are many open source load testing tools at your disposal that are not named JMeter. Depending on your team’s needs or development requirements, it is important to consider some of the top options to see which one fits best. 

Locust

An open source load testing tool, Locust helps teams define user behavior with Python code. It connects systems with millions of simultaneous users to simulate load. This framework provides a simple YAML-based configuration format with DSL. It extends and abstracts functionality of other open source tools — including JMeter. 

Features: 

• Users can easily scale the number of users needed within a given test. 

• Many enjoy the web-based UI for its ease of use. 

• Teams can create test scenarios using strictly the Python language. 

• It is a dependable option for testing APIs. 

Locust vs JMeter 

Locust boasts that it requires a 70% smaller impact on a team’s resources than JMeter does. This is due to its event-based approach to load testing compared with JMeter’s thread-based architecture. However, because Locust is a newer tool than JMeter, it has significantly fewer plugins. 

Gatling

Gatling is a stress testing tool built on Akka, Netty, and Scala. It features a modern architecture approach that enables users to test and measure an app’s end-to-end performance. It also allows teams to scale virtual users up or down. It supports HTTP, WebSocket, Server-Sent-Events, and JMS.  

Features: 

• Its DSL capabilities are powerful yet simple and easy to use. 

• For fans of the Scala framework, it is your best option for a load testing tool. 

• Facilitates a shift-left code approach to implement into performance testing. 

• It features a scenario recorder to enhance the efficacy of your tests. 

Gatling vs JMeter 

When comparing Gatling and JMeter, Gatling falls short in providing a UI for creating load tests and a no-code load testing option. However, Gatling scripts can be changed using IDEs while JMeter cannot without JMeter UI. JMeter does not work well with version control systems like GIT/SVN and Gatling does. Perhaps most importantly, Gatling is built with modern CI/CD systems in mind — for JMeter, it is an afterthought. 

Taurus

Though not technically a testing tool, Taurus’ popularity lies in its ability to work with other solutions to make the complex nature of running performance tests seem simple. Users also enjoy it because it allows them to write tests in YAML — enabling you to describe a test in a simple text file. 

Features: 

• Its integration capabilities with other open-source frameworks creates flexibility.  

• Users enjoy dashboards with powerful, self-explanatory functionality that is easily shareable with the team. 

• You can easily incorporate it into your CI/CD pipeline.  

• Teams can run existing JMeter scripts within Taurus easily. 

Taurus vs JMeter

JMeter can often be unwieldy and difficult to use. Taurus offers a more user-friendly way for script configuration and language creation. Testers with a lot of experience enjoy JMeter and its test scripts, but Taurus allows for test script creation within Taurus itself in addition to using pre-existing scripts. 

The Grinder

The Grinder is Java-based framework that enables distributed testing solutions that are easy to create and easy to run. Its multiple load generators can capture end-user response times and are not encumbered by virtual user restrictions. Load tests can scale up across multiple servers and it helps teams identify test slowdowns. 

Features: 

• It automatically takes care of client connections and cookies management. 

• Load tests can be performed easily on any system running on a Java API. 

• Provides a friendly GUI console. 

• Installation is incredibly easy. 

The Grinder vs JMeter

It is difficult for JMeter to match the speed and scalability of The Grinder. It also falls short compared with The Grinder’s cross-server scalability. Yet JMeter is the better option if a tool is needed for complicated business logic. It is also a more mature product than The Grinder and comes with a larger support community. 

k6

This developer-centric load testing tool is specifically designed to test the performance of a system’s back-end infrastructure. It is a modern load testing tool that is built on JavaScript and Go, and it can easily integrate into a tester’s workflow. One of k6’s latest offerings comes in the form of a performance testing tool browser extension.  

Features: 

• It can perform browser-level, front-end performance testing via its new browser extension. 

• Users can leverage its distributed and cloud execution. 

• The REST API orchestration ability is a standout. 

• API scripting is clean and simple to use. 

k6 vs JMeter 

k6 does not have a GUI that comes with the tool, but it does have a Test Builder available at no cost. JMeter’s GUI can help ease testers into using the tool. JMeter supports significantly more protocols than k6. While k6 does have a support community to go along with it, it is far newer than JMeter and thereby far smaller.