Mobile application development is on the rise like never before, and it proportionally invites the need to perform thorough testing with the right mobile testing strategies. The strategies majorly involve the usage of various mobile automation testing tools. Mobile testing tools help businesses automate their application testing and cut down the extra cost, time, and chances of human error.
Mobile test automation utilizes automation tools to evaluate mobile web, native, and hybrid applications on various devices and OS. It assesses functionality, security, and performance, ensuring apps meet specified requirements, with practices like real or cloud-based testing enhancing testing efficacy.
We live in a mobile-driven world where every business vertical expands its base through mobile applications. According to Statista, the world will see 5 billion mobile users by 2030.
To conduct business and be competitive, companies must reach out to as many people as possible. Businesses use mobile applications to expand business opportunities, promote brand awareness, acquire new customers and retain existing customers.
Application testing is one such metric which ensures that the customers get what they desire and deserve. It includes various aspects, such as certifying different operating systems, devices, combinations, etc., in an every-upgrading environment.
In this blog on the best mobile automation testing tools, we list the best 11 mobile automation testing tools with their advantages and business-friendly features. If you are preparing for an interview you can learn more through Automation Testing Interview Questions.
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Mobile app automation testing is a crucial process for ensuring the quality and reliability of mobile applications. By automating the testing procedures, developers and testers can efficiently validate the functionality, performance, and usability of their mobile apps across various devices, platforms, and operating systems.
As the name suggests, mobile app automation testing is the process of testing mobile applications using one or more automation tools. By leveraging mobile app automation testing, businesses can be confident that their mobile app is ready to be released to the public.
Automation tools perform various tests that check the features and functionalities of an app. These tests include accessibility, efficiency, load time, performance, etc. Using automation testing tools to test mobile apps helps businesses reduce cost, time, and the probability of human error while testing applications and software.
As people are getting increasingly accustomed to high-class mobile apps, the challenge of creating better apps keeps increasing. This results in increased challenges for the QA/Automation team while performing testing of these apps.
Below are five key challenges while performing mobile app automation testing:
As there are a variety of OS and innumerable devices and models, one can imagine the diversity of smartphones globally. This poses a huge challenge while testing the compatibility of mobile apps for each OS and device.
Mobile applications can be further divided into categories like Native apps, Hybrid apps, and Web apps. Each type is a challenge for the backend team, requiring a different configuration and testing strategies. Consider combining two or more of these types; it will increase the complexity of manifolds. Please go through this blog on Web vs Hybrid vs Native Apps to learn more about these apps.
We know that different operating systems come with different UIs, which is where testing mobile apps become a challenge. These variations in UI come with different usage guidelines and layouts for every app. Hence, testing varied user interfaces with such metrics is a big challenge.
Security-related challenges are the most critical to deal with. Although mobile automation tools like LambdaTest are private-cloud based, tools and devices running on public-cloud may threaten security. To name a few – easy cache access, poor encryption, etc.
There are more such challenges that businesses face while testing mobile apps. However, many great mobile automation testing tools, like the ones mentioned below, help overcome such challenges and increase efficiency resulting in high test coverage.
In this section of this blog on mobile app testing, we will look into the 11 best mobile automation testing tools in 2024.
LambdaTest is one of the best mobile automation testing tools. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform that lets you run manual and automated tests at scale with over 3000+ real devices, browsers and OS combinations.
It is trusted by major corporations like Microsoft, Cisco, Suncorp, Capgemini, and many more. It is a highly efficient automation testing tool that allows you to perform live and interactive tests of your application. Its Android emulators and iOS simulators eliminate the need for an explicit device library.
This platform enable testing of your native and hybrid mobile apps on the cloud by providing online APK emulators and simulators. It incorporates all the touch screen gestures like long-press, tap, pinch, scroll, etc. It also allows mobile performance testing of mobile apps, Espresso, XCUITest on the real device cloud. (including Android, iOS, and Windows).
What makes LambdaTest one of the best mobile app automation testing tools?
Mobile app automation testing with LambdaTest’s cloud testing platform accelerates your business deliveries. With all the emulators, simulators, real-cloud devices, and an online device farm of 3000+ real devices and OS combinations, LambdaTest emerges as an all-in-one mobile automation testing tool that businesses like yours can rely on.
You can also subscribe to the LambdaTest YouTube Channel and stay updated with the latest tutorial around automated browser testing, Cypress E2E testing, mobile app testing, and more.
Here are some key advantages of using LambdaTest:
Appium is a very popular open-source automation testing framework that supports automation for various operating systems. It can be used with native, hybrid, and mobile web apps to test in various environments. It allows users to write automation scripts in various programming languages like Java, Perl, Python, etc.
As a cross-platform testing tool, it will enable users to run mobile automation tests for iOS, Windows, and Android by incorporating the Selenium WebDriver protocol. Appium works on a Client-Server architecture and is comprised of three components:
What makes Appium one of the best mobile app automation testing tools?
All in all, Appium mobile testing is a great choice for app test automation. However, it has a few limitations:
Automate your iOS apps on the Appium cloud of 3000+ real devices. Try LambdaTest Now!
testRigor is an AI-driven no-code software for automation testing. It allows you to build no-code test scripts for your native and hybrid mobile apps. Even a manual QA person (without having any coding skills) can write automation test scripts with testRigor using nothing but plain English.
It supports more than 2000 combinations to perform cross browser testing. However, to perform your automation testing on a range of real devices, you need to integrate them with cloud platforms like LambdaTest. With testRigor, you can execute the whole test suite in less than 30 minutes. It also comes with the automatic screenshot feature (which takes a screenshot of the tests at every step).
All the tests you perform and their results are public, i.e., anyone can view the scripts and the results. testRigor also allows any provider for CI/CD pipeline integration. The best part is – testRigor also comes with a free trial period and a demo service.
What makes testRigor one of the best mobile automation testing tools?
Espresso, a Google-developed mobile automation testing tool for Andriod, has garnered widespread acclaim for its outstanding performance. It simplifies the process of creating tests by abstracting away the complexities of the application’s infrastructure. As an open-source tool, Espresso also offers developers the flexibility to tailor it to their specific needs, further enhancing its appeal.
Its exceptional speed demonstrates its ability to execute tests quickly while minimizing errors. This remarkable efficiency positions Espresso as a top choice for mobile app testing, preferred by developers seeking swift and reliable testing solutions.
What makes Espresso of the best mobile app automation testing tools?
ZAPTEST is a software automation testing tool with computer vision technology. It helps interface automation for cross-platform and cross-browser testing for UI, RPA, and API. It is a full-stack testing tool that automates testing mobile apps, websites, desktop apps, APIs, and whatnot.
It allows you to run one script for all platforms, devices, and versions. If you want to run multiple tests on different platforms simultaneously, this tool is the one for you. This feature of handling multiple testings and AUT configurations simultaneously is termed M-RUN.
Moreover, it also comes with the feature of codeless automation (for people with little or no coding knowledge). The selling point of ZAPTEST is its ROI calculator that allows businesses like yours to calculate the return on investment of this automation tool. It claims to generate a 10X better ROI by maximizing the automation testing capability.
Although it has a free version, the paid license opens up all its features and capabilities. You can contact the vendor for the pricing details.
What makes ZAPTEST one of the best mobile automation testing tools?
Digital.ai is one of the leading software testing tools that support automation testing over every major operating system. From iOS and Android to Windows and Blackberry, it supports all. It also comes with the feature of a client library that hosts boiler codes in Java, Python, C#, etc., to help QA develop test scripts faster and more efficiently.
Specifically for mobile app automation testing, Digital.ai hosts both Image-based and Object-based testing for mobile apps. Image-based testing identifies elements by image recognition, while object-based testing utilizes the XPath.
Digital.ai allows you to use the same script for different OS with just a few minor changes. All in all, it is a good tool but is neither free nor open-source. You can’t even opt for a free trial. To know more about the pricing and plans, you can contact the Digital.ai vendor.
What makes Digital.ai one of the best mobile automation testing tools?
It also has some considerable limitations:
Selendroid is an open-source mobile automation testing tool that interacts with the user interface (UI) of Android native, hybrid, and mobile web applications. It utilizes the Android instrumentation framework to achieve this functionality. Tests are scripted using the Selenium 2 client API, also known as the Selenium WebDriver. This integration enables Selendroid to leverage and extend the capabilities of the existing Selenium framework effectively.
What makes Selendroid one of the best mobile app automation testing tools?
ZeuZ is one of the most affordable cloud-based automation testing tools. Although it doesn’t offer a free version, it does provide a free trial with a starting price of just $50/month.
It is an AI-powered, DevOps-ready, and scriptless automation tool that is relatively popular among small businesses. It provides an overall mobile app testing solution with CI/CD integration, automatic debugging, rich reporting, documentation, and Device-Farms like AWS.If a real device farm is hurting your pocket, LambdaTest is the best alternative for an AWS device farm.
One of the most popular features of ZeuZ is the automatically triggered email and benchmark testing. It also hosts reusable templates and scripts along with screen capture features. It allows you to perform multiple tests like sanity, security, regression, and end-to-end testing. You can integrate ZeuZ with systems like Ansible, Asana, Hira, Slack, etc. Although it is easy to use, you can get any doubts cleared from its forum and video tutorials.
What makes ZeuZ one of the best mobile automation testing tools?
Want to take your Selenium testing to the next level by adding mobile testing to the mix? Check out. Try Selenium Mobile Now!
Calabash is a free and open-source mobile testing tool compatible with iOS and Android mobile apps. Its selling point is the feature that gives users the ability to create test scripts without writing a single line of code, using nothing but simple English.
You can test your native and hybrid mobile apps with Calabash using its amazing libraries that interact with the test code. It performs tests by automatically interacting with all the app elements, i.e., buttons, scrolls, validations, etc.
You can run a Calabash test script on several operating systems by tweaking some minute changes. It works best on real mobile devices rather than emulators and simulators. Integration features of Calabash are also great. You can easily integrate delivery tools like Jenkins and CI/CD pipeline.
What makes Calabash one of the best mobile app automation testing tools?
Although it is a great automation tool, Calabash has a few limitations:
Ranorex is an amazing automation testing tool to deliver excellent mobile apps. It supports all forms of testing for hybrid and native mobile apps, i.e., data-driven, regressions, functional, keyword-driven testing, etc.
It enables you to create tests for Windows OS and enqueue them for iOS and Android devices later in time. It also supports full-fledged cross-browser testing on browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and countless others. It also integrates well with DevOps tools, JIRA, testRail, Travis, Jenkins, etc.
Although it is not a free tool, it does provide a 30-days trial. The license to create and run tests on Ranorex is a bit costly but worth it. As an individual, you can get the Studio License for $3590, while as a team, you can get the Enterprise License for $6000.
What makes Ranorex Studio one of the best mobile automation testing tools?
Among all the positives, there are a few limitations with Ranorex:
Robotium is an exceptional open-source mobile automation testing tool, offering a comprehensive set of tools and guidelines for developers to test their apps efficiently. It streamlines the testing process, eliminating the need for manual checks on every aspect of the application.
Developers can use Robotium to create test cases for various testing scenarios, such as verifying specific app functions, testing the app’s behavior in diverse situations, or validating if the app meets specific acceptance criteria. This flexibility empowers developers to thoroughly test their apps and ensure their functionality meets expectations.
What makes Robotium one of the best mobile automation testing tools?
In this mobile-driven world full of impatient customers, it is very important for a business to deliver a product (mobile application) that is free from bugs and meets users’ expectations. Therefore, every mobile app must undergo a thorough testing series to ensure quality.
But choosing from a wide range of mobile testing tools can prove more tedious than the testing itself. You must ensure that the tool you choose benefits you in every way and aligns with your needs. Those, as mentioned above, are the best 11 mobile automation testing tools with their offerings and features. Before picking one from the list, consider talking to the vendor and confirming all the metrics.
Appium, a testing framework, can be used for the functional and regression testing of both Android and iOS apps. It is an effective tool that improves the overall functionality of the applications.
Test automation is the process by which software tests are written and executed without human intervention. Mobile test automation is a subset of this, wherein the testing is done on a mobile application.
Appium is similar to Selenium because they are both software testing tools for automating web app testing. They are different because Appium is a test automation tool designed explicitly for the mobile environment. In contrast, Selenium is a cross-platform open-source test automation framework that works with all operating systems and browsers.
Hi, I’m Sushrut, a Developer and a Freelance Technical Writer holding 3+ years of experience in content writing. I help companies and forums grow their business with content creation and developer advocacy.
Sushrut Kumar Mishra
Hi, I'm Sushrut, a Developer and a Freelance Technical Writer holding 3+ years of experience in content writing. I help companies and forums grow their business with content creation and developer advocacy.
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