Best Performance Testing Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Artillery is ranked #1 of 34 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of LoadFocus and Gatling. The best-ranked option with a free plan is LoadFocus. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Gatling at €7.42/mo.
Load and stress testing tools help you examine how software behaves when demand rises. Compared on API testing, browser-based testing, deployment model, distributed load, free plan, load testing, maximum virtual users, paid-from price, and stress testing, these options offer several angles for assessing fit. Artillery and LoadFocus are among the named tools, as are Gatling and Taurus. Consider what you need to test, where you plan to run tests, and what scale the listed virtual-user and distributed-load details support. The free-plan and pricing fields can help you weigh access against the capabilities relevant to your testing work.
34 performance testing software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Performance Testing Software, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 13 of the 25 on this page can be tried for free.
- 1 ArtilleryPaid from $199/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 2 LoadFocusPaid from $15.80/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 3 GatlingPaid from €7.42/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 4 TaurusFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 5 BlazeMeterPaid from $8.25/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 6 LocustFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 7 Apache JMeterFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 8 Keysight Eggplant Test
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 9 OctoPerfPaid from €649/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 10 Grafana k6Paid from $19/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 11 Loader.ioPaid from $99.95/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 12 FortioFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 13 OpenText Core Performance Engineering
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 14 Blackfire.ioPaid from €33.25/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 15 OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 16 Tricentis Testim
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 17 Xceptance LoadTest
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 18 Speedscale
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 19 Tsung
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 20 Apica LoadTest
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 21 HammerDB
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: yes
- 22 StresStimulus
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 23 WebLOAD
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 24 Cavisson NetStorm
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 25 LoadStrike
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which performance testing software is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Artillery is ranked #1 of 34 with a score of 7.9. LoadFocus is second and Gatling third.
How many of these have a free plan?
9 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Gatling has the lowest first paid tier we found: €7.42/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.