Katalon vs Selenium – Which Is Better in 2024

Katalon Studio and Selenium are both popular automated testing tools. But which one is the better tool in 2023?

In this article, we will compare Katalon vs Selenium and help you decide which one is better for your needs. Let’s get started!

What is Katalon?

Katalon is an automated testing tool that helps testers save time and effort when conducting regression, functional, and UI testing. Katalon Studio is built on top of the open-source Selenium and Appium frameworks and offers many features to make test automation easier for both novice and experienced testers.

Some of the key features of Katalon Studio include:

Record and replay testing: Katalon Studio can record user actions and then replay them automatically. This is useful for creating test cases quickly for regression testing.
Data-driven testing: Katalon Studio can read data from Excel, CSV, or JSON files and use it to drive the execution of test cases. This is useful for testing with different data sets or for creating dynamic tests.
Object repository: Katalon Studio can store objects in an object repository so that they can be reused across test cases. This makes it easy to maintain and update test cases.
Parallel execution: Katalon Studio can run test cases in parallel, which can save time when testing large applications.
Reporting: Katalon Studio can generate reports that show the results of test execution, including screenshots and logs. This is useful for debugging test failures or for sharing results with stakeholders.

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What is Selenium?

Selenium is an open-source tool that can be used for automating web browsers. Selenium can be used for testing web applications, automating tasks, or even driving web browsers for purposes such as web scraping.

Some of the key features of Selenium include:

Cross-browser compatibility: Selenium can be used with multiple browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. This makes it a good choice for testing web applications that need to be compatible with multiple browsers.
Language support: Selenium can be used with multiple programming languages, including Java, Python, and JavaScript. This makes it easy to integrate Selenium into existing test automation frameworks.
Platform support: Selenium can be used on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This makes it a good choice for testing web applications that need to be compatible with multiple platforms.
Plugin support: Selenium can be extended with plugins to add functionality such as reporting or cross-browser testing. This makes it easy to customize Selenium for specific needs.

Comparison Katalon Studio vs Selenium

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of Katalon and Selenium, let’s compare them side-by-side and see which one is the better tool for web automation.

Category	Katalon	Selenium
Initial Release	2015	2004
Community	Small	Huge
Supported Languages	Groovy (Java)	Java, Ruby, C#, PHP, JavaScript, Python, Perl, Objective-C etc.,
Supported OS	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Browsers	IE, Micorsoft Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari	Chromium/Chrome, Firefox, Edge, IE, Safari
Tested Apps	Web, Mobile, Desktop, APIs	Web, Mobile (with Appium)
Learning Curve	Medium	Hard
License Type	Freeware	Open source
Pricing	Both free & paid versions	Free
Integration options	Multiple CI/CD, DevOps, and other tools	Multiple CI/CD, DevOps, and other tools
Reporting capabilities	In-built	Through integration
Image based testing	Built-in support	Require installing additional libraries
Other distinguishing features	- Multiple testing types (Keywords-driven, data-driven, etc.,) - User-friendly, intuitive interface	- Parallel and cross-browser testing with Selenium Grid - Large library of plugins
Speed	Moderately fast	Extremely fast
Built-in Keywords	Installed with common keywords, and can make your own custom keywords	No built-in keywords
Support	Ticketing support & community support	Opensource community support

Who Are The Target Audience?

Katalon Studio is the perfect solution for those with limited technical knowledge or no coding language skills. However, it also includes powerful features for advanced users who need access to debugging tools, code suggestions, and syntax highlighting.

Selenium is the perfect solution for those with moderate programming skills; those with very limited technical knowledge may find it difficult to use.

If you want to get the most out of your testing, it’s helpful to have some programming skills.

Installation Process

Katalon studio is a one-stop shop for your testing needs. All you have to do is download and install it.

To use Selenium, you must install libraries and set up the framework yourself. The Selenium IDE is optional but can be useful.

Platform Support

If you’re looking for a desktop or mobile automation tool, then Selenium isn’t the right fit as it only works for web apps. For a similar functionality in mobile devices, look into Appium instead.

Whereas Katalon Studio supports mobile, web, and desktop applications.

Browser Support

Katalon studio enables users to test on more browsers, like Microsoft Edge and Opera, for increased web-application compatibility.

Both these tools are compatible with popular browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Speed

Selenium is often faster than Katalon Studio because Katalon’s scripting language, Groovy, takes longer to load test objects and libraries since it is based on Java. If you are running a large number of tests, the speed difference will be significant. However, for smaller automation tasks, both tools have similar performance levels.

Recording

There are two main benefits to recording tests: users can generate the right test steps with the correct keywords, and capture objects in recording. Luckily, both Katalon Studio and Selenium have recorder tools.

Katalon’s recorder does a great job of capturing all objects, plus it is easy to use. On the other hand, Selenium IDE also records test runs well and exports them into TestNG or JUnit test cases–though it doesn’t work on mobile devices.

Reporting

Katalon Studio provides easy-to-read reports that include all of the important details you need to know if a test fails, which Selenium does not. With Katalon studio, you get a reporting tool included for free or paid versions.

To generate a good looking reports in Selenium, we need to use Extent reports.

Katalon vs Selenium: Which is better?

So, which tool is better – Katalon or Selenium? That depends on your needs. If you need a tool that is easy to use and offers many features out-of-the-box, then Katalon Studio might be the better choice.

However, if you need a tool that is highly customizable and can be used with multiple programming languages, then Selenium might be the better choice.

Both Katalon Studio and Selenium are good choices for automating web browsers. If you are not sure which tool to use, then you can try both and see which one works better for your needs.

I’ve personally used both tools since 2015. I happily use both these tools.

So to come up with a winner, I took lots of factors into account:

Value
Keyword features
New feature updates
Built-in Keywords
Support and documentation
Overall value

But if you had to make me pick ONE tool to be useful for both entry level and expert automation testers, I’d have to go with Katalon.

This was a REALLY hard call to make. I honestly think you can’t go wrong with either tool.

Katalon has some edge over Selenium.

First, it’s much easier to use. Katalon’s interface is more user-friendly, and its features are more intuitive. Second, Katalon can be used for web, mobile, desktop and APIs, while Selenium is limited to web automation only. Third, Katalon supports a wide range of browsers and operating systems, while Selenium only supports a few. Finally, Katalon is much faster than Selenium.

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FAQ’s – Selenium Vs Katalon

Does Katalon use Selenium?

Katalon Studio is a test automation solution that is built on top of Selenium. So, while Katalon does use Selenium, it is not just a Selenium wrapper. It offers much more than that.

Is there anything better than Selenium?

The straightforward answer is yes. In fact, there are quite a few things that are better than Selenium. Considering Selenium is the most widely used web testing framework. Nevertheless, there are alternatives to Selenium – and one of those is Katalon Studio.

Is Katalon good for testing?

Katalon is a great tool for automating tests and can be used for both web, mobile, desktop, and APIs. It has many features that make it a good choice for testers, such as its ability to record and playback scripts, its object repository, and its integration with popular CI/CD tools.

Is Katalon hard to learn?

No, Katalon is not hard to learn. In fact, it’s one of the easiest automation tools to use. It has a simple and user-friendly interface that makes it easy for even first-time users to get started with automating their tests. To work on Katalon you don’t need to have advanced programming skills to write automation test scripts.

What is the future of Katalon?

Katalon has a bright future. It is constantly being updated with new features and improvements. This means that Katalon will continue to be the better choice for automated testing in the future.

What are the benefits of using Katalon?

Katalon offers many benefits, including:
1. Katalon is easy to use and learn.
2. Katalon integrates well with popular CI/CD tools.
3. Katalon has an active community.
4. Katalon offers excellent support and documentation.

Is Katalon better than Selenium?

This is a difficult question to answer since both Katalon and Selenium have their own strengths and weaknesses. It really depends on your specific needs and requirements as to which tool would be better for you.

If you are looking for a tool that is specifically designed for automated testing, then Katalon may be the better option. However, if you need a more general-purpose tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, then Selenium may be a better choice.

Ultimately, the decision of which tool to use is up to you and your specific needs. Both Katalon and Selenium are great tools that can help you automate your testing process.

Now It’s Your Turn

And now it’s time to hear what you have to say.

When it comes to the Selenium vs. Katalon battle, which tool do you prefer?

Are you Selenium all the way?

Or do you prefer to use Katalon?

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

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