Apache JMeter Reviews

I consider Apache JMeter to be a fundamental tool in the industry for performance testing. Its primary advantage lies in being free, making it accessible to everyone. The platform boasts a wide range of plugins, regularly updated, and has a substantial community. You can find information on almost any topic in the community forums or Q&A sites related to code.

Apache JMeter is well-known and widely used among developers, particularly on popular developer forums. While it may not have the most user-friendly interface, it offers strong support through official manuals and various articles from companies providing load testing services. 

The tool is free, has a substantial community, and serves as a fundamental choice for testers, especially those new to performance testing. While other tools like K6 may be more developer-oriented, JMeter's affordability and accessibility make it suitable for those without extensive performance testing experience.

Given that Apache JMeter is a free and open-source tool, documentation improvement may not be a major concern, as it is mostly contributed on a voluntary basis. The essential information is already available. However, in terms of the interface, there are occasional bugs, and the tool may not address them as quickly as some users would like. Fixing defects and bugs might take a considerable amount of time, with users sometimes having to wait for several months or even a year for the next release to address specific issues.

I have worked with Apache JMeter for years. 

In terms of stability, there have been some instances of unknown bugs, but these are documented on the official pages and tracked in bug repositories where users can find descriptions and potential workarounds. Users with less experience may encounter unexpected behavior, but with online resources, such as Google, they can understand and address the issues. Some known problems, like internal loop issues when launching from the MacOS terminal, can affect stability, but they are not critical and usually have workarounds. While these issues may slightly impact the user experience, they do not significantly detract from it. On a scale of ten, the overall user experience with JMeter might be rated around seven or eight.

Scalability is possible for both small and large companies. In smaller companies, JMeter can be scaled across multiple machines, utilizing them as load generators. For more complex network setups, collaboration with the DevOps or system administration teams may be required to handle firewall configurations. In large enterprises, options like Docker Swarm or Kubernetes can be employed. Additionally, using JMeter images or containers within these frameworks allows for quick scalability.

While I haven't personally engaged in direct interaction with support, I have encountered challenges and utilized forums and official support channels to address and resolve those issues. So, yes, I've had experiences leveraging these resources for problem-solving.

A few years ago, I found Apache JMeter to be a reliable tool, and while it may have changed since then, I haven't used it recently for a direct comparison. Around five years ago, I had a positive experience with Neotys, which was an excellent tool, albeit expensive. However, as its pricing is now contact-based, I'm not sure about the current costs. Additionally, I've recently explored K6, which seems promising. K6 is actively developed and evolving rapidly. It caters more to a coding-centric experience, making it favorable for developers who appreciate JavaScript-based coding without extensive installations. This tool might see significant growth in functionality in the coming years.

If someone is completely new to Apache JMeter, it might take around one hour to half an hour to set it up initially. This includes spending time reading manuals, watching YouTube videos, and getting familiar with the tool. For those with some experience, the setup process could take as little as ten minutes. This involves downloading and installing JMeter, configuring Java if necessary, and adjusting path variables. The overall time may vary based on the machine's readiness and the user's familiarity with the setup process.

One piece of advice I often provide to those venturing into performance testing with Apache JMeter is to carefully consider the expected load. Due to its utilization of the Java Virtual Machine, JMeter can be memory-intensive. For extensive testing scenarios with a high volume of virtual users and transactions, it's crucial to meticulously configure JMeter, considering each element in the scenario. However, for simpler yet intensive testing needs, individuals might find less resource-intensive tools like Gatling or Locust more suitable.

If it were a commercial tool, I'd rate it an eight, but given that it's a free and non-commercial tool, I'd lean more towards a nine. While it's not perfect, I believe it's one of the best options available for now.

We primarily use it for conducting different types of performance testing, such as load testing, spike testing, and endurance testing.

JMeter is basically the art of the entire performance testing process. We generate load on our application using JMeter and then monitor various metrics like CPU with different monitoring tools. It's the essential foundation for our performance testing.

JMeter is doing some good things with upcoming releases, but the main area for improvement is the extensions available. 

Another area of improvement is the reporting part, specifically regarding report generation. 

There are certain things like we can't merge custom metrics into the JMeter reports. We're limited to JMeter metrics, and other server metrics can't be integrated with JMeter dashboard. This forces us to rely on another tool. 

We should be able to add or custom-configure server details directly in JMeter reports.

We have been using it for three years.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.  It's generally quite stable, it hardly has crashes or issues.

Scalability is good for my use cases, but to generate a large load, you must go into distribution mode, which is more complex to configure and requires powerful machines. So, while it's fine for my needs, but the scalability wouldn't be a perfect ten. I would rate it a seven out of ten, as there are some limitations for large-scale testing.

I'm the one who uses it most extensively. And the other we have four to five people are using it just for their local testing. It's development testing kind of stuff.  

It's an open-source community. So we can post our queries there. We generally get good responses from the forums. So it's good enough.

I used another tool like HP LoadRunner. And now it's offered by some different companies, ownership-wise, but it was long back. 

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy. Even for new users, the installation is straightforward based on the documentation. 

However, customizing and building something extra can be complex. But overall, it's easy enough to download and start working with.

Our main system is on the cloud, so we primarily use JMeter on the cloud. However, some use cases require on-premises deployment, and we use it there as well.

One person is enough for deployment. The deployment won't take much time. It is very fast, typically within five minutes.

We use the open-source version. 

I'll definitely advise that you should at least give it a try. If it serves your initial needs and meets your expectations, you should go for it. 

It's quite an old and up-to-mark tool with a proven track record in the industry, and there's a strong community behind it. So it's definitely worth giving a shot.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

My clients are using it for BI reporting dashboards and executing dashboards. It's basically a reporting tool.

There are many features I like in Apache JMeter. First, it's open source, so I like that about the product. And there's a lot of community support for it.

There are some challenges in terms of recognizing the objects in some critical cases. These are object identifiers because Apache JMeter cannot recognize those dynamic objects.

I have been working with Apache JMeter for 12 years. It has been a long time. 

It is a stable solution. I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

It is an evolving product. It is a scalable tool. I would rate it an eight out of ten. We have medium-sized clients.

Most of the time, we get the solution from the open-source community. However, I have never interacted with Apache's customer support. 

The initial setup is very easy. We always use the latest version. It doesn't take much time to deploy the solution. 

It's a matter of hours to run a full test. However, it may take some time if you need to configure a project and create the skill to run it. Debugging can also be time-consuming. To set up an end-to-end process, it may take several days.

One or two people would be enough for the deployment. Someone from the infrastructure team can provide support in case of port issues, connectivity, or technical challenges. 

I have a different technology stack, such as BI tools like Tableau, Microsoft Strategy, and custom data applications. In some cases, I feel that Apache JMeter is not suitable. So, I am looking out for a different tool.

One tool cannot fit into all kinds of applications and business use cases. But by and large, it can cater to many applications. Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Apache JMeter is utilized for load testing of applications such as APIs and web services. Various types of load testing can be conducted, including stress tests and load tests. It supports different types of protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, SFTP, and others.

The most valuable features of Apache JMeter are user-friendliness, large resource, and the quality of assistance they provide. Additionally, it is easy to integrate with cloud platforms, such as AWS.

Apache JMeter could use improvement in reporting. Currently, it isn't easy to generate reports in PDF format. While receiving reports in PDF format is possible, it requires a lot of customization. Additionally, when comparing the load test to others solutions it could improve.

I have been using Apache JMeter for approximately five years.

Apache JMeter is a stable solution.

We have more than 100 people using Apache JMeter in my organization.

We have multiple clients using this solution and all of our testers are using the solution.

My advice to others is for them to go through online tutorials before using the solution. It is easy to use, and anyone can quickly learn and test their application.

I rate the scalability of Apache JMeter an eight out of ten.

I have not contacted technical support.

The initial setup of Apache JMeter is easy and simple to configure. The whole process of implementation takes approximately half an hour. The first step is to download Java and install it. The last step is to download Apache JMeter and install it. 

The main reason we chose Apache JMeter is that it is cost-effective and easy to use. There is no need to pay for additional services. Additionally, it does not require additional payment to vendors. The solution is open-source and free.

I rate Apache JMeter a nine out of ten.

JMeter is used by a team of four performance engineers. We monitor tasks on the API level, so all of the requests are hitting individually.

JMeter has helped us streamline our applications by identifying multiple bottlenecks in our systems and exercising tasks against APIs.

JMeter is a free tool with a large user population, which comes in handy because we have a vast knowledge base to tap into when needed. It's also easier to hire consultants who know JMeter.

JMeter's reporting is extremely rudimentary. The fundamental reporting mechanisms need to be drastically improved. It doesn't utilize an automatic session management mechanism or methods other tools use like parsing cookies and variables. Everything needs to be done manually. There's no automation.

We've been using JMeter for the past three years.

JMeter never crashed on us. It's highly stable.

JMeter is highly scalable.

There is no technical support for JMeter.

We previously used LoadRunner, but we switched because the organization had an accumulated knowledge of JMeter. Nobody really knew LoadRunner. However, the biggest advantage is that it's free, and we didn't have to invest in acquiring a performance testing solution.

JMeter is simple to install. We did it in-house, and it takes a day or two to deploy it to the cloud. There's no maintenance required. 

We looked at a number of different tools.

I rate JMeter five out of 10. You need knowledgeable employees to work with the tool because it's difficult to learn. There is a steep learning curve, so you shouldn't expect an entry-level engineer to pick up the tool quickly and become proficient. It takes a considerable amount of time.

We use Apache JMeter to test the performance of our platforms and applications.

The most valuable feature of this solution is that it is free. If not for that, we would be using a different tool.

The graphical user interface could be improved.

In this tool, automation in general is almost non-existent. Everything is done manually. I would advise those who put this together to try to simplify it for their end users, such as being able to automate at their desks. Such as manual relations and social management.

Purely on the feature set, it lacks automation, therefore it requires a lot of manual work.

As a performance engineer, I use it almost every day.

I have been using Apache JMeter for two years.

Apache JMeter seems to be stable enough.

In terms of scalability, we haven't pushed it to a large scale yet.

The majority of users are performance engineers, but there are also some developers.

There are four performance engineers and at least three developers who use JMeter on occasion.

We intend to increase usage, but it is already being used exclusively and extensively.

There is no technical support program for Apache JMeter. There is only an online community of people who help one another.

The community is helpful and fairly advanced.

In the past, I used to use various tools, primarily LoadRunner.

When I changed jobs, and the new company only used JMeter because we didn't have a license for LoadRunner, I started working with Apache JMeter.

The initial setup was very easy.

We used it on a desktop computer. It is also used in the cloud. The idea behind using it in the cloud was to spread loads across multiple machines.

We carry out the deployment ourselves.

We have one performance engineering consultant who maintains this solution.

That would not be applicable because it is a free solution.

Licensing costs are rare.

There are operational costs related to using Amazon Cloud, but the tool itself.

I looked into other options, such as Bluehost, SmartBear, Epic, and LoadRunner but Jmeter proved to be sufficient for our needs.

We chose JMeter based on its pricing structure.

My advice is that it requires a fairly consistent amount of initial learning. It is not simple to learn.

I would rate Apache JMeter a three out of ten.

We use this solution mostly for creating scripts, load testing, and performance testing. If my client doesn't have a tool or I don't have a tool, I try to leverage JMeter because it's an open-source tool.

I personally use JMeter for things which cannot be covered by our load testing tool, which is OATS, Oracle Application Testing Suite. This is a tool that was developed by Oracle but is no longer in use because Oracle has stopped developing it.

The solution is deployed on-prem and on private and public clouds.

JMeter should be more stable. Every time there is a new release coming up, a lot of its older functionalities or the new functionalities that are brought in are not very well-documented. It should be documented properly, and there should be proper use cases. A lot of the newer features don't work, and sometimes you have to spend a lot of time maintaining the scripts. That is something JMeter could probably look at.

For example, in JMeter 5 they brought in a lot of new controllers. But there isn't a lot of documentation available on the Apache site on how you're supposed to use those controllers. They've explained the controller functionality, but there aren't any proper use cases to show that. 

I have been using JMeter for a long time and do a lot of work with this solution.

It's not stable. With every new release, they come up with newer features, which aren't always very stable. So, stability is a concern.

It is scalable. You can scale up to 1,000 users in JMeter. If you can put up four slave servers, you can easily ramp up to 1,000 users. That's not a problem.

Because it's open-source, a lot of organizations try to leverage JMeter into everything. I don't think JMeter is currently very adaptable to all the technologies. That is something Apache should think of – incorporating other technologies and other tech stacks, which can be scripted from JMeter and tested using JMeter.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate technical support 2.5

They're not very good because JMeter is an open-source tool. You can raise a bug to JMeter, and they might fix it or they might say that, "We will actually fix this in the next release." So, because it's an open-source tool, you do not get dedicated support. You have to raise tickets and wait. If you use BlazeMeter, the support is probably a little better because you can take your issues there.

I don't think support is great if you compare it with tools like NeoLoad or LoadRunner where they have a dedicated support team. You can raise tickets. You have a direct conversation with their engineers. They can help you understand where the issue is exactly. That kind of support is not in JMeter, at least not now. BlazeMeter has it, but I have not used BlazeMeter support, so I'm not sure how it is. But from what I have seen with JMeter, support is not great.

It is straightforward, but for JMeter 5, since they have introduced SSL handshake at the slave level, that becomes a little bit of a challenge for somebody who is doing it for the first time if you're doing a distributed execution, that becomes a challenge.

But since there was not enough documentation, I had to do a lot of troubleshooting on my own, since it was new. Now there's a lot of documentation available, but initially, there was not much documentation.

JMeter is pretty easy to use if you are using it for the purpose of only developing scripts. You can just uninstall the file and you can start using it. The only challenge happens if you're trying to access the internet over any kind of proxy. Then, you'll have to start it via the proxy mode.

Otherwise, deploying JMeter is pretty easy compared to other tools. You just have to download, unzip, and you are ready to go.

We installed JMeter ourselves.

I would rate this solution 7 out of 10.

Apache JMeter's key feature is its ability to manage load profiles, gradually increasing requests over time. This was crucial for us as we tested our application, handling unique protocols and increasing load steadily. JMeter helped identify bottlenecks by measuring response times as we increased request flow rates. This data guided us in optimizing our system's performance and scaling hardware when needed. Recently, new tools like Platinum Consultant have emerged, but I haven't explored them thoroughly. My colleagues prefer these newer tools over JMeter.

JMeter helps us track response times between request and response. As we increase our workload, response times also rise, indicating potential bottlenecks. We use JMeter to gauge when we need to upgrade hardware or optimize our application for better performance. It's effective in measuring various request types and their corresponding response times, making it a valuable tool for assessing system performance.

I appreciate JMeter's simplicity and power for performance testing. While I haven't used all its features, the ability to simulate heavy loads from multiple users is quite beneficial. However, in my current configuration, we haven't utilized this specific aspect of JMeter. Compared to other costly tools like Hewlett Packard, JMeter is free and easier to use, although there are newer tools like Gatling that I haven't tried. Overall, JMeter is simple and effective for performance testing.     

Improving JMeter's sync time could be beneficial. For example, compared to a Hewlett Packard tool that required four machines for load generation, JMeter reduced this to possibly just two machines for the same workload.

I've been a junior with a few years of experience using Apache JMeter for load testing. It's a straightforward tool with useful features, although not entirely unique. 

Scalability is near-linear, especially with custom configurations.

Setting up JMeter is straightforward, not complex at all. Deployment time depends on the code you write for JMeter, which is executed efficiently.I've used it on-premises, but it might also work in a cloud configuration

Since it's free, there's no need for extensive support or improvements in pricing.

Overall, I'd give JMeter a solid ten for its simplicity and effectiveness in typical tasks. While the UI could be slightly better, it's not a critical issue. JMeter provides valuable data and insights through its graphs, and its main benefit lies in being free, simple to use, and widely recognized.