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Appium vs Katalon Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Appium
Ranking in Regression Testing Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Development Platforms (6th)
Katalon Studio
Ranking in Regression Testing Tools
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
API Testing Tools (4th), Test Automation Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Regression Testing Tools category, the mindshare of Appium is 4.3%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Katalon Studio is 17.1%, up from 16.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Regression Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Abhishek-Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
Has cross-platform flexibility and a record-and-play option
The challenging part with Appium is that installation can be a bit tricky. It can be challenging to set up in Android versus iOS environments. Appium has some limitations in terms of writing code using simulators and online cloud devices. I faced challenges with native based scenarios, battery turn out percentage, battery charging percentage, and memory capacity. The other challenge I faced involved codes changing from device to device. For example, the piece of code that works in iOS version 10.1 won't work in iOS version 6.0. In upcoming releases, if they can reduce some more of the dependencies like SDK, UIAutomator, etc., it would be great. That is, I'd like to see a consolidated package or bundle release that is much more user-friendly.
Anuradha.Kapoor Kapoor - PeerSpot reviewer
Functional automation features and the recording functionality saves time but the performance and script execution is slow
I would like to see improvements in how Katalon Studio works with iOS applications, especially with React Native applications. The speed is very slow. It takes time. Katalon Studio also takes my laptop memory, and execution becomes slow for the script. There are parallel execution options. I'm sure their online cloud version must be very fast, but as a service-based company, we are under NDA with our clients and can't run their code on our servers. I would like to see iOS improve and see a more capable recording feature. Katalon Studio has released an AI version, and I have a demo scheduled to see the new features.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It's an open-source solution with a very large community and available documentation."
"The automation part is extremely helpful in streamlining our processes."
"The solution helps with test automation. We focus mostly on Java."
"The best feature of Appium is that it allows you to inspect the element. With the Appium Inspector, you don't have to install another application to do the inspection. I also like that Appium has Android device connectivity. Currently, most people use Appium as automation software, and I haven't found any other tool that's more powerful than Appium."
"It runs completely flawlessly and seamlessly every day."
"What I like about Appium right now is that it's like Cypress in the sense that............. to test the components in the way I want them to be tested."
"The most valuable feature of Appium is it supports iOS and AOS and is open-source."
"The way Appium server interacts with mobile apps is fantastic. It provides all the information about the elements inside the app, Android as well as iOS. I can interact with the element quickly, just type some text or get some text values from the element - whether it's a drop-down, or web text, or a native element."
"It is easy for a non-technical person to use and adopt."
"The automation is very fast and you don't need to be overly proficient in coding."
"Smart Wait and XPath healing are valuable features."
"The tool has a good record and playback feature for functionality, which saves time when creating automated tests."
"The recording feature of this product is very valuable for our testing purposes."
"Katalon Studio's biggest advantage is its price. It's a good tool for the price, albeit with some limitations when you compare it with tools like Tricentis Tosca."
"The product provides ease of automation for the cloud."
"We can write code in Java and it is easy to link to other JARs that we find on the internet, which is very handy."
 

Cons

"The challenging part with Appium is that installation can be a bit tricky. It can be challenging to set up in Android versus iOS environments."
"Support-wise, it could be better."
"It breaks down."
"The user interface needs improvement because there are issues when setting up environment variables."
"An application developed on the Unity platform, such as a gaming application, objects are moving in that case. Interacting with those elements is still lacking in Appium. Appium doesn't have the internal library to play with the Unity platform. That is a huge lack right now."
"Image recognition could be improved. We have some images in our mobile applications. It should be able to run from the cloud, so we can automate the catcher."
"If it had more facility for configuration it would be a spectacular solution."
"Configuration-wise, there is a lot of room for improvement."
"I would like to see improvements in how Katalon Studio works with iOS applications, especially with React Native applications."
"We would like to see improved integration with various reporting tools; this would make our testing data more complete."
"Extending the certification validity, especially after the trial period, would be beneficial."
"The integration process with Jira should be enhanced and facilitated."
"Katalon Studio's pricing is expensive."
"Support options need improvement. It is sometimes hard to find a solution to any given problem, thus you are forced to use another solution."
"My recently-updated Katalon studio version hangs a lot and is not a stable version."
"There could be many improvements, however, I have not noted them down at this moment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Appium is free and open-source."
"The price is good for people to be able to make a favorable decision for the value."
"We found out that we could explore features of the solution for 30 days trial. We can switch to a permanent license later if we want."
"The solution is open source so it is free."
"The solution is free."
"Appian is open-source, which is not licensed."
"This is an open source solution so it does not cost anything for licensing or otherwise."
"The solution is open source."
"Katalon Studio is less expensive than other solutions, such as Micro Focus UFT."
"The pricing is good. It is the market average."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"Katalon Studio is an expensive tool."
"It is freeware software, so start using it."
"There is no cost for setup or licensing."
"There is a free version of the tool to use and support is available through the community forums, but there is a licensed version as well."
"The product is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
6%
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend Appium?
I do recommend Appium. It is an open-source solution and completely free of charge. We use Appium and Appium Studio as our base for any type of mobile automation for testing. It has a great interfa...
What do you like most about Appium?
Appium helps me to do as much as much as I want to.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Appium?
My experience with Appium from a pricing perspective is favorable due to it being open source, making it a cost-effective option.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Katalon Studio?
I used the trial version of Katalon Studio, which I got for free. For TestComplete, I used an internal license as my organization was partnered with them.
What needs improvement with Katalon Studio?
Extending the certification validity, especially after the trial period, would be beneficial. Providing clearer guidance during the trial period for certification and training modules would also he...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nuvizz, Coupa Software, Eventbrite, Evernote
Coca-Cola Tesla Black Board TaTa Consultancy Services Sony
Find out what your peers are saying about Appium vs. Katalon Studio and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.