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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

"The automation part is extremely helpful in streamlining our processes."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable feature of Appium is it supports iOS and AOS and is open-source."
"The solution helps with test automation. We focus mostly on Java."
"The most valuable feature is that it's easy to launch applications. Appium has everything that Selenium has. So many good tools support Appium. We can take some Excel sheets and use them to fill out the text box that's in there. We can also take screenshots of failures."
"It's an open-source solution with a very large community and available documentation."
"Appium's best feature is that it supports multiple frameworks."
"I haven't explored other solutions in this particular area, but what I like best about Appium is the fact that it shares functions with Selenium. The extension of Selenium functions allows me to use all of the methods that exist in that domain, and it just makes it simpler for me. I've been using Selenium for some time as well, so using Appium just seems like a natural fit for me."
"The tool is easy to use. The product gives me the flexibility to use Selenium. I can also use my Java capabilities in the solution."
"The most valuable feature of Katalon Studio is the ease of use of the solution."
"The most valuable feature of Katalon Studio is visual testing. It compares the look and feel of an application which is useful."
"It has been good so far for API testing on Mac. It is not that hard to learn and use. There is so much support out there, so if anyone wants to start using it, there is enough help."
"The product provides ease of automation for the cloud."
"One of the features that I like is Object Recognition. It worked very well, and it allowed me to create a dynamic expert based on my requirements."
"The ability to build all libraries with codes and use them in many situations has been most valuable."
"It is a good tool and provides all the essential features for our business requirements."
 

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."
"We haven't been able to fully leverage Appium for multiple reasons. I think number one is just that the tests take a long time to run. We have had some issues around just the results themselves and how predictable they are, but those are not issues with Appium directly."
"The setup and installation were a problem for us at first."
"One thing which can be really helpful is that there is some kind of a recorder made available rather than scripting everything."
"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."
"Appium has problems with automated validations following iOS updates, causing us to have to validate manually."
"There is always a concern about the amount of code that is required to enhance the automation process. The idea of having less code or no code is what we would like to see in future updates."
"Configuration-wise, there is a lot of room for improvement."
"The product is comparatively slow."
"They need to work on documentation to make it more centralized and easier to find what you are looking for."
"The integration process with Jira should be enhanced and facilitated."
"Object Spy is brittle. When I try to capture objects, I have to proceed multiple times before it works."
"The Object Spy is rather frustrating to work with, so I tend not to use it."
"The tool's maintenance is very difficult since they do not follow call by value or call by reference. Due to this, any change happening is not reflected throughout all the test cases. There are some issues with data parameterization as well."
"The free version of the solution is not user friendly at all."
"The price of the solution is a bit high. It's one of the reasons we decided not to continue using the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open source so it is free."
"The solution is open-source."
"The pricing of Appium is fine."
"As far as I know, Appium is a free solution. It's not for commercial use."
"Appian is open-source, which is not licensed."
"The solution is free."
"It's completely 100% free, and there are no hidden fees."
"The price is good for people to be able to make a favorable decision for the value."
"In terms of pricing, Katalon, Selenium, and Cypress all represent a similar level of investment. The software for these tools are either true open source or almost open source (because they charge a small fee), so pricing is a neutral point for me."
"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 prices are very high."
"We were using the free version of this tool."
"The product is affordable. It has an average and competitive pricing compared to other vendors."
"Price-wise, Katalon Studio is a costly product. Considering what the solution provides its users with, I can say that price-wise, Katalon Studio is an okay product."
"The tool's pricing is cheap compared to other alternatives. I would rate the tool's pricing a three out of ten."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
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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.