IBM Rational Performance Tester vs Visual Studio Test Professional comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Test Management Tools category. IBM is ranked #24, while Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.5. IBM holds a 1.8% mindshare in TMT, compared to Microsoft’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Read 17 IBM Rational Performance Tester reviews

574 Views
121 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Read 52 Visual Studio Test Professional reviews

954 Views
239 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

IBM Rational Performance Tester and Visual Studio Test Professional are competitors in the software testing market. Visual Studio Test Professional seems to have the upper hand due to better integration, customer service, and pricing.

Features:IBM Rational Performance Tester offers comprehensive load and performance testing, in-depth analysis tools, and detailed reporting. Visual Studio Test Professional provides robust test planning, tracking, and integrated continuous testing tools, along with superior integration within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Room for Improvement:IBM Rational Performance Tester has a complexity and steep learning curve, lacks an intuitive design, and needs smoother user experience. Visual Studio Test Professional occasionally experiences performance lags, needs enhanced cross-platform support, and requires optimization for faster operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IBM Rational Performance Tester's deployment is cumbersome and requires extensive support, but its customer service is positively recognized. Visual Studio Test Professional has smoother deployment experiences and benefits from extensive Microsoft support resources.

Pricing and ROI:IBM Rational Performance Tester is relatively expensive with a longer ROI period. Visual Studio Test Professional offers better value for money with quicker ROI and flexible pricing options.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

September 2025

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Helped 872,846 peers since 2012

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

IBM Rational Performance Te...

Ranking in Test Management Tools

24th

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Visual Studio Test Professi...

Ranking in Test Management Tools

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Functional Testing Tools (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Test Management Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Rational Performance Tester is 1.8%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Studio Test Professional is 2.4%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Test Management Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Visual Studio Test Professional	2.4%
IBM Rational Performance Tester	1.8%
Other	95.8%

Test Management Tools

Featured Reviews

KashifJamil

CEO at Xcelliti

Supports web and mobile applications, very scalable, very stable, and wonderful support

There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features. It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies.

Read full review

ALFONSO LORENZO-RODRÍGUEZ

Chief Product Officer at Gradiant

Provides extensive extensions and plugins for seamless AI product development

Our primary use case for Visual Studio Test Professional is as a development tool. We develop software primarily in Python, specifically for applications related to artificial intelligence. We use frameworks like PyTorch for training models and developing applications using these models. This tool…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support is very good. I'm very satisfied with the assistance we've received so far."

"It can support both web applications and mobile applications, and in certain cases, it can also support testing of desktop applications or software-based applications. You can write web applications, mobile applications, and software-based applications."

"Visual Studio Test Professional is a very scalable solution."

"The stability has always been very good."

"What I like most about Visual Studio Test Professional is the way people publish templates and publish integration."

"Visual Studio is the easiest to use."

"The documentation is easy, and it helps us solve our problems."

"It's great for the development of .NET."

"The whole suite is made for .NET development."

"This product is a nine out of ten."

More Visual Studio Test Professional pros

Cons

"There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features. It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies."

"The solution is not easily scalable. If you want to extend the solution, you need to purchase a different kind of license. You also have to work with the IBM team to assist in scaling."

"There are too many features with the product and I would like there to be less."

"I would appreciate some enhancements in the interface, maybe adding more color options."

"The Git extensions are very basic and can be more extensive compared to other software focused on Git, like GitTower or SmartGit."

"Its UI could be better."

"The vendor must release a lightweight version of the solution."

"The interface should be made attractive."

"There are not any specific areas for improvement since there are so many libraries and frameworks already available."

"Visual Studio Test Professional should include more automation."

More Visual Studio Test Professional cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is much cheaper than Micro Focus LoadRunner. We need perpetual licenses. Support is included in the first sale. After that, you need to renew support every year."

"We pay for the solution annually and the price could be reduced."

"There are two versions of Visual Studio Test Professional: Community and Professional. We are currently using the Community version, but if we start working on a commercial product, we will consider upgrading to the Professional version. We need to identify how we will proceed with our projects, and based on that, we will decide on our licensing."

"Visual Studio Test Professional is not an expensive solution."

"We have licensing for Visual Studio Community edition."

"There is a paid version of the solution as well as a community version that is free."

"The product is very expensive."

"Our company pays a yearly licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional."

"For the cloud services option, you buy a subscription per account or per user. This costs around $52 a month per person."

More Visual Studio Test Professional pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

13%

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Performing Arts

12%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Visual Studio Test Professional?

The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visual Studio Test Professional?

The tool is free, resulting in no costs associated with its use. The absence of price makes it cost-effective.

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What needs improvement with Visual Studio Test Professional?

The product needs contextual help integrated within its interface. Currently, I need to search online to find out how to use certain functions. This feature would save time by providing direct assi...

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Comparisons

Apache JMeter vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 49% of the time

OpenText Professional Performance Engineering (LoadRunner Professional) vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 29% of the time

Tricentis NeoLoad vs IBM Rational Performance Tester

Compared 22% of the time

More IBM Rational Performance Tester Competitors

Tricentis Tosca vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 18% of the time

SmartBear TestComplete vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 14% of the time

Apache JMeter vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 14% of the time

OpenText Functional Testing vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 13% of the time

Tricentis qTest vs Visual Studio Test Professional

Compared 12% of the time

More Visual Studio Test Professional Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester

October 2025

Download IBM Rational Performance Tester product report

Buyer's Guide

Visual Studio Test Professional

October 2025

Download Visual Studio Test Professional product report

Also Known As

Rational Performance Tester

No data available

Overview

IBM Rational Performance Tester is a performance testing solution that validates the scalability of web and server applications. Rational Performance Tester identifies the presence and cause of system performance bottlenecks and reduces load testing complexity.

IBM

Visual Studio Professional Edition provides an IDE for all supported development languages. As of Visual Studio 2010, the Standard edition was dropped. MSDN support is available as MSDN Essentials or the full MSDN library depending on licensing. It supports XML and XSLT editing, and can create deployment packages that only use ClickOnce and MSI. It includes tools like Server Explorer and integration with Microsoft SQL Server also. Windows Mobile development support was included in Visual Studio 2005 Standard, however, with Visual Studio 2008, it is only available in Professional and higher editions. Windows Phone 7 development support was added to all editions in Visual Studio 2010. Development for Windows Mobile is no longer supported in Visual Studio 2010; it is superseded by Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

andagon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon

Transport for Greater Manchester, Ordina, Bluegarden A/S, CLEAResult, Jet.com, OSIsoft, Australian Taxation Office, BookedOut, Tracasa

Buyer's Guide

IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Rational Performance Tester vs. Visual Studio Test Professional and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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