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SmartBear TestComplete vs Visual Studio Test Professional comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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

SmartBear TestComplete
Ranking in Functional Testing Tools
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Regression Testing Tools (5th), Test Automation Tools (6th)
Visual Studio Test Professi...
Ranking in Functional Testing Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Test Management Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Functional Testing Tools category, the mindshare of SmartBear TestComplete is 4.9%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visual Studio Test Professional is 0.6%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Functional Testing Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Prakhar Goel - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for integration automation, user-based automation, and web automation
The solution's most valuable features are the drag-and-drop feature, keyword-driven approach, and reusability of the scripts. The solution has introduced a new feature that helps us identify objects we cannot normally identify. It gives you a fair idea of objects, resolving the object recognition issue. The solution can be used to perform different tests on different machines.
ALFONSO LORENZO-RODRÍGUEZ - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is great as a record and playback tool. It also has valuable regression testing."
"It works very fine. It is fast on almost any machine, and it is also very well organized. I like its object mapping and its capability to find and interact with almost everything that exists on Windows."
"It is a strong automation tool for desktop, browser, and API testing."
"The most valuable feature is the integration with Azure DevOps."
"The solution helps improve the stability of our product. It also decreases the work of our manual quality assurance engineers."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The solution's most valuable features are the drag-and-drop feature, keyword-driven approach, and reusability of the scripts."
"This company offers end-to-end capabilities for test suite creation and execution. One feature that I particularly appreciate is the tagging system. Tags are highly valuable, as they allow you to assign tags to your test cases. When there's an impact in a specific area, you can search for and run all test cases associated with that tag. I find this functionality very useful."
"User-friendly ID and direct integration with GitHub are the most valuable."
"The ability to quickly make your own components has been valuable."
"Customization is the most powerful feature of this product."
"Code testing is the most valuable feature of this solution for developing software."
"It is a good and user-friendly tool."
"You can easily write code, test, and deploy within the same environment. It is a mature tool. It regularly receives new updates and versions. In my opinion, it's one of the best products by Microsoft for developers."
"The most valuable features of Visual Studio Test Professional are the IntelliSense and the ease of adding the NuGet packages."
"The most valuable feature of Visual Studio Test Professional is its ease of use."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to extend the possibilities so that we can test on other operating systems, platforms and publications for Android as well as iOS."
"SmartBear products generally have a weak link when it comes to integration with other test management tools like Inflectra."
"The solution needs more training manuals or some form of online forum for learning. It needs more documentation."
"The solution’s customer support should be improved."
"Right now, when you buy the solution, you need to pay for one solution. You receive one set up and you install it and it's just in that one machine. It would be ideal if they could offer one subscription where you can connect to different machines with a group subscription."
"To bring it up to a 10, I would be looking for the addition of some key functional API testing."
"TestComplete gives support to do requests to a SOAP web service but has no support to do HTTP requests on Restful services."
"In the cross-browser domain, it has a few snags with Microsoft Edge and Chrome; although, these problems are not critical."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"Over the years, I haven't identified any specific enhancements that I desire; Visual Studio has consistently met my requirements seamlessly and flawlessly."
"Visual Studio Test Professional should include more automation."
"The performance could be faster."
"There are not any specific areas for improvement since there are so many libraries and frameworks already available."
"The database administration could be better; you should be able to choose new tools with the development environment in Visual Studio. It could be easier to use."
"Visual Studio Test Professional is expensive."
"Sometimes, the product is too complex to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Overall, for us, the cost of the TestComplete platform and the three extra modules is around $8,000."
"TestComplete now have come up with three modules (Web, Desktop & Mobile), so based on the type of product for automation, it is adequate to purchase the required module."
"This is a pay-per-use service that is not expensive, and cost-efficient if you have a small team."
"The pricing is a little above average — it could be lower."
"The solution is around $1500. Some are perpetual licenses, and some get a yearly report card."
"It is approximately $6,000 a year."
"Our ROI is about $10,000 a year."
"Buy modules on demand. If you have a four-person team and they will each automate tests only 25% of the time, it's better to buy a floating licence and share the tool during the work day."
"Users have to pay a licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional."
"There is a paid version of the solution as well as a community version that is free."
"The tool is expensive in my region."
"We pay for the solution annually and the price could be reduced."
"We have licensing for Visual Studio Community edition."
"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."
"I think that the pricing is quite good."
"It is a price-effective solution"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SmartBear TestComplete?
TestComplete has strong reporting capabilities. The reports they generate are really good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SmartBear TestComplete?
I don't know much about the pricing, however, I think it's cheaper.
What needs improvement with SmartBear TestComplete?
The recording function, when using Python, could be improved, as it does not work well in recording testing.
What do you like most about Visual Studio Test Professional?
The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and availability.
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.
What needs improvement with Visual Studio Test Professional?
There are not any specific areas for improvement since there are so many libraries and frameworks already available, and we have not even touched everything yet.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco, J.P. Morgan, Boeing, McAfee, EMC, Intuit, and Thomson Reuters.
Transport for Greater Manchester, Ordina, Bluegarden A/S, CLEAResult, Jet.com, OSIsoft, Australian Taxation Office, BookedOut, Tracasa
Find out what your peers are saying about SmartBear TestComplete vs. Visual Studio Test Professional and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.