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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
7th
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
51
Ranking in other categories
Test Management Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Functional Testing Tools category, the mindshare of SmartBear TestComplete is 4.8%, down from 5.8% 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.
CharlesChang - PeerSpot reviewer
Valuable performance and libraries but needs compatibility improvements
We use Visual Studio Test Professional to develop our internal applications for our company The performance of Visual Studio Test Professional is valuable. Additionally, there are many libraries that I can use, and it supports cross-platform functionality. Visual Studio Test Professional is…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Complete works perfectly with CUTE. That includes all dialogues, right-click menus, or system dialogues, etc., which are handled well."
"The reporting is ready to use and doesn't require any setup."
"SmartBear TestComplete performs some self-healing and has a feature called OCR (optical character recognition)."
"The most valuable feature is the integration with Azure DevOps."
"Selenium integration."
"The product is stable for what we are currently using it for, and it is sufficient for us."
"The product has many features."
"TestComplete has strong reporting capabilities. The reports they generate are really good."
"The setup is easy and straightforward."
"The tool has highly detailed debugging features."
"Visual Studio Test Professional is a scalable solution."
"The ability to quickly make your own components has been valuable."
"Visual Studio is an exemplary integrated development environment that stands out due to its exceptional features. It allows for the seamless selection of the appropriate programming language for the specific development tasks at hand. This facilitates a swift and effortless transition between languages, providing a highly efficient development experience."
"Its initial setup process is easy."
"Visual Studio is the easiest to use."
"The solution is very stable; there's nothing in relation to stability to complain about."
 

Cons

"I didn't use it very heavily. One issue that I found was that there wasn't a quick way or a button to move Visual Basic scripts to TestComplete. We have a lot of such scripts in our organization, and it would be very useful to have some option to easily move these scripts. It is currently possible to convert these scripts to TestComplete, but it is not easy. I have to write some code, but everything is not available immediately."
"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."
"Headless testing would be a big improvement."
"Error handling features in the tool are a little limited."
"Right now, the product only supports Windows."
"The initial setup of SmartBear TestComplete was complex."
"The test object repository needs to be improved. The hierarchy and the way we identify the objects in different applications, irrespective of technology, needs adjustments. The located and test objects are not as flexible compared to other commercial tools."
"The solution needs Mac OS support. Right now, the solution has only been developed to accommodate Windows OS."
"Visual Studio Test Professional needs to improve its stability."
"The interface should be made attractive."
"The solution's deployment is not very easy and should be made easier."
"Visual Studio Test Professional could improve by having better integration with external databases."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"The solution's documentation could be improved because it keeps disappearing from the solution."
"The performance could be faster."
"Sometimes Visual Studio is slow. It uses a lot of resources like memory and processing power. You should optimize the performance by only installing what you need on your machine. Don't install unnecessary things that will slow your machine."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It comes with a high cost."
"The price of SmartBear TestComplete could be less. The main challenge is when it comes to node-locked. They should use a subscription model, such as a monthly-based subscription or, a quarterly-based subscription. Their floating license is very expensive, and this high price should be reduced or provide, at a minimum, a subscription model."
"The product is becoming more and more expensive."
"SmartBear TestComplete is an expensive tool."
"The pricing is pretty reasonable."
"The pricing is a little above average — it could be lower."
"The license price for a physical machine is cheap, and for virtual machine, it is very expensive."
"The price is less, compared to other products, such as QTP."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional, which is expensive."
"We use the solution’s community version, and the solution’s pricing could be cheaper."
"We have licensing for Visual Studio Community edition."
"The tool is expensive in my region."
"Visual Studio Test Professional is a very expensive solution."
"Users have to pay a licensing fee for Visual Studio Test Professional."
"The tool is affordable."
"I positioned it at a mid-range level. It isn't an inexpensive solution, but considering its capabilities, it represents excellent value for the functionalities it offers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
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: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.