19 Best API Testing Tools: REST/SOAP Automation Software

By : George McGovern George McGovern
Hours Updated

An API or Application Programming Interface is a collection of software functions and procedures through which other software applications can be accessed or executed. In API Testing you use software to send calls to the API, get output and log the system’s response. For Agile development, Api Testing becomes important as shorter development cycles put more pressure on automated testing.

Here is a list of top Web Services Testing API Tools. The list contains both open-source(free) and premium web API testing tools.

API Testing Tools (Automation Software & Framework)

Name Supported Platforms Free Trial Link
ReadyAPI Cloud based 14-day Free trial (No Credit Card Required) Learn More
Katalon Platform Windows, Linux, MacOS Lifetime Free Basic Plan Learn More
Postman Windows, Linux, MacOS 30-day Free trial Learn More
MicroFocus UFT One Windows Request a free quote from sales Learn More
vREST Windows, Linux, MacOS Lifetime free basic plan Learn More

1) ReadyAPI

ReadyAPI is a leading tool for functional, security, and load testing of RESTful, SOAP, GraphQL, and other web services.In one intuitive platform, you will get four powerful tools, API functional testing, API performance testing, API security testing, and API & Web virtualization. You can easily integrate your CI/CD pipeline during every build.

#1
ReadyAPI
ReadyAPI
5.0

Supports Command-line for automated testing.

Integrations: Git, Docker, Jenkins, Azure etc.

Supported Platforms: Cloud based

Free Trial: 14-day Free trial (No Credit Card Required)

Visit ReadyAPI

Features:

  • ReadyAPI can be integrated into any environment.
  • It has a Smart Assertion feature that can create bulk assertions against hundreds of endpoints quickly.
  • Native support for Git, Docker, Jenkins, Azure, etc.
  • Supports Command-line for automated testing.
  • Supports parallel execution of functional tests and job queuing.
  • Promotes code reuse
  • Removes dependencies during testing and development.
  • Price: Plans start at $895/license (billed annually)

Pros

  • Offers comprehensive API testing capabilitiess
  • User-friendly interface

Cons

  • Limited customization options

Visit ReadyAPI >>

14-day Free trial (No Credit Card Required)

2) Katalon Platform

Katalon Platform brings a hassle-free API testing platform for testers with or without prior programming experience.

#2
Katalon Platform
Katalon Platform
4.9

Reduce test maintenance cost and effort

Integrations: Azure DevOps, BrowserStack, Circle CI, etc.

Supported Platforms: Windows,Linux, MacOS

Free Trial: 30-Day Free Trial

Visit Katalon Platform

Features:

  • Supports all types of REST, SOAP requests, SSL client certificate.
  • Easily import tests from Swagger (2.0 & 3.0), Postman, WSDL, and WADL.
  • Built off of data-driven testing methods better test coverage and reliability.
  • Create fluent assertions in BDD style with AssertJ support.
  • Support set up API test data using UI testing.
  • Provide insightful test report dashboards of all testing stages for better monitor and collaboration across teams.
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Offers flexible test design
  • Provides a range of testing capabilities

Cons

  • Free version has limited features

Visit Katalon Platform

Lifetime Free Basic Plan

3) Postman

Postman is a plugin in Google Chrome, and it can be used for testing API services. It is a powerful HTTP client to test web services. For manual or exploratory testing, Postman is a good choice for testing API.

Postman

Features:

  • With Postman, almost all modern web API data can be extracted
  • You can write Boolean tests within Postman Interface
  • You can create a collection of REST calls and save each call as part of a collection for execution in future
  • Unlike CURL, it is not a command line based tool, which makes this tool hassle free of pasting text into command line window
  • For transmitting and receiving REST information, Postman is more reliable
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Offers various testing capabilities
  • Easy to integrate

Cons

  • Limited automation capabilities

Visit Postman >>

30-day Free trial

4) MicroFocus UFT One

MicroFocus UFT One provides an extensible framework helpful in executing and building the functionality of a headless system that does not have a user interface.

MicroFocus UFT One

Features:

  • It is one of the best API testing tools to test headless technologies like Databases and Webservices, JMS, etc.
  • By using the API test conversion tool, you can convert SoapUI tests to UFT (QTP) API tests.
  • Easy to use GUI to create API tests with Robust Test Reports
  • Price: Request a free quote from sales

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Support for multiple programming languages

Cons

  • Limited support for new technologies

Visit MicroFocus >>

5) vREST

vREST API testing tool provides an online solution for automated testing, mocking, automated recording, and specification of REST/HTTP APIs/RESTful APIs.

vREST

Features:

  • It provides an exhaustive tool to quickly validate your REST APIs
  • This rest API test tool delivers zero defect web applications with less effort in API testing
  • To validate your web application, no skilled resources are required, and it can generate documentation for your API specifications
  • API mocks can be created in vREST with the help of Mock Server Functionality. Users can directly start developing frontend using mock HTTP requests
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • User-friendly interface & easy to navigate
  • Supports multiple formats

Cons

  • Limited customization capabilities

Visit vREST >>

6) HttpMaster

It is a web development tool to automate web application testing, including API testing, service testing, and website testing. It is one of the best web API testing tools primarily used as a web API test tool to automate the testing of web API calls. HttpMaster is the best choice for API testing as it has got:

HttpMaster

Features:

  • Several HTTP methods (GET, POST, DELETE etc.)
  • Dynamic parameters of various data types to make batches of different API requests
  • Various validation types and advanced validation expressions
  • Price: Plans start at $99 per single license

Pros

  • Offers multiple testing capabilitie
  • Provides various testing options

Cons

  • Integration options with third-party tools and services are limited

Visit HttpMaster >>

7) SOAP Sonar

SOAPSonar is an API testing and diagnostics platform for SOAP, XML, REST-based web services. Use external sources like Excel, MS SQL, Oracle or any ODBC Database for automated tests.

SOAP Sonar

Features:

  • This web services test tool identifies Web Services vulnerabilities like Malware Threat and SQL Injection
  • Web Service Functional Testing with Success Rule Framework and Concurrent Client Load Testing
  • Native HP QC Integration, and supports integration with Hudson, Ant, and JUnit
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Supports multiple protocols
  • Provides a rich set of features

Cons

  • Steep learning curve

Visit SOAP Sonar

8) Ping API

Ping-API is an API testing tool that allows writing test scripts in JavaScript and CoffeeScript to test your APIs. It is one of the best API testing tools, which allows inspecting HTTP API call with complete request and response data. For any failures, the user gets a notification through email, slack.

Ping API

Features:

  • Use Ping- API to schedule tests every minute or hour
  • Support for writing script to set request headers, body, and URL parameters. It supports writing scripts to validate response headers and body
  • It is one of the best API tools that validates CRUD flow
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Supports multiple protocols and formats
  • Offers extensive analytics and insights

Cons

  • Limited customization options

Visit Ping API >>

9) Rest-assured

It’s a popular rest API testing framework to test REST services in Java. It is one of the best API testing tools which helps developers to build, debug and test RESTful API’s.

Rest-assured

Features:

  • Construct POST or PUT body via raw input
  • Easy query parameters creation
  • Add custom headers through intuitive UI
  • Keyboard navigation and shortcuts
  • It’s minimal dependencies, which allows easy deployment on-server for smoke tests/health checks.
  • This REST API test tool will return exit codes on failure
  • Allows to generate/extract and validate mechanisms to build test scenarios
  • Price: Free Download

Pros

  • Open-source and free to use
  • Supports multiple HTTP methods

Cons

  • Requires Java knowledge

Visit Rest-Assured

10) Karate DSL

Karate is a new API testing framework base on the cucumber library. Karate DSL allows testers to write meaningful tests for web services using a domain-specific language.

Karate DSL

Features:

  • It supports configuration switching/staging, multi-threaded parallel execution.
  • Allows testing and generating reports just like any standard Java Project
  • Possible to write tests even for the non-programmers
  • The karate API testing tool allows the re-use of payload data and user-defined functions across tests.
  • Price: Free to use

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • No coding knowledge required

Cons

  • Less flexibility

Visit Karate >>

11) Hippie-Swagger

Hippie-swagger is a tool for testing APIS. It is one of the best api testing tools which supports a clear assertion syntax, for extending test behavior. It also allows clean printing reports.

Hippie-Swagger

Features:

  • It will fail test whenever swagger documentation is either erroneous or missing
  • Readable and accurate assertation messages
  • This tools for api testing validated parameters, request, response, pats, etc.
  • It is a programming and rest api testing framework, so it has no user interface apart from the text file to create code
  • Price: Free to use

Pros

  • No programming background required
  • Provides real-time test results

Cons

  • Limited community support

Visit Hippie-Swagger

12) JMeter

JMeter is used for functional API testing. It is one of the best API testing tools, which has features that help to boost the performance of API testing.

JMeter

Features:

  • It can be used for static and dynamic resource performance testing.
  • It supports replaying test results.
  • It can automatically work with CSV files. This helps the test team to produce unique parameter values for API tests.
  • Price: Free to use

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Supports multiple protocols and formats

Cons

  • Limited reporting capabilities

Visit JMeter >>

13) Apiary

Apiary allows monitoring the API during the design phase by capturing both request and response. It allows the user to write API blueprints and lets the user view them Apiary editor

Apiary

Features:

  • Role-based access control over API documents.
  • It allows to add and remove team members from API design projects
  • API Blueprint management dashboard
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Strong collaboration features
  • Provides extensive documentation

Cons

  • Limited support for enterprise-grade features

Visit APIpray >>

14) API Science

API science allows monitoring the health, availability, and performance of web APIs. It is one of the best API testing tools that enables monitoring Private, Partner and Public APIs. This tool allows the user to know if any API ever goes down so that needed action should be taken to bring it back up.

API Science

Features:

  • It is multi-step & Powered by JavaScript
  • Powerful reporting mechanism helps to get insights into historical trends and spot future issues.
  • Supports JSON, REST, XML, and Oauth
  • Helps to manage API supply chain
  • Price: Free to use

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Integration with other tools

Cons

  • Limited script customization

Visit API Science

15) Apigee

Apigee is a cross-cloud API testing tool. It allows the user to measure and test API performance, supports and build API using other editors like Swagger. It offers security and governance policies across all APIs.

Apigee

Features:

  • Allows to design monitor, deploy, and scale APIs
  • Easily create API proxies from the Open API Specification and deploy them in the cloud
  • Identify performance issues by tracking API traffic, error rates, and response times
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Offers extensive analytics and insights
  • Offers strong API security feature

Cons

  • Requires time to set up

Visit Apigee >>

16) Tricentis

Tricentis is a robust web services testing tool. Prominent API Testing features of Tricentis Tosca are –

Tricentis

Features:

  • This web services test tool supports a wide array of protocols including HTTP(s) JMS, AMQP, Rabbit MQ, TIBCO EMS, SOAP, REST, IBM MQ,NET TCP
  • It integrates into the Agile and DevOps Cycle
  • It is one of the best API automation tools which uses model-based test automation that makes script maintenance easy.
  • Enables end-to-end testing as API tests can be used across mobile, cross-browser, packaged apps, etc.
  • Price: Lifetime free basic plan

Pros

  • Comprehensive testing capabilities
  • Offers integrated test data management

Cons

  • Heavy resource usage

Visit Tricentis >>

FAQ

An API or Application programming interface is a collection of software functions and procedures through which other software applications can be accessed or executed.

Here are some of the Best API Testing Tools:

For Agile development, API Testing becomes important as shorter development cycles put more pressure on automated testing.

The general features of API testing tools are:

  • Exhaustive features to quickly validate your REST APIs.
  • Support various validation types and advanced validation expressions.
  • Enables you to write tests even for the non-programmers.
  • It has easy to use UI.

The important benefits of popular api testing tools are:

  • Companies can update the workflow to become more productive.
  • It helps you to personalize user experience.
  • Organizations can customize the service with ease.
  • Content can be embedded from any application or site.

API Automation Tools & API Testing Framework

Name Supported Platforms Free Trial Link
ReadyAPI Cloud based 14-day Free trial (No Credit Card Required) Learn More
Katalon Platform Windows, Linux, MacOS Lifetime Free Basic Plan Learn More
Postman Windows, Linux, MacOS 30-day Free trial Learn More
MicroFocus UFT One Windows Request a free quote from sales Learn More
vREST Windows, Linux, MacOS Lifetime free basic plan Learn More
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