Postman vs SmartBear 2024

This article focuses on discussing the difference between Postman and Smartbear.

Postman

Postman is an API testing tool, an amazing platform that allows developers to easily explore, debug, and test APIs. It also provides the feature to define complex API requests for HTTP, REST, WebSockets, etc.

Features

1. Convenient: It can be easily managed, and accessed and can be installed on various OS (Windows, Linux, etc.).
2. Automated testing: Postman supports automated and repeated testing i.e. testing without manual intervention.
3. Open Source: It is free of cost but a paid version with premium features is also available.
4. Community support: It has wide user support and community.
5. Advanced features: It has unique features like ‘request’, ‘collection’ (to organize and group API requests), and ‘environment’ (to define variables and configurations for different testing environments).

Advantages

1. Supports different status codes: It supports several status codes for users to verify the response. For eg: Successful requests, Empty responses, Bad requests, and Unauthorized access.
2. Easily accessible: It is easily accessible by installing its application or Postman browser extension.
3. Can develop API tests: You can develop and run API tests using Postman’s powerful testing features. Workflows for both manual and automated testing are supported.
4. Can generate API documentation: You can generate and publish API documentation, and add detailed descriptions, examples, and annotations to API endpoints.
5. Possible to run iterative tests: It is possible to run iterative tests with Postman by using the Newman tool or Collection Runner.

Disadvantages

1. Consumes memory: In complex test scenarios, it may consume significant memory and processing power, impacting system performance.
2. Lacks advanced features: Postman lacks advanced features for data management and manipulation.
3. Limited support: It provides limited support for non-Rest APIs as it is primarily designed for RESTful APIs.
4. Paid features: Some advanced features required for collaboration and monitoring are paid.
5. Cannot generate random data: It can’t generate random data so you need to work around scripts.

Smartbear

The original company was founded in 2003 by Jason Cohen later it was acquired by IVP and rebranded as SmartBear Software in 2010. Smartbear provides two tools “Pactflow” and “ReadyAPI” which provide automation tools and frameworks for developers and testers to help validate and verify communication and outcomes delivered between UIs, APIs, and databases.

Features

1. Web UI testing capabilities: It offers robust web UI testing capabilities like cross-browser testing and visual testing.
2. ReadyAPI: It offers comprehensive security testing features, including penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and compliance testing.
3. Mobile testing capabilities: It offers mobile testing capabilities for both Android and iOS platforms.
4. TestComplete and Zephyr: These tools provide the test case management, version control, and reporting features.
5. LoadNinja: This tool is designed for load testing APIs at scale, It also have some unique features like real-time analytics and performance insights.

Advantages

1. Flexible: The visual editor makes the tool easy to be used easily.
2. Easy deliveryTime-saving: Native integration with tools like Jenkins and Maven makes delivery faster.
3. Time-saving: Its data-driven testing capabilities saves time by testing in real world conditions.
4. Wide testing coverage: It allows testing of almost all types of APIs( including REST, SOAP, GraphQL ) and various testing protocols, ( HTTP, HTTPS, JMS, and TCP ).
5. Efficient testing: It consists of many tools which provide efficient solutions for different types of testing.

Disadvantages

1. Expensive: Smartbear may seem to be expensive to startups with tight budgets, also its licensing and pricing models are quite complex.
2. Not Beginner friendly: Smartbear consist of many testing tools and huge documentation which might seems cumbersome to newbie’s
3. Limited Protocol: It does not support MQTT protocol used in IoT devices.
4. Hardware requirement: Some tools do not support lower versions and require latest hardware configuration.
5. Less competitive: The mobile testing tool is not as competitive as other tools present in the market.

Parameters	Postman	Smartbear
Interface	It has user user-friendly GUI.	It has a web-based interface.
Collaboration	Postman offers additional features for team collaboration.	Smartbear supports team collaboration natively
Protocols	It supports almost all types of protocols	It does not provide support for the MQTT protocol.
Affordability	Paid plan starts at $15/month.	Paid plan starts at $800/month.
Testing	It supports almost all types of testing techniques.	It has different tools specifically for various testing techniques.
Integration	It has limited features for integration with other software.	It is the perfect continuous integration/Continuous development tool.

Conclusion

The spectra of API testing tools leaves the developer in the dilemma of choosing one that best fits the project. This article will help you understand the use of “Postman” or “Smartbear” API testing tool as per the requirements of your project and team preferences. One should remember the pros and cons of these API testing tools when selecting them for the project.