Best Performance Testing Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Artillery is ranked #1 of 34 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Taurus and Locust. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Taurus. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Gatling at €7.42/mo.
When you need to see how an application handles rising demand, performance testing software provides ways to run load and stress tests. Compare API testing and browser-based testing to match tools with the targets you need to assess, then consider distributed load and maximum virtual users for the scale of testing described. Deployment model may also help you judge fit, while free-plan availability and paid-from pricing clarify access and cost. The ranking starts with Gatling, Apache JMeter, and Taurus, followed by Artillery and Locust. Weigh those details against the traffic patterns and systems you want to evaluate.
34 performance testing software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 Artillery Top pick · 7.3 Free plan · $199/mo
#2 Taurus Runner-up · 7.2 Free plan · Free
#3 Locust Also great · 7.1 Free plan · Free- Free planFree trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 199 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$199/mofirst paid tier About ArtilleryVisit site - Free plan LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- No
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free planFree trial apiextensionWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 19 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$15.80/mofirst paid tier About LoadFocusVisit site - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$19/mofirst paid tier About Grafana k6Visit site - Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms€649/mofirst paid tier About OctoPerfVisit site - Free trial apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- No
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms€7.42/mofirst paid tier About GatlingVisit site - Free trial AndroidapiiOSLinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiextensionLinuxmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms€33.25/mofirst paid tier About Blackfire.ioVisit site - Free trial apiextensionLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 99 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$8.25/mofirst paid tier About BlazeMeterVisit site - Free trial self-hostedWeb
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxWebWindows
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WindowsmacOSLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindowsmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- No
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WindowsmacOSLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- No
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindowsmacOSLinux
- Load testing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindowsLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WebWindowsLinux
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 499 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 99.95 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$99.95/mofirst paid tier About Loader.ioVisit site - Windows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 180 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 399 /mo
- Load testing
- Yes
- Stress testing
- Yes
- Browser-based testing
- Yes
- Distributed load
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which performance testing software is ranked first on Everything Xiaomi?
Artillery is ranked #1 of 34 with a score of 7.3. Taurus is second and Locust third.
How many of these have a free plan?
8 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Gatling has the lowest first paid tier we found: €7.42/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.