What are mobile testing tools?

Mobile testing tools are software applications designed to test mobile applications' functionality, usability, consistency, and security across different devices, operating systems, and environments. These tools must ensure that apps deliver a good user experience, regardless of the devices.

How frequently are mobile testing tools updated?

The updates happen frequently, yet some tools need active maintenance. It could be due to the type of tools, whether open source or commercial. Others could be industry demands, user feedback, security concerns, etc.

What are some popular mobile testing tools?

Popular tools include Accelq, Appium, Selenium, etc. Still, the choice depends on individual specific needs.

Are there any suitable mobile testing tools for beginners?

Yes, Espresso is a testing framework for Android that provides a set of APIs to write UI tests. And XCUITest, developed by Apple, is a UI testing framework for iOS applications.

How do we choose the right mobile testing tool for a project?

Consider whether the tools perform functional testing, performance testing, automation testing, or a combination. The type of application: native, web, and hybrid. Do they support Android, iOS, or both? A tool that helps individuals or teams become comfortable with a programming language. It's a simple setup and intuitive interface, even for newbies. The tool should integrate with existing development easily. The community support and structured documentation for troubleshooting and learning. Last, user reviews and free trials are available.

15 Best Mobile Testing Tools (2024 edition)

Posted On: 29 November 2023

The benefits of testing tools include high-quality mobile apps that function on different devices and provide a good UX. These tools help identify and resolve issues before app deployment to reduce bugs and improve app reliability. They also save time by automating repetitive testing tasks to deliver a user-friendly final product. The blog lists the top 15 mobile testing tools that have gained popularity in the industry for their reliability and efficacy.

TOP 15 Automation Mobile Testing Tools in 2024

1. ACCELQ

ACCELQ is a true no-code mobile test automation platform. It is powered by AI technology on the cloud that automates and executes tests across OSs and devices. This platform follows a functional approach while automating mobile devices. This approach enables the entire team to do the testing phase without specialists. ACCELQ is a test automation and management platform to help you achieve continuous delivery for mobile testing.

Features:

Mobile test automation can be designed, developed, and executed with zero setup.
In the Plug & Play model, device cloud labs integrate to test across devices.
Custom frameworks are not needed due to the design-first approach with built-in modularity.
AI-powered mobile object handling of this test automation platform eliminates test flakiness.
ACCELQ adopts a unified, OS-agnostic approach with a central object repository for iOS and Android.
Self-healing element identification improves reliability.
No coding is required, even if the mobile apps are complex and dynamic.
The version control, branching, and merging are all in a collaborative cloud platform.
Analytic-based algorithms drive automated test planning to ensure coverage.
Smart test management platform alerts and analyzes the impact of automated app changes.
Cross browser executions on cloud or on-premises labs.
ACCELQ integrates with Jenkins, TeamCity, and Bamboo to present a unified view of the quality lifecycle.
Dynamic live results views with actionable reports to trigger reruns.

Website: https://www.accelq.com/products/test-automation-mobile/

2. Appium

Appium is one of the open-source tools for mobile testing favored by developers and testers. It allows the creation of test cases for multiple platforms using the same API. It supports Android versions from 2.3 onwards. Appium executes test cases using the WebDriver interface. WebDriver automates web testing by clicking buttons and entering text on pages.

Features:

It is a testing tool to automate mobile, web, native, hybrid, and desktop apps.
This tool can automate Android and iOS mobile applications. Webdriver can automate even desktop platforms.
It performs mobile app testing into existing CI/CD pipelines for logical automation.
Plugins have been added exclusively to Appium 2 to extend server functionality without changing the server code.
Appium Inspector allows automated tests to be debugged visually.
Test scripts can be created using Java, Javascript, Python, Ruby, PHP, and C#.
This tool integrates with Flutter development frameworks.

3. Espresso

Espresso grabs a spot regarding a popular open-source testing framework specifically designed for automating the testing of Android applications.

Developed by Google, Espresso provides a simple and efficient way to write UI tests for Android apps, enabling developers and QA teams to ensure the quality and reliability of their applications.

Features:

This tool integrates with Android Studio to create and run tests easily.
With Espresso-Intents, testers can test if the app correctly behaves when moving from one screen to another.
This tool can be integrated into CI pipelines for automated testing.
Espresso enables the development team to test both Android and hybrid web platforms.
Test cases using this tool can be performed in Java or Kotlin.

4. Selendroid

Selendroid is a mobile test automation framework that focuses on automating the UI of Android native, hybrid applications, and mobile web applications. It leverages the Selenium 2 client API to write tests and interact with the user interface of applications.

Features:

This framework can test both native and hybrid Android applications.
Selendroid includes a built-in inspector to simplify the process of writing automation scripts. There’s no need to modify or recompile your application to automate it.
UI Element Inspection checks the current UI elements of the app to perform a simple test script development.
This framework supports testing on multiple devices simultaneously.
It can simulate user gestures like touch, swipe, drag, and drop.

5. Robotium

Robotium, one of the automation testing tools for mobile applications, provides a simple yet robust way to write tests. It allows developers and QA teams to ensure the quality and reliability of their applications.

Features:

Robotium excels in black-box testing, enabling testers to write functional, system, and acceptance test scenarios.
It integrates with Android Studio, the primary IDE for Android development, making it easy to write and run tests.
Robotium Recorder allows the recording of a test case in minutes.
This tool requires a minimal knowledge of the application under test.

6. XCUI Test

XCUI Test is Apple's native testing framework for automating the testing of iOS applications. It offers a range of features to ensure top-notch quality and reliability. It is tailored for testing iOS applications, allowing developers to write tests using Swift or Objective-C.

Features:

XCUI Test can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines using Xcode Server or other CI tools, enabling automated testing.
iOS devices and simulator testing are supported for test coverage through various techniques.
XCUI Test has a vast assertion library for validating UI elements and their properties.

7. Robot Framework

This extensible open-source platform transforms test creation and execution across many platforms. It offers a concise syntax that benefits non-programmers when creating and managing test cases.

Features:

Robot Framework uses a keyword-driven testing approach. This approach makes it easy to write tests that are understandable and maintainable.
It supports libraries like AppiumLibrary, which are designed explicitly for mobile testing. Hence, it enables the automation of Android and iOS applications.
Robot Framework is highly customizable and can be extended with Python or Java to meet specific testing needs.
It allows for data-driven test cases, making testing different scenarios with various data sets easier.
With a wide range of plugins and integrations, this platform enhances capabilities for mobile testing.

8. Eggplant

Keysight's Eggplant is one of the mobile automation tools developed by TestPlant. It involves ML and AI for automated testing of mobile app releases. This tool's AI-driven approach utilizes scriptless models and analytics.

Features:

This tool uses optical character recognition (OCR) and computer vision for UI testing.
Eggplant conducts mobile application testing using a low-code approach. It ensures high-quality user experiences across all devices.
It comprehensively views application performance across cloud services, mobile devices, and desktops.
Eggplant integrates with CI/CD tools like Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions to automate testing.
This tool supports testing across platforms, ensuring applications work on different operating systems.

9. Katalon

Katalon is a quality management platform that helps teams deliver good digital experiences. It eliminates building a test automation framework from scratch with low-code methods.

Features:

This tool performs image-based testing to capture and locate visual elements. Image-based testing recognizes and interacts with an app’s buttons or icons.
With a mobile recorder, this tool generates tests. Automatically store all UI elements for reuse purposes.
Tests get executed locally and remotely with real devices, simulators, or cloud-based devices.
Katalon integrates with CircleCI, Github, and more to reduce test maintenance efforts.
This tool supports various languages such as JavaScript, Python, C++, and C#.

10. Kobiton

Kobiton is a mobile app automation testing platform on the cloud. It enables developers and testers to perform testing on mobile apps. Kobiton also allows on-premise devices to form a holistic testing cloud.

Features:

This tool supports testing across various mobile devices, ensuring compatibility and performance on operating systems.
It provides virtual access to a wide range of real mobile devices for device-in-hand testing. This tool allows instant replay or manual tests in parallel across devices, enhancing test coverage.
Kobiton’s session explorer and Jira integration facilitate collaboration and boost productivity.
This tool provides tools for QA teams to build and manage mobile device labs tailored to their testing needs.
Kobiton features an iMovie-like session explorer and Jira integration. These tools help teams collaborate, find, share insights for productivity and efficiency.
It supports programming languages like Java, Python, NodeJS, C#, and PHP.
This tool supports multiple frameworks and integrates with Figma, and other tools.

11. LambdaTest

LambdaTest is an AI-powered test platform for running tests on real devices, browsers, and OS combinations. It ensures cross-browser compatibility and helps ship code faster.

Features:

Tests native, hybrid, or web mobile apps using LambdaTest’s real device cloud. Or a virtual mobile device platform of emulators and simulators.
This tool uses various project management tools for efficient bug tracking and collaboration.
LambdaTest’s HyperExecute platform caches all dependencies for subsequent test runs.
It integrates with Google Cloud and various CI/CD tools to fast-track the delivery pipeline.
The Intelligent UI Inspector of this tool relaunches an app with a single click directly from the user interface.

12. Perfecto

Perfecto is the comprehensive platform for automated and continuous testing of mobile applications. This platform uses ML-based noise filtering to get rid of redundant data. Perfecto is scalable and can run a full regression suite in minutes.

Features:

Perfecto supports extensive cross-platform testing on various mobile browsers and operating systems.
This tool also offers a cloud-based mobile device lab with real devices.
Perfecto performs regression testing to detect UI anomalies. User Experience (UX) testing to simulate real-world conditions for mobile devices.
This tool supports automated testing with popular frameworks like Appium, Espresso, and XCUITest.
BlazeMeter’s mock services verify the functioning of mobile apps and identify issues.

13. Sauce labs

The Sauce DevOps test is a platform for web and mobile application testing. It streamlines the product testing process with one do-it-all service.

Features:

This tool can detect UI issues to ensure visual consistency across devices and browsers.
The mobile beta testing using this tool can report bugs by shaking users’ devices.
This tool can programmatically upload and ship apps to get the latest version.
Crash reports are detailed with logs and app metrics. These reports can be automatically posted to other tools to trace the root cause of issues.
This tool has a private cloud with a single database for a secure environment.

14. Tricentis Testim

Testim by Tricentis is an AI-powered test platform that reduces maintenance and speeds up product delivery. With Testim Mobile, it modernizes UI functional testing for mobile applications.

Features:

Powerful multi-attribute locators identify objects better, boosting test stability. Testim uses alternate attributes to keep the test working if an application changes.
Tricentis Device Cloud can test Android and iOS devices in actual usage conditions.
Virtual simulators for iOS and Android enable continuous testing and improved app quality.
This platform manages application versions in a central repository for accurate test runs.
Dashboards and visualization add errors to diagnose the failure and fix issues.
Running tests with each release using this tool is part of CI/CD pipelines to determine the success or failure of mobile testing.

15. testRigor

testRigor is an AI-powered system that autonomously generates tests to reflect end users' behavior. It incorporates libraries into an extensive database for autonomous testing.

Features:

This tool runs tests on multiple browsers and devices simultaneously for various sessions.
testRigor supports mobile testing across browsers and devices on many operating systems.
This tool supports 2FA login via email, text messages, and Google Authenticator.
testRigor integrates with CircleCI, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and more.
testRigor integrates with CircleCI, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and more.
This tool is famous for mobile operating systems like iOS and Android.

Conclusion

Choosing a mobile testing tool for our specific needs can be challenging. As a result, teams with extensive experience may rely on advanced features. Meanwhile, those with limited technical knowledge often prefer user-friendly and automated tools. To aid your decision-making process, we've summarized each tool.

Automate Mobile of ACCELQ is an automated solution for mobile application testing. It completely supports testing on various mobile devices and OS using a codeless approach. A portable element design allows you to run the used tests on both iOS and Android. As such, everyone on the team can collaborate on test development and maintenance. In conclusion, we encourage you to explore the functionalities of our tool. Book a free trial to discover the testing solution that suits your requirements.

Geosley Andrades

Director, Product Evangelist at ACCELQ

Geosley is a Test Automation Evangelist and Community builder at ACCELQ. Being passionate about continuous learning, Geosley helps ACCELQ with innovative solutions to transform test automation to be simpler, more reliable, and sustainable for the real world.