Updated April 4, 2023
Difference Between JMeter vs Selenium
Selenium is a browser Automation framework, whereas JMeter is an open-source Java application used to analyse web applications’ performance. Both JMeter and Selenium are tools that simplify the testing process, easy to learn and well documented, released through an open-source Apache License. With growing test automation in development, tool comparison helps to conclude as to which tool fits the project.
Head to Head Comparisons Between JMeter vs Selenium (Infographics)
Below are the top comparisons between JMeter and Selenium:
Key Differences between JMeter vs Selenium
Let us discuss some of the major key differences between JMeter and Selenium:
- The original developer of JMeter is Stefano Mazzocchi of Apache Software Foundation, JMeter being a Java desktop application with a graphical interface, whereas Selenium is an open-source and portable automated software testing tool.
- JMeter runs on any environment that accepts a JVM (Java Virtual Machine), whereas Selenium operated across different browsers and Operating systems.
- JMeter conducts Load and Performance testing for different server types, whereas Selenium is similar to HP’s QTP (Quick Test Pro).
- JMeter can be invoked by clicking on the JMeter shell script, whereas Google Search Engine and AliExpress, these web applications perform functions for what the user qualifies.
- It is full Swing and lightweight precompiled JAR packages, whereas Selenium is easy to use the browser extension to develop test cases.
- Selenium was introduced as a Firefox extension for faster creation of test cases.
Components
Selenium is not a tool but is a suite of software, having 4 components:
1. Selenium Integrated Development Environment
2. Selenium Remote Control
3. Selenium Grid
4. Selenium WebDriver
- JMeter stores test plans in XML format; test plans can be generated using a text editor.
- In Selenium, scripts are recorded as test scripting language known as Selenese.
- Selenese includes commands for performing actions on a web browser and restoring data.
- JMeter performs automated and functional testing of the applications.
- The multi-threading framework in JMeter allows concurrent sampling by many threads.
- Tests recorded via plugin in Selenium can be exported in different programming languages like Java, Ruby, etc.
- Selenium scripts are developed as code, which is an advantage of WebDriver’s API.
- In JMeter, functionalities are organized as components.
- JMeter stimulates a group of users by sending requests to the target server to return statistics for the target server’s performance.
Comparison Table of JMeter vs Selenium
Let’s look at the top comparisons between JMeter vs Selenium.
| JMeter | Selenium |
| JMeter is suitable for Java applications where the script can make up to several users for the load test. | Selenium uses interface actions to plan and assert test automation. |
| JMeter primarily supports performance testing on simulating HTTP/ HTTPS requests, supports other protocols too. | Selenium is primarily used for functional testing, also can be used to measure client-side metrics. |
| Using JMeter, we can measure response time for each load level. | Selenium computes load but cannot scale them. |
| JMeter deals with server-side components and does not execute browser-side components. | Selenium focuses on browser-related functionality. |
| JMeter can be used to check the load added to the server. | Selenium helps in checking app functionality, regression, and cross browsing testing. |
| JMeter used XML format | Selenium supports many other languages such as Java, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, HTML, etc. |
| JMeter supports all browsers irrespective of the versions. | Selenium has some specific browser requirements. |
| Browser is not required to run JMeter; it can be used as a recording tool to record protocols like HTTP, SOAP, Rest. | Browser is required to run Selenium. |
| JMeter support distributed testing. | Selenium uses an extension known as Selenium Grid to perform distributed testing. |
| Easy to use while generating load HTTP requests, analyzing responses | Selenium UI interface is confusing but is easy to learn. |
| Cookies help to manage session state. | Selenium Grid allows running tests parallelly. |
| To scale up the high load, JMeter cloud service BlazeMeter is used. | The primary benefit is it is cost-effective and usage of the cloud. |
| A most important feature of JMeter is its reporting and analysis integration with Jenkins. | Selenium features include Customization flexibility and are not restricted by licensing. |
| No knowledge of programming or certain knowledge is enough for JMeter. | Selenium allows connecting with other tools that use frameworks. |
| JMeter cannot handle more threads and, with the increase of threads, gets hung, which causes inconvenience. | Selenium cannot detect Java applets. |
| JMeter cannot optimize read-write access to output CSV, which affects the test result of the application. | ‘Wait-till-displayed’ or ‘Wait-till-present’ are built-in Web driver functions for writing loops and defining wait explicitly. |
| LoadRunner and Skillperformer can be used as an alternative for JMeter. | Selenium is easy to use and supports different web applications; not other Automation software is needed. |
| Easy to set up a load test and run stress testing | It helps in reducing manpower and allows engineers to do fast testing |
| Enterprise Messaging System allows in the testing of JMS messages. | It helps in comparing a large amount of data against excel data |
| Web Services Soap, XML-RPC, and JDBC drivers are the protocols supported. | Script development is not as fast as QTP as there is no IDE. |
| JMeter can handle maximum current users and provide graphical analysis of performance reports. | Test report generation is not by default. |
| It does not extend cross browsing testing | Supports a wide range of browsers for cross browsing testing |
| JMeter is used in WebSocket; web applications improve browser functionalities. | Selenium is used for mouse hover, drag, and drop testing functions. |
Conclusion
Let us conclude this article on a good note as we have compared the differences between JMeter and Selenium. Regardless of their software development and automation testing role, both JMeter and Selenium are important tools for project planning and development. JMeter is used for testing the performance of web applications under stress and load, whereas Selenium is used for Automation and cross browsing testing. I hope this article improves your knowledge and chooses to select the right tool based on project goals.
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