API testing is an integral part of the complete testing process as it will help you identify bugs and issues at different layers of your application. So choosing the right API testing tool is crucial as it can help you reduce testing time and increase testing efficiency. Being an experienced API testing company, we have used a wide range of API testing tools. Though Rest Assured is a Java library and not a standalone tool, it is one of the widely used tools for API testing along with Postman. So in this blog, we will be comparing Postman vs Rest Assured as they are widely used by many in the testing community. There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to choosing the right testing tools. With that being said, let’s find out which tool will suit you the best.
Postman
Many might have a misconception that Postman is used only to perform manual API testing. But Postman does have automation testing capabilities as well. According to recent reports, Postman has crossed the incredible milestone of having more than 20 Million registered users. This is an incredible feat considering that Postman initially launched in 2012 as a Google Chrome extension.
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Rest Assured
Rest Assured is a Java-based library that can be used to perform automation testing on REST APIs and services. The libraries based on the Rest Assured library can also validate the server’s HTTP responses. Though Rest Assured isn’t as popular as Postman, it is still a great API testing library.
Now that we have been introduced to both options, let’s take a closer look at the difference between the two in our Postman vs Rest Assured section.
Postman vs Rest Assured: Key Highlights
| Features | Postman | Rest Assured |
|---|---|---|
| Types | Best suited for exploratory, manual, and automation Testing. | A Java library for performing Automated API Testing. |
| Pricing | A limited open-source version & an advanced Propeitory version. | Open-source |
| Scripting Language | Supports only JavaScript. | It has support for Java, . Net, Python, Ruby, etc |
| API Response Time | It is faster in comparison. | It is slower in comparison. |
| Code Reusability | Requests have to be copied from one collection to another manually. | Can be done with ease as it is a Java client. |
| Integration | Less scope for integration | More scope for integration |
| Customized Reports | Does Not allow us to customize Reports | We can customize reports for rest assured. |
| Parallel Execution | Harder to Achieve | Easier to Achieve |
| Designing a Data-Driven framework | Limited with only one data file for each collection | No Limitations at all |
Postman vs Rest Assured: In-Depth
Now that we have seen the key differences, let’s taker a deeper dive into the critical aspects you’ll have to consider.
Cost of the Tool
Though Postman does offer a free version that can be used, there are a lot of limitations that come along with it. But in contrast, Rest Assured is a completely free open-source option with all the features you’ll need to perform effective API Testing. So if you are looking for an open-source option and will be scaling your test suite with time, you can skip the Postman vs Rest Assured comparison and go straight ahead with Rest Assured. But if cost alone isn’t the only deciding factor, you can consider the below points as well.
Code Reusability
As Rest Assured is using Java client, we can easily make reuse the methods depending on our testing needs instead of writing new methods every time. Whereas, Postman doesn’t provide the option of reusing pre-written scripts. So if you are choosing between Postman and Rest Assured for a large project or will be scaling your testing in the future, Rest Assured would be the right choice.
Ease of Use
As mentioned earlier in our Postman vs Rest Assured blog, Postman is the actual tool, and Rest assured is a Java library. So Postman has a great user interface that you can access easily by logging through a browser; making it very simple and easy to use. You also wouldn’t need to know how to work with an IDE to get things done.
Though Rest Assured uses Given/When/Then test annotations to simplify your tests and make them easy to understand even for non-technical people, the lack of a GUI does make Postman more user-friendly.
End-to-End Testing
Let’s take an example where you have to test if the data received from the web has been processed by the API and stored in the database as expected. In such end-to-end testing scenarios, opting to use Rest Assured would be the better way to go. You can add other third-party applications such as Jenkins with Rest Assured for CI/CD Integration as it is a framework. So with the help of dependencies, we can easily cover that part. Whereas Postman has less support for such integration.
But if you’re primarily looking to debug or perform manual exploratory testing, Postman is still a great option thanks to its great UI. Though automation is possible with Postman, the scale at which it can be done is a major factor to consider in this Postman vs Rest Assured comparison.
General Tips for Making the Right Choice
According to us, the major differences when comparing Postman vs Rest Assured arise from the fact that one is a tool and the other is a framework. If you are still unable to pick the right choice, here are a few tips that can help you arrive at the right decision.
- Analyze your requirements thoroughly and list them all.
- Define the dealbreaker aspects before analyzing other attributes.
- Sort your requirements based on priority.
- See which tool satisfies most of your needs, by using the above-discussed points.
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Conclusion:
As in the case of most tool comparisons, the answer is not an easy this or that solution due to the numerous factors involved while choosing the right API testing tool. We hope our Postman vs Rest Assured comparisons have helped you understand the pros and cons of both these tools. In our years of delivering API testing services to different clients across the globe, we have used both Postman and Rest Assured based on the needs of the project. We recommend you do the same when it comes to choosing between Postman and Rest Assured. For more such insightful content, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to not miss out on any of our latest updates.
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