Locust vs Gatling

Locust8.8Visit Gatling8.7Visit

Higher score Locust #7 in Performance Testing Software 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Locust

vs

Gatling #8 in Performance Testing Software 8.7/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Gatling

• Locust fits best

  Python teams building flexible open-source tests

• Gatling fits best

  Teams needing broad, scalable protocol testing

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Side by side

Feature	Locust 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Gatling 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.7
Ranking	#7 in Performance Testing Software	#8 in Performance Testing Software
Best for	Python teams building flexible open-source tests	Teams needing broad, scalable protocol testing
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free plan	€89/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Docs	Live chat, Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Locust 5/5 · Gatling 4/5
Load testing	✓	✓
Stress testing	✓	✓
Browser-based testing	✓ (best)	—
Distributed load	✓	✓
API testing	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Hybrid	Hybrid
Max virtual users	Not checked yet	60000 users
Our review
Pros	Define test scenarios in regular Python code Run real-time, headless, or distributed tests Extend workloads with protocols, clients, and integrations	Supports HTTP, WebSocket, SSE, JMS, MQTT, and gRPC testing Distributed testing supports up to 60,000 virtual users on Basic Integrates with major CI/CD, observability, and collaboration tools
Cons	Self-hosted deployment places operations on your team Browser testing uses documented Playwright or Selenium extensions Core HTTP/HTTPS coverage may require extensions for other protocols	Browser sessions generate HTTP scenarios rather than executing JavaScript Basic limits testing to 1 hour and one load generator Advanced limits and support require higher-tier or custom plans
Our verdict	Locust is an open-source performance and load testing tool for developers and test engineers who want to define simulated behavior in Python. It supports load, stress, browser, distributed-load, and API testing across web, Windows, macOS,… Read the review →	Gatling is a performance-testing platform for developers, QA teams, and enterprises testing web applications, APIs, microservices, and cloud infrastructure. Its open-source Community Edition runs code-based scenarios locally, while the… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Locust — where it wins

  • Define test scenarios in regular Python code
  • Run real-time, headless, or distributed tests
  • Extend workloads with protocols, clients, and integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment places operations on your team
  • Browser testing uses documented Playwright or Selenium extensions
  • Core HTTP/HTTPS coverage may require extensions for other protocols

• Gatling — where it wins

  • Supports HTTP, WebSocket, SSE, JMS, MQTT, and gRPC testing
  • Distributed testing supports up to 60,000 virtual users on Basic
  • Integrates with major CI/CD, observability, and collaboration tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Browser sessions generate HTTP scenarios rather than executing JavaScript
  • Basic limits testing to 1 hour and one load generator
  • Advanced limits and support require higher-tier or custom plans

• Locust8.8/10 · Free plan

  A flexible Python-based load testing tool for teams that want self-hosted control.

  Visit LocustFull verdict →
• Gatling8.7/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A broad performance-testing platform with code, no-code, and distributed load options.

  Visit GatlingFull verdict →