SoapUI vs Karate

SoapUI9.0Visit Karate8.9Visit

Higher score SoapUI #3 in API Testing Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit SmartBear

vs

Karate #4 in API Testing Tools 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Karate

• SoapUI fits best

  Teams testing SOAP, REST, and service performance

• Karate fits best

  Engineering teams building automated API test suites

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Side by side

Feature	SoapUI 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Karate 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.9
Ranking	#3 in API Testing Tools	#4 in API Testing Tools
Best for	Teams testing SOAP, REST, and service performance	Engineering teams building automated API test suites
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free	$100/user/yr
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Email, Community, Docs
Integrations	9 integrations	40+ integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SoapUI 6/6 · Karate 6/6
GraphQL support	✓	✓
SOAP support	✓	✓
Scheduled runs	✓	✓
CI/CD integration	✓	✓
Mock server	✓	✓
Contract testing	✓	✓
Specs
Included requests	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Covers REST, SOAP, GraphQL, functional, regression, and performance testing Includes service mocking, contract coverage, assertions, and schema validation Runs locally on Windows, macOS, and Linux with command-line execution	Tests REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs with Gherkin-based authoring Combines mocks, contract testing, reports, and parallel execution Supports CI/CD, self-hosting, and Gatling performance testing
Cons	Desktop-focused rather than a browser-based testing platform Enterprise testing capabilities are provided through separate ReadyAPI products Groovy and JavaScript scripting may require scripting knowledge	Advanced IDE and Xplorer capabilities are split across paid tiers The Pro plan costs $640 per user per year Enterprise licensing uses custom commercial pricing
Our verdict	SoapUI is an open-source desktop API testing tool for developers and testers working with REST, SOAP, HTTP, and GraphQL services. It is suited to teams that need one application for functional, regression, interoperability, performance,… Read the review →	Karate is an open-source test automation framework for developers and QA teams building automated suites for REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs. Its Gherkin-based syntax supports JSON and XML assertions, schema validation, data-driven scenarios,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• SoapUI — where it wins

  • Covers REST, SOAP, GraphQL, functional, regression, and performance testing
  • Includes service mocking, contract coverage, assertions, and schema validation
  • Runs locally on Windows, macOS, and Linux with command-line execution

  Where it doesn't

  • Desktop-focused rather than a browser-based testing platform
  • Enterprise testing capabilities are provided through separate ReadyAPI products
  • Groovy and JavaScript scripting may require scripting knowledge

• Karate — where it wins

  • Tests REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs with Gherkin-based authoring
  • Combines mocks, contract testing, reports, and parallel execution
  • Supports CI/CD, self-hosting, and Gatling performance testing

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced IDE and Xplorer capabilities are split across paid tiers
  • The Pro plan costs $640 per user per year
  • Enterprise licensing uses custom commercial pricing

• SoapUI9.0/10 · Free plan

  A broad, free API testing desktop tool for functional, contract, performance, and load work.

  Visit SmartBearFull verdict →
• Karate8.9/10 · Free plan

  A broad, automation-focused API framework with a valuable free tier and paid tooling add-ons.

  Visit KarateFull verdict →