Apache JMeter vs Locust
Apache JMeter
jmeter.apache.orgLocust
locust.ioSide by side
| Figure | Apache JMeter | Locust |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Performance Testing Software | 8.4 (#6) | 7.7 (#23) |
| Spec score · Software Testing Tools | 8.4 (#6) | 7.9 (#15) |
| Spec score · Load Testing Software | 8.4 (#3) | 7.6 (#10) |
| Spec score · Testing And Qa | 8.4 (#9) | 7.9 (#15) |
| Integrations | The site describes continuous integration through third-party open source libraries for Maven, Gradle, and Jenkins. | Optional OpenTelemetry support exports traces, metrics, and logs to compatible backends, including OTLP, Prometheus, Jaeger, and Tempo. |
| Purpose | Apache JMeter is an open source, pure Java application for load testing functional behavior and measuring performance. | Locust is an open-source performance and load testing tool for HTTP and other protocols. |
| Test authoring | Its test IDE supports recording test plans from browsers or native applications, building them, and debugging them. | Users define test scenarios in regular Python code and can use regular Python libraries in their tests. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache JMeter
Apache JMeter is a free, open-source Java application for testing functional behavior under load and measuring performance. It can simulate heavy workloads on servers, networks and other systems. Supported test types include HTTP and HTTPS, SOAP and REST, FTP, JDBC, LDAP, JMS, email protocols, TCP, Java objects, and native commands or shell scripts. Its test IDE can record plans from browsers or native applications, then help users build and debug them. JMeter provides command-line operation on Java-compatible systems and can generate dynamic HTML reports. It also supports remote testing, pluggable samplers and timers, scripting such as Groovy and BeanShell, and plugins for analysis and visualization. Third-party open-source libraries connect it to Maven, Gradle and Jenkins for continuous integration. JMeter works at the protocol level: it does not execute JavaScript in pages or render them as a browser does. It requires Java 8 or later. The project recommends command-line rather than GUI operation for load testing and advises caution with untrusted JMX files, which may execute code when opened.
Locust
Locust is an open-source performance and load testing tool for HTTP and other protocols. Test scenarios are written in Python, with regular Python libraries available for use within them. Tests can run from the command line or web interface, which displays throughput, response times, and errors in real time; results can be exported for later analysis. The interface shows progress and lets users change load during a run. Locust can distribute tests across multiple machines and says it can support hundreds of thousands of concurrent users. Other systems and protocols can be tested by adding a client, and documentation lists community extensions for protocols and reporting. Optional OpenTelemetry support exports traces, metrics, and logs to compatible backends such as OTLP, Prometheus, Jaeger, and Tempo. Automatic instrumentation currently covers the requests library. Installation is documented with pip install locust or uvx. Locust is free and MIT-licensed. Its documentation also describes hosted load testing through Azure Load Testing, with reporting, Application Insights integration, and CI/CD support for Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions.