Boost.Test vs Kotest
Boost.Test
boost.orgKotest
kotest.ioSide by side
| Figure | Boost.Test | Kotest |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Unit Testing Frameworks | 8.3 (#3) | 7.9 (#15) |
| Spec score · Unit Testing | 8.3 (#4) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Assertions | Its BOOST_TEST assertion macro handles floating-point values, collections, and strings with appropriate comparison methods. | Kotest provides over 350 matchers, plus collection inspectors, soft assertions and utilities for non-deterministic code. |
| Audience | The library is intended for C++ developers who need simple program testing, unit testing, or program execution monitoring. | Kotest is intended for Kotlin projects that need testing on JVM and Kotlin Multiplatform targets. |
| Support | The FAQ directs users to the Boost Users mailing list and the project's GitHub issues for bug reports and feature requests. | The project links to community support on Slack, GitHub and Stack Overflow. |
Plans
In their own words
Boost.Test
Boost.Test is a free C++11, C++14, and C++17 library for simple program testing, unit testing, and program execution monitoring. Its BOOST_TEST macro handles comparisons involving floating-point values, collections, and strings. Test cases can self-register and be arranged into suites with fixtures, decorators, labels, dependencies, descriptions, and groups. Documentation also covers data-driven and template cases. Assertion context and configurable logging provide failure diagnostics, while XML and JUNIT logs support third-party and continuous-integration tools. Boost.Test can be used as a header-only, static, or shared library and is distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. The Boost 1.92.0 release page lists Unix source archives plus Windows source and binary downloads. The library page links documentation, Boost Slack discussion, and GitHub issues, and lists dependencies including Algorithm, Assert, Bind, Config, Core, Exception, and Type Traits. Listed platforms are Linux and Windows. There is no free trial because the software is free.
Kotest
Kotest is a Kotlin testing framework for JVM and Kotlin Multiplatform projects, with test styles, assertions and property testing. Its styles allow natural-language test names and unlimited nesting. The DSL supports parameterized and data-driven tests, conditional evaluation, lifecycle callbacks and parallel execution. The assertion library includes over 350 matchers, collection inspectors, soft assertions and utilities for non-deterministic code. Property tests can generate hundreds or thousands of inputs, and property testing is supported across all targets. Listed targets include JVM, JavaScript, Native, Wasm and Android unit and instrumented tests; Native includes Linux, Windows, iOS and macOS. Setup instructions cover Gradle, Maven and Kotlin Multiplatform projects. Integrations include Spring, Koin, Ktor, Allure, Testcontainers, WireMock and Micronaut. An IntelliJ plugin provides test run icons, editor results, a test explorer, structure highlighting and breadcrumbs. Kotest is free, with a free plan and no free trial. Its assertions library can also be used with JUnit, Spock or another test framework.