Seeking Zephyr Alternatives? Discover the TOP 10 Best Test Management Tools in 2024 

This post was originally published on August 29, 2019, and has been updated for accuracy on February 22, 2024.

If you’re into software testing, you’ve probably heard of Zephyr. But guess what? There are other tools out there that might suit your team even better. In this quick guide, we’ll check out the top 10 Zephyr alternatives. Ready to find a testing tool that clicks with your team?

Zephyr Squad is a test case management tool by Smartbear company. The plugin seamlessly integrates with Jira. It offers comprehensive features for test case management, test execution, and reporting.  

Smartbear presents two separate test management solutions for Jira. Zephyr Squad is for teams planning and executing tests within one Jira project. On the other hand, there’s the Zephyr Scale app dedicated to teams that test across multiple Jira projects.

Zephyr has earned the trust of numerous QA engineers worldwide. The plugin is designed to support Agile development methodologies, providing features like burndown charts, test boards, and integration with popular Agile frameworks. 

Moreover, Zephyr largely supports automated testing. It allows connecting automated test results from Cucumber, Jenkins, Selenium, and Junit into a unified platform.

Finally, Zephyr claims to back up BDD (Behavior-Driven Development). It makes it easier for the testing teams to create test cases using a more intuitive language that resonates with stakeholders better. 

Zephyr is good for managing tests, but sometimes it can be confusing, especially when it comes to showing changes. What’s more, new users may struggle to grasp Zephyr’s interface, driving the demand for a simpler-to-use alternative. Last but not least, onboarding new teammates to Zephyr requires additional effort and time.

In their reviews on the Atlassian Marketplace, users often say that the biggest problem with Zephyr is its performance issues. Some QA teams have reported that the tool is slow to load and can take a long time to perform even simple tasks. Frequent outages can be frustrating and make testing take longer than it should.

When it comes to customer support, many users say they have to wait a long time for their issues to get fixed. This causes problems for businesses, especially during busy times, as the lack of responsiveness can significantly disrupt work. 

If you’re facing challenges with Zephyr, consider exploring a new option. Reliable test management tools listed below not only address the issues you might be dealing with in Zephyr. They can also provide you with numerous benefits to improve your testing experience even more:

Let’s dive deeper into the features of each of these Zephyr alternatives: 

Requirements and Test Management for Jira (RTM) is a test management add-on for Jira available for Cloud and Data Center hostings. It aims to be the most intuitive testing tool that provides its users with easy to use, modern interface. The functionalities of RTM for Jira make it sufficient for both beginners and advanced testers. 

The main goal of the app is to bring the whole development process to a single place. RTM for Jira supports real-time collaboration between testers, developers, analysts, product owners, and other stakeholders. The tool makes communication easier thanks to the built-in transparent reports with graphs and tables. 

RTM for Jira stands out from the competition by including requirements in the testing process. Furthermore, the app provides a tree-structured view with folders and subfolders for all testing objects. Your team can also track the relations between testing elements at each stage on the dedicated tab or the Requirement Traceability Matrix in Jira. 

Cloud:

Data Center: 

TestFLO – Test Management for Jira is only available for Data Center hosting. It’s because the app is dedicated to large-scale enterprises and highly regulated industries. It focuses on scalability, flexibility, and compliance. TestFLO stands out as the most adaptable test management solution for Jira. 

TestFLO enables you to organize your test cases, transform the structure into templates, and reuse them across different projects. Integration possibilities (Cucumber, JUnit, TestNG, NUnit) enable you to connect TestFLO with your automated testing framework. This feature makes it a perfect Zephyr alternative for more demanding teams. 

Xray is a well-known scalable testing tool that can accommodate teams of any size. It’s a native Jira add-on. It eliminates the need for switching between tools during the software development process. The plugin allows testers to manage their test cases, plans, and results directly within Jira. 

Xray integrates with popular test automation frameworks like Cucumber, Selenium, and JUnit. It also offers advanced test case management capabilities, including BDD support (just like in Zephyr), test case prioritization, test case templates, and test case traceability. The disadvantage of the tool is that some users find its interface overly complex. 

Cloud:

Data Center: 

TestRail is a software testing tool designed for managing tests. It works through a web-based interface and can also be used on mobile devices. On the Atlassian Marketplace, you can find the free TestRail Jira app, but it still requires a paid TestRail license.

The tool offers complete support for test management, from exploratory to automated tests. TestRail helps keep track of testing history and provides users with interactive charts and dedicated QA reports. 

TestLink is a free tool for managing tests on the web or mobile with full integration possibilities. It’s simple to set up and maintain and this is why it’s commonly used by testing teams to make sure software works well. It has helpful features like test automation and a history of testing activities. TestLink integrates well with the majority of the DevOps tools. The weak point of TestLink is its interface. Users often point out that the design could be improved with a more modern look, as the current one appears a bit outdated.

PractiTest provides a structured framework for managing testing operations. Just like TestLink, it’s not a plugin for Jira but offers integration possibilities. Because of its steep learning curve, it may not be suitable for beginners. 

PractiTest uses organized fields, filters, and links. The solution seamlessly connects with other tools, including bug-tracking systems, project management tools, and CI/CD pipelines. In addition, PractiTest includes reporting options that help managers identify areas for improvement. 

Tricentis Tosca focuses on streamlined, model-driven test automation. It helps users with no coding knowledge build an automated test suite. Tricentis integrates with the most popular Agile and DevOps tools, like for example Jira. It uses advanced ML technologies to enable smarter testing.

The drawback is that tracking tests within Tricentis becomes difficult when an organization also uses numerous frameworks and dependencies. In this case, the tool requires significant manual effort and performance issues may appear. 

QMetry Test Management (QTM4J) provides AI-driven test management for Jira. It is available on the Atlassian Marketplace for all hostings. It provides its users with end-to-end traceability from bugs to Jira stories. QMetry includes an AI-powered search feature that enables testers to access information easily. The app fully supports test automation popular frameworks and CI/CD testing tools. With the tool, you can also reuse your test cases in different projects. Overall, it’s a good Zephyr alternative with positive reviews. The only disadvantages frequently noticed by users involve the pricing and complexity of the tool.

Pricing:

Allure Reports supports over 50 testing tools and frameworks. It can be Zephyr alternative when it comes to reporting, but it doesn’t cover all test management features. Allure Report makes it possible for teams of all sizes to provide clear reports of their test results. It supports communication between testers, developers, and other stakeholders during the software development process. The reports inside the app can be customized with metadata like labels or descriptions. 

Pricing:

Qase is a unified platform for QA testing. It helps keep track of test cases, gathers reports from both manual and automatic tests, and gives you insights based on past data. With Jira integration, users can link their test cases to Jira issues and seamlessly track defects from the test runs. 

Qase distinguishes itself from the competition with a modern interface. Nevertheless, users notice the tool isn’t flexible when it comes to customizing tests. 

Pricing:

Are you still having trouble making your final decision? Check out the table that compares the pros and cons of Zephyr’s alternatives based on G2 reviews.