Top 40 Commercial Alternatives to Datadog Synthetic Tests

Introduction

Synthetic monitoring has evolved from simple uptime pings to full end-to-end, scripted user flows in production-like environments. Datadog Synthetic Tests grew out of this shift by embedding synthetic checks directly within a broader observability platform that also includes APM, logs, infrastructure monitoring, RUM, and more. It became popular because teams could design browser and API checks, schedule them globally, and correlate failures with metrics and traces—all in one place.

Datadog’s approach centers on:

• Browser checks and API tests to verify availability and workflows

• A recorder plus code to author tests

• CI/CD integrations to run checks as part of pipelines

• Unified dashboards and alerting

These strengths made it a go-to tool for many engineering organizations. However, as testing needs diversify—mobile-first experiences, visual regressions, performance engineering, model-based automation, or more specialized deployment models—teams often look for complementary or alternative solutions that align better with their stack, skills, and budget.

Overview: The Top 40 Alternatives We Cover

Here are the top 40 alternatives to consider alongside Datadog Synthetic Tests:

• Applitools Eyes

• Applitools for Mobile

• Automation Anywhere

• BitBar

• BlazeMeter

• Blue Prism

• BrowserStack Automate

• Burp Suite (Enterprise)

• Checkly

• Cypress Cloud

• Eggplant Test

• Functionize

• Happo

• IBM Rational Functional Tester

• Kobiton

• LambdaTest

• LoadRunner

• Mabl

• Micro Focus Silk Test

• Microsoft Playwright Testing

• NeoLoad

• New Relic Synthetics

• Percy

• Perfecto

• Pingdom

• RPA Tools (UiPath)

• Ranorex

• ReadyAPI

• Repeato

• Sahi Pro

• Sauce Labs

• Squish

• TestCafe Studio

• TestComplete

• Testim

• Tricentis Tosca

• UFT One (formerly QTP)

• Virtuoso

• Waldo

• testRigor

Why Look for Datadog Synthetic Tests Alternatives?

• Cost and scale trade-offs: Synthetic checks at large scale and high frequency can become costly; some teams want more granular control over pricing or execution.

• Mobile-first needs: Native mobile app flows require different tooling and device clouds; Datadog’s focus is primarily web and API.

• Specialized testing domains: Visual testing, model-based testing, DAST/security scanning, and performance/load testing may demand deeper specialty tools.

• Authoring and maintenance: Teams may prefer low-code, NLP-based, or AI-assisted authoring to reduce upkeep and flakiness in complex UIs.

• Execution model and environments: Some organizations need on-prem, hybrid, or private cloud runners, device labs, or specific geographies.

• Reporting and collaboration: Certain teams want richer test analytics, component-level results, or developer-centric debugging beyond observability dashboards.

Detailed Breakdown of Alternatives

Applitools Eyes

A visual testing platform with AI-powered visual diffs and an Ultrafast Grid for parallel rendering.

• Strengths: AI-driven visual comparisons; fast cross-browser coverage; tight CI/CD integrations.

• Differentiators: Visual baselines catch UI regressions traditional assertions miss.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Better for pixel-accurate UI validation; pair with synthetics for availability and user-flow checks.

Applitools for Mobile

Part of Applitools Eyes, tailored for iOS and Android visual testing.

• Strengths: Mobile-first visual AI; supports real devices and emulators; CI-friendly SDKs.

• Differentiators: Visual focus on native and hybrid mobile apps.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Addresses native mobile UI regressions that Datadog doesn’t target directly.

Automation Anywhere

An RPA platform that can be adapted for end-to-end UI automation on Windows.

• Strengths: Robust desktop automation; reusable components; enterprise governance.

• Differentiators: RPA-centric workflows for repeatable business tasks.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Strong on desktop/RPA use cases; less focused on synthetic web/API monitoring.

BitBar

A cloud device/grid solution (from SmartBear) for mobile and web testing on real devices.

• Strengths: Real-device coverage; support for Selenium/Appium/Playwright; scalable concurrency.

• Differentiators: Reliable device lab for automation at scale.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Complements synthetics by providing a device cloud for web and mobile automation.

BlazeMeter

A performance and load testing SaaS compatible with JMeter, Gatling, and k6.

• Strengths: Scalable load generation; rich performance analytics; CI/CD and shift-left workflows.

• Differentiators: Deep performance engineering capabilities.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Focuses on load and performance rather than availability checks and scripted synthetics.

Blue Prism

An enterprise RPA solution capable of automating UI workflows on Windows.

• Strengths: Enterprise-grade governance; reusable components; strong security model.

• Differentiators: Designed for large-scale business process automation.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Great for RPA-driven regression of desktop processes; not a synthetics-first platform.

BrowserStack Automate

A widely used browser and device cloud for UI automation at scale.

• Strengths: Massive browser/OS/device coverage; supports major test frameworks; reliable infrastructure.

• Differentiators: Developer-friendly integrations and debugging tools.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Provides execution environments; pair with synthetics for production monitoring.

Burp Suite (Enterprise)

Enterprise DAST for automated web/API security scanning.

• Strengths: Proven security testing; scheduled scans; vulnerability prioritization.

• Differentiators: Security focus vs. functional correctness.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: DAST complements synthetics by finding security risks rather than functional errors.

Checkly

Synthetics and browser checks as code (Playwright-based) for web and API.

• Strengths: Code-first checks; Git-based workflows; granular monitoring and alerting.

• Differentiators: Developer-centric synthetics with Playwright under the hood.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Similar domain; stronger code-as-config approach and Playwright ecosystem alignment.

Cypress Cloud

A managed service for parallelization, flake detection, and insights for Cypress tests.

• Strengths: Parallel runs; rich dashboards; failure triage and insights.

• Differentiators: Deep integration with Cypress test authoring.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Optimizes test execution and diagnostics; not a global synthetics monitoring network.

Eggplant Test

A model-based testing platform with image recognition for desktop, web, and mobile.

• Strengths: Model-based authoring; computer vision; cross-platform coverage.

• Differentiators: Tests user journeys independent of the DOM.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Suited for complex UI and legacy apps; Datadog is stronger in web/API synthetics and observability.

Functionize

AI-assisted end-to-end testing for web and mobile with ML-powered selectors.

• Strengths: Self-healing tests; low-code authoring; cloud execution.

• Differentiators: ML-driven element location reduces maintenance.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Deeper functional automation capabilities; Datadog excels in monitoring and alerting workflows.

Happo

Visual regression testing for web components and UIs in CI.

• Strengths: Snapshot diffs; component-centric; tight CI integration.

• Differentiators: Focus on component libraries and design systems.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Visual correctness rather than availability; complementary for UI quality gates.

IBM Rational Functional Tester

Enterprise functional automation for desktop and web.

• Strengths: Object repositories; data-driven testing; extensibility.

• Differentiators: Legacy enterprise support and integrations.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Focuses on functional UI testing; less about production synthetics and monitoring.

Kobiton

A real-device cloud for mobile testing and automation.

• Strengths: Broad device lab; Appium support; performance insights.

• Differentiators: Mobile-first tooling and analytics.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Targets native mobile testing more directly; Datadog focuses on web/API synthetics.

LambdaTest

Cloud-based cross-browser testing and automation on web and mobile.

• Strengths: Wide browser/OS/device coverage; supports popular frameworks; Smart UI insights.

• Differentiators: Flexible pricing and enterprise features.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Execution infrastructure vs. monitoring stack; complementary when you need large matrix coverage.

LoadRunner

Enterprise load and performance testing for web, APIs, and protocols.

• Strengths: High-scale load generation; protocol-level support; robust analysis.

• Differentiators: Deep performance engineering capabilities across protocols.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Purpose-built for performance; Datadog focuses on synthetic availability and journeys.

Mabl

Low-code, AI-assisted web and API testing with self-healing.

• Strengths: Visual change detection; auto-waits and healing; CI/CD-friendly SaaS.

• Differentiators: Tester-friendly authoring and maintenance.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Better for functional regression; Datadog is stronger in continuous production monitoring.

Micro Focus Silk Test

Functional UI automation for desktop and web (enterprise heritage).

• Strengths: Stable object recognition; parallel execution; integration options.

• Differentiators: Longstanding enterprise support.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Focus on pre-production functional tests; not a synthetics monitoring platform.

Microsoft Playwright Testing

Managed cloud service to scale Playwright test execution.

• Strengths: High concurrency; trace/viewer tooling; easy setup from Playwright.

• Differentiators: Native alignment with Playwright features.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Execution at scale for E2E tests; not an observability-centric synthetics service.

NeoLoad

Enterprise load and performance testing for web, APIs, and protocols.

• Strengths: Scenario design; realistic traffic modeling; pipeline automation.

• Differentiators: Fast test design and correlation; strong analysis.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Performance engineering vs. availability and functional checks.

New Relic Synthetics

Scripted browser and API checks within the New Relic observability platform.

• Strengths: Observability integration; global locations; alerting and dashboards.

• Differentiators: Tight coupling with New Relic APM, logs, and RUM.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Very similar in spirit; choice often hinges on your observability stack preference.

Percy

Visual testing for web apps with snapshots integrated into CI.

• Strengths: Easy setup; visual diffs; approvals workflow.

• Differentiators: Lightweight visual guardrails for PRs.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Visual regressions rather than availability; works best alongside synthetic monitoring.

Perfecto

An enterprise device cloud for mobile and web testing.

• Strengths: Real devices and emulators; enterprise tooling and analytics; secure access.

• Differentiators: Strong SLAs and compliance.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Execution environment for E2E; not a built-in synthetics/observability suite.

Pingdom

Transactional checks and uptime monitoring for web and API.

• Strengths: Simple setup; reliable uptime alerts; basic transaction flows.

• Differentiators: Operations-friendly with focus on availability.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Lighter-weight synthetics; fewer deep integrations than full observability suites.

RPA Tools (UiPath)

RPA platform that can double as regression UI automation for desktop and web.

• Strengths: Visual authoring; reusable components; strong ecosystem.

• Differentiators: Business automation plus testing overlap.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: RPA-centric workflows; less focus on global synthetic monitoring.

Ranorex

Codeless/scripted automation for desktop, web, and mobile with an object repository.

• Strengths: Solid recorder; robust locator strategy; data-driven testing.

• Differentiators: Strong Windows desktop support.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Functional testing depth; Datadog’s edge is monitoring and alerting in production.

ReadyAPI

Advanced API testing for SOAP/REST/GraphQL.

• Strengths: Contract and regression testing; virtualization; CI-friendly.

• Differentiators: Deep API testing features including security and performance add-ons.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Backend-focused; complements Datadog’s API checks with richer API authoring and validation.

Repeato

Codeless/computer-vision mobile UI testing for iOS and Android.

• Strengths: Image-based resilience; quick authoring; CI integration.

• Differentiators: Less brittle tests for dynamic mobile UIs.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Targets native app UI stability; Datadog is web/API-centric.

Sahi Pro

E2E UI automation for web and desktop, geared toward enterprise web apps.

• Strengths: Robust element handling; good for complex web UIs; data-driven options.

• Differentiators: Stability on heavy enterprise UIs.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Functional automation depth; not positioned as a synthetics monitoring service.

Sauce Labs

A leading device and browser cloud for automation across web and mobile.

• Strengths: Huge platform coverage; diagnostics and analytics; secure enterprise features.

• Differentiators: Mature ecosystem and toolchain.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Execution environments at scale; complement synthetics for comprehensive coverage.

Squish

GUI test automation for Qt/QML, web, desktop, and embedded systems.

• Strengths: Strong Qt/embedded support; multiple scripting languages; object-level access.

• Differentiators: Ideal for specialized UI stacks.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Focus on niche UI platforms; Datadog targets web/API monitoring.

TestCafe Studio

Codeless IDE version of TestCafe for web automation.

• Strengths: Easy authoring; cross-browser without WebDriver; stable selectors.

• Differentiators: Low setup compared to Selenium-based tools.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Functional E2E authoring; not a monitoring platform with global probes.

TestComplete

Codeless/scripted automation for desktop, web, and mobile (from SmartBear).

• Strengths: Powerful recorder; multiple scripting languages; extensible object repository.

• Differentiators: All-in-one E2E authoring with strong desktop coverage.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Deeper pre-prod testing; Datadog focuses on synthetics in live or pre-prod environments.

Testim

AI-assisted web testing with self-healing locators (from SmartBear).

• Strengths: Fast authoring; machine learning locators; CI/CD-ready.

• Differentiators: Reduces flakiness in dynamic UIs.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Functional automation and maintenance; Datadog provides monitoring and alerting.

Tricentis Tosca

Model-based test automation for web, mobile, desktop, and SAP.

• Strengths: Model-based approach; strong SAP and enterprise app support; risk-based testing.

• Differentiators: Scales well in large regulated environments.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Enterprise MBTA vs. synthetics; complements production monitoring.

UFT One (formerly QTP)

Enterprise GUI automation for desktop and web.

• Strengths: Mature object repositories; broad tech support; strong IDE and reporting.

• Differentiators: Long-standing enterprise footprint.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Focused on functional testing; not a synthetics monitoring tool.

Virtuoso

AI-assisted E2E testing for web and mobile using vision and NLP.

• Strengths: Natural language authoring; self-healing; visual validation.

• Differentiators: Low-code/NLP approach reduces maintenance.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Emphasizes authoring simplicity and resilience; Datadog emphasizes monitoring and correlation.

Waldo

No-code mobile UI testing for iOS and Android with cloud execution.

• Strengths: Fast recording; easy maintenance; scalable runs.

• Differentiators: Mobile-focused simplicity.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Targets native app flows; Datadog specializes in web/API synthetics.

testRigor

Natural-language test authoring for web and mobile.

• Strengths: Plain-English steps; self-healing; fast onboarding.

• Differentiators: Minimizes coding for broad team participation.

• Compared to Datadog Synthetic Tests: Simplifies E2E authoring; Datadog integrates deeply into observability and alerting.

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Datadog Synthetic Tests Alternative

• Scope and platforms: Do you primarily need web/API, native mobile, desktop, or embedded? Choose tools aligned to your stack.

• Authoring model: Code-first (Playwright/Cypress), low/no-code, model-based, or NLP? Match your team’s skills and maintenance tolerance.

• Execution environments: Need real devices, specific browsers/OSes, on-prem runners, or discrete geographies?

• Integration with CI/CD: Check first-class support for your pipelines, secrets management, and artifact storage.

• Debugging and insights: Look for network traces, screenshots/videos, DOM snapshots, performance timings, and root-cause hints.

• Flake resistance: Features like auto-waits, resilient locators, or AI/ML healing reduce maintenance overhead.

• Reporting and collaboration: Dashboards, trend charts, test analytics, and approval workflows help teams make decisions quickly.

• Security and compliance: Enterprise governance, SSO, audit logs, and data residency may be essential.

• Performance/load vs. functional vs. visual vs. security: Pick a tool optimized for your primary testing goals.

• Scalability and cost: Model the cost of test minutes, concurrency, device usage, data retention, and global checks at production scale.

• Ecosystem fit: Does it align with your observability platform, issue trackers, and notification channels?

Conclusion

Datadog Synthetic Tests remains a strong option for teams that want web and API synthetics integrated with a broader observability stack. It shines when you need scheduled global checks, correlation with APM/logs, and immediate alerting.

That said, your needs may point elsewhere:

• For deep visual regression and design-system guardrails, visual-first tools like Applitools or Percy excel.

• For native mobile coverage, device clouds and mobile-first solutions such as BitBar, Kobiton, Perfecto, or Waldo are compelling.

• For AI-assisted authoring and reduced maintenance, consider Mabl, Functionize, Testim, Virtuoso, or testRigor.

• For heavy performance engineering, platforms like BlazeMeter, LoadRunner, or NeoLoad are purpose-built.

• For security scanning in CI/CD, a DAST tool like Burp Suite (Enterprise) fits well.

• For large-scale cross-browser execution, BrowserStack, Sauce Labs, and LambdaTest offer robust infrastructure.

In practice, many organizations use a combination: a synthetics platform for production monitoring, a device/browser cloud for E2E execution, a visual tool for UI regressions, and performance/security tools as needed. Map your requirements to the strengths above, run a focused proof of concept, and choose the mix that delivers reliable quality signals with the least operational friction.