STATIC COMPARISON / TIER B
Locust vs NeoLoad
Answer Locust is an open source, self-hosted load testing tool from Locust authors, scripted in Python. NeoLoad is a commercial, self-hosted or vendor-hosted enterprise performance suite from Neotys / Tricentis, scripted in JavaScript, Groovy. The practical split is the cost model: Locust is open source, NeoLoad is commercial.
Curator verdict
Both cover HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket. On recorded coverage NeoLoad is the wider of the two (5 protocols against 3), which matters only if your workload actually uses the extra ones. Budget and procurement usually settle Locust against NeoLoad before any benchmark does. Run the same scenario on both before you standardize; the rows below only tell you what is true on paper.
Spec matrix
| Field | Locust | NeoLoad |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Locust authors | Neotys / Tricentis |
| Category | Load Testing | Enterprise Suite |
| License | Open Source | Commercial |
| Deployment | Self-hosted | Hybrid |
| Status | Active | Active |
| First released | 2011 | 2005 |
| Pricing | Free; MIT License. | Commercial subscription or license; request a quote. |
| Scripting | Python | JavaScript, Groovy |
| Protocols | HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket | HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, JDBC, SAP |
| OS support | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, Linux |
How to choose
- Choose Locust if you need a free, self-supported stack (Free; MIT License).
- Choose NeoLoad if you can fund a commercial license for vendor support (Commercial subscription or license; request a quote).
- NeoLoad can be run either self-hosted or on vendor infrastructure; Locust only runs self-hosted.
- Only NeoLoad records support for JDBC, SAP — one hard requirement there decides the pair on its own.
- Match the authoring language to the team: Locust means Python, NeoLoad means JavaScript, Groovy.
- Open the Test Rig to compare license, deployment, protocol and OS rows side by side.
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