PractiTest vs. Zephyr Squad/Scale

If you’re in search of a test management tool, you may be aware of the wide variety of tools available. This task can be intimidating at first, which is why it’s best to start by comparing the main features to help differentiate between them and select your final choice.

To understand the full price of Jira add-ons, click here.

PractiTest vs. Zephyr Squad/Scale At a Glance
How PractiTest and Zephyr Squad/Scale Stack Up
- Pros and Cons
- Pricing
Bottom Line
FAQ
What are you waiting for?

PractiTest vs. Zephyr Squad/Scale At a Glance

PractiTest and Zephyr Squad/Scale are test management solutions often considered by test teams.

Zephyr Squad/Scale are primarily test case management add-ons in the Atlassian marketplace, residing inside of Jira. They rely on Jira for storage, defect management, requirements, and more. As such, they target smaller-sized businesses.

PractiTest is an autonomous test management platform that integrates seamlessly with Jira (Cloud, Server, and DC) and many other external third-party tools. It is a complete end-to-end solution, from requirements through testing to issues, allowing you to manage and visualize all testing artifacts and Jira issues in one place. As a robust stand-alone tool, this platform targets larger- sized businesses and corporates.

PractiTest Dashboard

PractiTest Test Set & Runs module

Zephyr plugin test execution

Zephyr plugin tests

“All Jira solutions are really slow compared to PractiTest and lack a lot of features.”

– Oldrich Klima, a QA Lead at MoroSystems

How PractiTest and Zephyr Squad/Scale Stack Up

The following comparison reviews the main features to take into account when considering which one will best fit your QA needs.

Ready to unlock the full potential of PractiTest? Click the button below to start your exclusive 14-day trial and experience the benefits firsthand.

PractiTest

Zephyr Squad/Scale

Requirement and User Stories Management

	Support for hierarchical requirements		via Jira

Test case management

	Add attachments to each test step
	Clone Tests between projects		Zephyr Scale Only
	Batch operations (cloning, editing, deletion)
	Reusable test repositories		Zephyr Scale Only
	Exploratory Testing module (session based testing)

Test Sets and Execution Management

	Audit history of runs and results
	Edit tests during runs
	Report issues/bugs from tests and auto-populate tests to reproduce
	Assignment of Cycles and Tests to testers
	Parameterization of Test Cases and Sets		Zephyr Scale Only
	Batch operations (cloning, editing, deletion)
	Reuse tests from repository for any test set run
	Test Set Permutations

Issue management

	Independent issue management module		x via Jira
	Ability to detect and prevent duplicate issues
	Batch editing

Time-Based Testing Iterations Management

	Milestones/Releases Management		via Jira

Integrations

	Integration with 3rd party Bug Tracking systems
	Integration with Test Automation Tools
	Integration with Source Control systems
	Zapier
	API
	Slack integration
	Webhooks

Customization

	Hierarchical filters to organize information (e.g. Test Tree, Bug categories, Requirement types)
	Custom Workflow
	Custom fields and filters
	Permissions & personalized mail notifications		Zephyr Scale Only

Reporting

	Customizable Dashboards graphs, reports and metrics
	Scheduled reports

AI-Powered Test Management

	Test Steps Creation
	Test Steps Editing
	Assigning a Score to Reflect Test Value

Additional Features

Import & Export all data
Search (ability to add criteria)
External dashboard and embedding graphs
Cloud or Installed	Cloud	Both
Task Board

Security and Certifications

	Soc 2
	ISO 27001

Service and Support

	Service and Support

Pros and Cons

Pros:

End-to-end solution - full traceability between requirements, tests, and issues
AI-powered features
Unique hierarchical filter tree to organize all project information and data
2-way integration with Jira and other tools, multiple ways to integrate automation
Advanced customizable dashboards and reports
Security compliance - SOC type II and ISO 27001
Free and responsive customer support

Cons:

Outdated UI

Pros:

A part of a complete set of tools
Resides within Jira
Strong and advanced BDD module

Cons:

Compromised performance as Zephyr uses Jira storage
No security compliance
No Exploratory Testing
Zephyr Squad lacks test management and reusability functionalities
Dashboard and reports are not very customizable
Traceability and links between entities is not clear

Pricing

Team - $49 per user/month
Corporate - Contact us
Additional free read-only users with comments

Cloud, 100 users - $4,780 per year
Server, 100 users - $5,618 per year
Data Center, 100 users - $5,618 per year

How much will you pay per month?

Bottom Line

While both tools have their Pros and Cons, these are the main points you should consider:

PractiTest is an end-to-end test management platform that centralizes all your QA work, processes, teams and tools into one platform to bridge silos, unify communication, and enable one source of truth across your organization. PractiTest was created with testing as its focus. With PractiTest, you can make informed data-driven decisions based on end-to-end visibility provided by customizable reports, real-time dashboards, and dynamic filter views. Its reusability capabilities reduce testing time and increase efficiency.

PractiTest’s integration with Jira is the best in the market. It goes as wide as creating tests to cover issues from within Jira, and as deep as mapping any fields and editing it on any side to see realtime results.

Zephyr Scale and Zephyr Squad are Jira add-ons, where all testing is done inside Jira. Residing in Jira makes it easy for teams using Jira to have all the information in one place and keep a unified workflow. Zephyr Squad offers fewer test management capabilities than Zephyr Scale (previously TM4J). Zephyr products are a part of a complete set of tools offered by Smartbear, but the integration between the Smartbear systems is not always trivial. The Zephyr Jira add-ons offer some nice features such as BDD testing and plugins for integrations.

Working inside Jira sounds promising at first, but as your company grows, so will the testing load. Jira was not meant to handle test management utilities. Working with a tool that is not designed for testing can limit your ability to visualize testing in order to make the right business decisions. In addition, Atlassian constantly provides updates about performance issues caused by Jira add-ons, and Zephyr is mentioned multiple times.

So who is better?

If you run a small and simple testing operation and you work with Jira and other Smartbear tools, and/or if BDD is your preferred testing method, then Zephyr Squad might be more suitable for you.

If you run a small, slightly complex testing operation and you work with Jira, Zephyr Scale will be a better fit as it has more reusability features.

If you're running a large testing operation that involves a level of complexity, e.g. multiple test types, tools or teams, then PractiTest is the ideal solution. With its seamless Jira integration, PractiTest gives you the ability to run and manage all testing assets, including Jira tickets, with complete end-to-end traceability.

Find out more about the benefits of PractiTest over Jira add-ons here.

FAQ

What are the uses of PractiTest?

PractiTest is a test management tool, used to manage the entire testing operation. With PractiTest, you can manage all QA efforts in one place, extract valuable insights from your testing data and release better-quality software with confidence.

PractiTest allows QA managers to bring their entire QA efforts, processes, teams and tools into one shared space. With unique data organization and visualization mechanisms, teams can visualize their data to extract actionable insights. PractiTest enables teams to collaborate and connect QA to their business goals.

What is Zephyr scale vs. PractiTest?

Both Zephyr Scale and PractiTest are Test Management tools. Zephyr Scaled is a Jira add-on that can be useful for small teams with basic test management requirements. PractiTest is a robust test management platform that offers seamless integration with Jira and can be useful for large or growing teams that want to manage all their QA efforts in one centralized platform.

What is the difference between Zephyr and Zephyr Squad?

Zephyr, a part of Smartbear toolset, offers 3 different Test Management tools.
Zephyr Squad - an add-on for Jira that helps small teams with test management.
Zephyr Scale - an add-on for Jira that offers basic test management capabilities.
Zephyr Enterprise - a stand alone test management solution.

What is the difference between Jira and Zephyr?

Jira is a project management tool popular among development teams. Zephyr Scale and Zephyr Squad are add-ons to Jira that offer test management features inside the Jira workspace.

Can I use Zephyr without Jira?

Zephyr Scale and Zephyr Squad cannot be used outside of Jira. Zephyr Enterprise can.

What are the limitations of Zephyr for Jira?

The main limitations are:

Constraint integrations and automation
Compromised Jira performance
Lack of flexibility
No exploratory testing
Low level of support
Lack of security certifications

What is the previous name of Zephyr Scale?

Zephyr Scale used to be TM4J, built by Adaptavist. The name was changed once purchased by Zephyr and SmartBear. Read about it here

Is Zephyr Squad the same as Zephyr Scale?

No, please see the differences in the questions and table above.

What is Zephyr Squad?

Zephyr Squad is an add-on for Jira that helps small teams with test management.

What are you waiting for?

Want to learn more?

Set a meeting with one of our representatives to see how PractiTest can help improve your QA process.