SoapUI vs Karate
Side-by-side from the Top 11 ranking of The 11 Best API Testing Tools (2026). Last verified July 14, 2026.
The short answer
SoapUI ranks higher on Top 11 (#5 vs #9) for Backend engineers, QA automation teams, and platform teams validating REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and SOAP APIs. The default when SOAP and legacy enterprise services are in scope.
At a glance
| SoapUI | Karate | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #5 / The 11 Best API Testing Tools (2026) | #9 / The 11 Best API Testing Tools (2026) |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 8.3 | 7.5 |
| Best for | SOAP and legacy protocol testing | Code-based BDD API test framework |
| Pricing | $$ (Open source free; ReadyAPI upgrade is paid) | $$ (Open source free; Karate Labs tooling paid) |
| HQ | Somerville, USA | San Francisco, USA |
| Founded | 2005 | 2017 |
Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.