In this article, we’ll list out various tools that you can use for the development and testing of .NET applications. You can also go for a tool that requires less coding skills/ technical expertise. Price can also be an important criterion if you want to create an open-source project, depending on your budget.


There are many criteria for choosing a particular tool. Or you can see which automation technologies that a particular tool supports. There are many tools available for .NET automation testing and development.

1. Jenkins

You can configure Jenkins through the MSBuild plugin. What’s more, installing Jenkins is very easy with a Java-based program. Jenkins is a development automation tool that integrates with hundreds of plugins to extend its services. It’s an open-source CI/CD tool, and you can use it for many languages, including .NET.

It also has error checking and built-in support functions for beginners. Jenkins has a plugin architecture that developers can use to extend its functionalities. Its distributed style can be adapted for many different types of machines/systems to promote faster and easier code building.

2. SmartBear TestComplete

SmartBear is a testing tool that developers use to perform cross-platform and end-to-end testing. With script-less recording, this tool can record and play your test later. It also has keyword-driven testing that allows you to test without coding. It can identify UI elements and objects in code and can share it through repositories. The reporting is automated, and you can generate multiple test reports effortlessly. Using this tool, you can reuse the test cases for other projects too.

AI integration makes object identification easy with a built-in object spy tool. It also has data options with full metrics coverage to calculate test results. It can also test for HTML5 and has built-in integration with lifecycle management colts such as Jenkins and Jira.

3. Azure DevOps

This is a popular framework with automated Azure pipelines for DevOps code development and testing. You can edit the pipeline to use different services. You can also input triggers so that you have branches for different commits in your repository.

For this, you need to have a Microsoft Azure account along with a Visual Studio Office subscription. You can also use Azure Repo or GitHub Repo for your projects created by this tool. You can also use the build pipeline option to generate your projects’ code. The pipelines are cloud-hosted, and you can use their integrating abilities to adapt it for different projects and functions.

4. Testarchitect

The tool is keyword-driven, a systematic approach that decreases testing efforts incrementally after every test. Testarchitect is a testing automation tool that you can use for DevOps projects. As per the tool’s documentation, you can automate 95% of a project through this. It has options for codeless automation— i.e., built-in functions that you can use directly to start testing.

And if you need, you can use an action recorder to understand the test flow and then use it to define future tests for your project. The test execution is dependent on various variables that you can configure as per your requirements.

5. Redgate Toolkit

Developers face many problems in SQL, such as data inconsistency, fast growth, and inability to match tools and tasks. If you’re looking for a tool that can specifically work with SQL server, this is the tool for you. Developers can use the Redgate tool for development, deployment, and testing. The SQL toolkit also periodically compresses and creates backups for your code, allowing you to return to it if required.

It also helps them to make simultaneous code changes through SQL change automation, i.e., the code changes simultaneously in visual code and in the database. This allows you to deploy more quickly and save testing feedback time. They also need to improve their competitive advantage while keeping the downtime low for the projects.

Conclusion

They also cater to different developers, based on their ability to code. Most engineers who start with .NET testing tools get confused about which one to choose. There are so many tools out there with different levels of reporting and testing capabilities. All tools have their pros and cons. 

Since there are so many out there, making a perfect choice might seem impossible. You can always switch to a different one if things don’t work out. To make a decision, you should assess your requirements and understand what sort of tool your business needs. The best thing you can do is to get started in one and test out its capabilities.