What is Gatling used for?

Gatling is an open-source load testing platform where performance tests are written as code in Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript or TypeScript and run with a non-blocking engine. It is a good fit for load testing APIs before releases, detecting performance regressions in CI and validating SLOs under realistic traffic.

Is Gatling open source?

Yes. Gatling is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at gatling/gatling and is written mainly in Scala.

Yes. Gatling is open source, so the software itself is free to use. Paid plans are also available, starting at €99 per month.

What is Gatling an alternative to?

Gatling is an open-source alternative to OpenText LoadRunner, BlazeMeter and loader.io. Other open-source alternatives to OpenText LoadRunner include Artillery, Apache JMeter and Locust.

Is Gatling actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Gatling was on 29 September 2026, and the latest release is v3.16.0, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 7k stars on GitHub.

Gatling: open-source alternative to OpenText LoadRunner

About Gatling

Gatling is an open-source load testing and performance engineering platform. Teams write simulations as code with fluent SDKs available for Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript and TypeScript, and keep them in version control rather than in GUIs or XML files.

Officially supported protocols are HTTP, WebSocket, SSE, JMS, gRPC and MQTT, and integrates with CI/CD pipelines, APM tools and DevOps workflows. Its engine is non-blocking and asynchronous, which the authors contrast with older tools that use one thread per user and require large farms of injection servers. Capabilities described include comparing runs to detect regressions, monitoring SLOs and performance objectives, integrating with observability tools and adding automated performance gates to CI/CD.

The project positions itself within a broader idea of continuous performance intelligence, which focuses on measurable objectives and decisions. The open-source code is licensed under Apache-2.0, written in Scala, and is run from your build tools or CI. It suits developers and performance engineers who want repeatable load tests as part of their delivery process.

Key features

Load tests written as code
SDKs for Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript and TypeScript
HTTP, WebSocket, SSE, JMS, gRPC and MQTT support
Non-blocking asynchronous engine
Run comparison to detect regressions
Performance gates in CI/CD

Good fit for

→Load testing APIs before releases
→Detecting performance regressions in CI
→Validating SLOs under realistic traffic

Built with: Scala; Java; JavaScript; Kotlin; TypeScript
Tags: load-testing; performance-testing; scala; ci-cd; websocket; grpc; test-as-code; java; slo

Gatling: questions and answers

What is Gatling used for?: Gatling is an open-source load testing platform where performance tests are written as code in Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript or TypeScript and run with a non-blocking engine. It is a good fit for load testing APIs before releases, detecting performance regressions in CI and validating SLOs under realistic traffic.
Is Gatling open source?: Yes. Gatling is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at gatling/gatling and is written mainly in Scala.
Is Gatling free?: Yes. Gatling is open source, so the software itself is free to use. Paid plans are also available, starting at €99 per month.
What is Gatling an alternative to?: Gatling is an open-source alternative to OpenText LoadRunner, BlazeMeter and loader.io. Other open-source alternatives to OpenText LoadRunner include Artillery, Apache JMeter and Locust.
Is Gatling actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Gatling was on 29 September 2026, and the latest release is v3.16.0, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 7k stars on GitHub.