What is Eggplant Performance?
Eggplant Performance is the load and performance testing product in the Eggplant suite, now part of Keysight after the TestPlant acquisition. It scripts tests in Java, JavaScript or via the Eggplant scripting language, supports protocol-level recording for HTTP/HTTPS plus a wide range of legacy and specialised protocols, and integrates with the broader Eggplant suite for image-based functional testing of complex desktop, mobile and embedded applications.
Eggplant Performance targets large enterprises with dedicated performance teams who need to load test mainframe interfaces, thick clients, mobile apps and complex web applications under one platform. It runs from a controller and dispatches load to one or more injectors, on-premises or in cloud-provisioned VMs.
When Eggplant Performance is the right tool
Eggplant Performance is a fair fit when you need:
- Wide protocol coverage. Beyond HTTP — legacy mainframe, Citrix, custom binary protocols where most cloud tools stop.
- Combined functional + performance suite. Reuse Eggplant Functional's image-based scripts as load injectors.
- On-premises execution. Air-gapped environments or strict data-residency rules that block cloud-only platforms.
- Enterprise procurement. Sales-led licensing and SLAs that fit large-organisation procurement.
If your testing scope spans non-web protocols and you have an enterprise budget, Eggplant Performance covers a broad surface.
Where Eggplant Performance stops being enough
Eggplant's enterprise breadth comes with the typical enterprise costs:
- Heavy tooling. Controller, injectors, scripting IDE — non-trivial onboarding compared to paste-a-URL cloud tools.
- Expensive licensing. Quote-based enterprise pricing puts it out of reach for small teams and for adding load tests to CI/CD without a procurement cycle.
- Slow iteration. Record-script-replay cycles do not fit short feedback loops in modern web CI/CD.
- No bundled CWV monitoring. Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse audits are out of scope.
- API monitoring as separate purchase. Continuous API uptime and SLA alerts often require a different Keysight product.
LoadFocus vs Eggplant Performance — feature comparison
How LoadFocus compares against a typical Eggplant Performance enterprise deployment. Pricing accurate as of May 2026.
| Feature | LoadFocus | Eggplant Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free tier; from $29/mo | Enterprise licence, quote-based |
| Cloud-native execution | Yes (no install) | Cloud + on-prem injectors |
| JMeter cloud execution | Yes (up to 12,500 VUs) | Native scripting |
| Browser-based load testing | Yes (Selenium/Playwright) | Yes (image-based) |
| API monitoring | Yes | Separate Keysight product |
| Core Web Vitals monitoring | Yes | No |
| Multi-region test locations | 25+ globally | Wherever you provision |
| Self-service signup | Yes | Sales-led |
| CI/CD integration | Yes (API + GitHub Action) | API available |
| Pay-per-test pricing | Yes | Enterprise contract |
FAQ
Is LoadFocus a direct replacement for Eggplant Performance?
For HTTP, browser and API load testing of modern web applications, yes. Teams that specifically rely on Eggplant for non-web protocols (mainframe, Citrix, embedded) will still need Eggplant for that surface; LoadFocus targets the modern web stack which represents most teams' load testing needs.
Can we reuse our existing Eggplant scripts?
Eggplant scripts do not port directly. Most teams migrating choose to recreate the critical user flows in JMeter or via the LoadFocus browser recorder — usually a few days for the top scenarios and a faster ongoing iteration loop afterward.
Does LoadFocus support on-premises execution?
No — LoadFocus is cloud-native. If air-gapped or on-prem is a hard requirement, Eggplant Performance remains relevant. Most non-regulated teams find cloud execution faster to set up and cheaper to scale.
How does pricing compare?
Eggplant Performance is quote-based enterprise licensing with controller, injector and per-VU costs that compound. LoadFocus uses transparent monthly tiers from $29/month and includes load testing, API monitoring and Core Web Vitals on the same account.
How long does setup take?
Minutes for an HTTP test, hours for a full browser scenario. Sign up, paste a URL or upload a JMX, pick a load profile and run — no controller, no injectors, no procurement cycle.
Can it run in CI/CD?
Yes. LoadFocus exposes a REST API and a GitHub Action so load tests run on every merge with thresholds for response time, error rate and concurrency.
Try LoadFocus free
If you're evaluating Eggplant Performance or already paying for it and want cloud-native load testing with API and page speed on the same account, LoadFocus is worth a parallel trial. Sign up at loadfocus.com/signup — no credit card — and run your first cloud load test in minutes.
