VegaLoad vs Gatling
Checked on 13 October 2026. We read Gatling's repository, its scripting reference, and its own comparison of the open source and Enterprise editions.
Gatling is a load testing tool with a typed SDK. It has an open source edition and a commercial platform called Gatling Enterprise. Many of its team features are in Enterprise, so the right comparison depends on which edition you mean.
Choose Gatling when you want a typed test SDK, or you want a vendor-run platform for large distributed load. Choose VegaLoad when you want one free binary with many protocols and no platform to adopt.
At a glance
| VegaLoad | Gatling | |
|---|---|---|
| Language and runtime | Go. One static binary. Python scenarios need a local python3 | SDKs for Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, Kotlin and Scala |
| How a test is written | One command in direct mode, or a scenario file in JavaScript, TypeScript or Python | A simulation, written with one of the SDKs |
| Protocols | 14 built in: HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, gRPC, WebSocket, MQTT, Kafka, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, FTP, SFTP, TCP, UDP | HTTP, WebSocket, Server-Sent Events, JMS, gRPC and MQTT. GraphQL is in the scripting reference. Third-party plugins cover other protocols |
| Pass or fail limits | -threshold, checks and -baseline. A breach exits 3 | Assertions are checked after the run, and a failed assertion fails the simulation. We did not check the exit code. Enterprise adds SLOs |
| Reports | Self-contained HTML, JSON and JUnit XML | Open source: static HTML reports. Enterprise: dynamic dashboards, run history and comparison |
| Distributed load | Not built in. A Helm chart runs one test as a Kubernetes Job. Distributed load through Harness Resilience Testing is planned | Open source: local only, per Gatling's comparison page. Enterprise: multiple load generators |
| AI agents and MCP | MCP server in the same binary with 9 tools. vegaload init sets up Cursor and Claude Code. Host allow-list and audit log | An MCP server and skills, for Gatling Enterprise. The server needs an Enterprise account and an API token |
| License | Apache 2.0 | Open source edition: Apache 2.0. Enterprise: commercial |
| Import and recording | OpenAPI (vegaload new -from-openapi) and HAR (vegaload import har). JMeter and k6 import are planned | Gatling lists a web recorder and HAR import without naming an edition. Its JMeter and LoadRunner converters are in the Enterprise section |
Gatling's own page says the open source edition is "ideal for local testing". Most of the team features in the table are in Enterprise. We say this from Gatling's page. The page does not list every open source feature, so check Gatling's documentation for your case.
Running a test
VegaLoad
vegaload run -target https://staging.example.com/health -protocol http1 \
-vus 10 -duration 30s -threshold 'p95 < 500ms' \
-allow-target staging.example.com
Gatling
You write a simulation with the Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript or TypeScript SDK, then run it with Gatling's build tool integration or its JavaScript tooling. We did not run Gatling for this page, so we do not show an example. Gatling's documentation has quickstarts for each language.
Choose Gatling when
- You want a code-based SDK in Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript or TypeScript.
- You want a vendor-run platform with managed load generators, team dashboards and run history, and you accept paying for it.
- You run very large distributed tests, and you want a supported product for that.
- Your team wants a recorder and conversion tools for JMeter or LoadRunner tests.
Choose VegaLoad when
- You want one free binary and no platform to adopt.
- You want a first run with no code.
- You test databases, queues, Redis, FTP or SFTP, and you want them built in.
- You want your AI agent to run tests locally, without an account.
- You plan to scale through Harness Resilience Testing.
Moving from Gatling
There is no import. See Moving to VegaLoad.