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Ekara by IP-Label Load testing & performance

Load testing: validate your application performance before going live

Simulate thousands of concurrent users to measure the limits of your web applications, APIs, and infrastructure. Identify bottlenecks and guarantee an optimal user experience, even during peak traffic.

Request a demo See how it works
Load Testing Performance Testing Stress Testing Scalability Testing
Simulate thousands of virtual users
Identify bottlenecks & breaking points
Guarantee scalability under pressure

Performance & Scalability

Anticipate traffic spikes and validate your system capacity before it's too late.

Response time

Do your pages stay fast under load?

Throughput (req/s)

How many requests can you handle?

Error rate

Stability under heavy load

What is load testing? Definition, scope & business value How does it work? Scenarios, injection & metrics Test types & use cases Stress test, endurance, spike…

Explore Synthetic Monitoring or Real User Monitoring.

Definition & Scope

What is load testing?

Load testing is the process of simulating a large number of concurrent users on an application, website, or API to measure how it behaves under pressure and validate its ability to handle expected production traffic.

The problem

Every business-critical application faces the same risks: an unexpected traffic spike, a marketing campaign that drives a massive surge, or organic growth that simply exceeds planned capacity. Without proper load testing, the consequences are immediate:

  • Response times skyrocket under load
  • Server errors (5xx) and unreachable pages
  • Lost revenue and damaged brand reputation
  • Inability to properly size your infrastructure

The solution: automated load testing

A load testing tool automatically simulates hundreds or even thousands of virtual users executing realistic scenarios on your application: browsing, searching, adding items to cart, checking out, making API calls…

This approach lets you objectively measure response times, throughput, error rates, and resource consumption at every load tier — and pinpoint exactly where the breaking points are before you go to production.

Why load testing matters

Prevent outages proactively

Find your application's limits before your users do — not after a production crash.

Right-size your infrastructure

Validate that servers, databases, and CDNs can handle target load. Avoid over- or under-provisioning.

De-risk every release

Integrate load tests into your CI/CD pipeline to validate every release before deployment.

Optimize cloud costs

Identify underperforming components so you can optimize without over-provisioning cloud resources.

What can you load test?

Websites & e-commerce REST & GraphQL APIs SaaS applications Back-office systems Mobile app backends Microservices Databases Message queues

Ready to put your applications to the test?

See how it works

How It Works

Running a load test with Ekara

From scenario design to results analysis: discover the key steps to validate your application performance under realistic load conditions.

Design test scenarios

Define the critical user journeys to test: browsing, searching, checkout flows, API calls… Each scenario replicates real behavior with realistic think times and pacing.

Ramp up virtual users

Hundreds to thousands of virtual users are injected progressively in tiers (ramp-up). Each injector generates real HTTP/HTTPS requests from geographically distributed points of presence.

Monitor in real time

During execution, track response times, throughput (requests/second), error rates, and server resource consumption (CPU, RAM, I/O) — all correlated with the rising load.

Analyze results & optimize

Pinpoint bottlenecks, breaking points, and underperforming components. Detailed reports let you prioritize optimizations before going to production.

Key metrics collected

Response time

Average, median, P90, P95, P99 — measure perceived latency at each load tier.

Throughput (req/s)

Requests processed per second. Identify the performance plateau and saturation point.

Error rate

Percentage of failed requests (timeouts, 5xx, functional errors) — a critical stability indicator.

Server resources

CPU, memory, disk I/O, network — correlated in real time with load to isolate bottlenecks.

Distributed load testing architecture

Geo-distributed injectors targeting your infrastructure — centralized analysis

Virtual users
Ekara injectors
Your infrastructure
Dashboard & reports
HTTP / HTTPS REST API GraphQL WebSocket Multi-geo

Discover the different types of load tests for your context

View use cases

Test Types & Use Cases

Every context deserves the right test

Load test, stress test, endurance test, spike test… Each type answers a specific question. Find the one that matches your needs.

Normal load
Essential

Load test

Capacity validation

Simulates the expected number of users in production to validate that your application meets its performance targets under normal operating conditions.

Goal Validate nominal capacity
Load 100% of production target
Duration 30 min to 2 hrs
Pre-production SLA validation CI/CD
Extreme load
Critical

Stress test

Breaking point analysis

Pushes the application well beyond its nominal capacity to identify the exact breaking point and observe how the system degrades and then recovers.

Goal Find the breaking point
Load 150 to 300% of target
Duration 15 min to 1 hr
Black Friday Flash sales Resilience
Sustained load
Stability

Endurance test

Soak test

Maintains a steady load over an extended period to detect memory leaks, gradual degradation, and issues that only surface over time.

Goal Detect leaks & drift
Load 60 to 80% of target
Duration 4 hrs to 24 hrs+
Memory leaks DB connections 24/7 SaaS
Sudden spike
Spike

Spike test

Burst traffic simulation

Injects a massive volume of users within seconds to simulate a sudden surge — viral buzz, ticket drops, live events — and measure auto-scaling responsiveness.

Goal Validate scaling speed
Load 0 → 500%+ in seconds
Duration 5 to 15 min
Auto-scaling CDN Live events

At a glance

Test type Load Duration Key question
Load test 100% 30 min–2 hrs Can it handle normal traffic?
Stress test 150–300% 15 min–1 hr Where does it break?
Endurance 60–80% 4–24 hrs Does it hold up over time?
Spike test 0→500% 5–15 min Can auto-scaling keep up?

Which load test fits your project?

Our experts help you define the right testing strategy for your context and performance goals.

Discuss your project

Why Ekara

The load testing platform built for demanding teams

Ekara combines massive injection power, precise metrics, and ease of use to let you validate application performance with confidence.

Massive scalability

Inject from a few hundred to tens of thousands of concurrent virtual users. Our distributed infrastructure scales to match your ambitions, without compromising measurement accuracy.

Multi-geographic injection

Generate load from multiple countries and regions to simulate realistic traffic and test CDN and PoP performance.

Real-time correlated monitoring

Cross-reference load metrics (response time, throughput, errors) with server resources (CPU, RAM, I/O) in a unified dashboard.

No-code scenario builder

Create test journeys via browser recording or script import. No developer needed to configure a complete load test.

Detailed, shareable reports

Export comprehensive PDF reports with optimization recommendations. Share results with dev, ops, and management teams.

15+
years of performance expertise
500+
enterprises served
30+
global points of presence
24/7
support & guidance

Ready to validate your application performance?

Request a demo Read the FAQ

FAQ

Everything you need to know about load testing

Answers to the most common questions about load testing, performance testing, and stress testing.

01 What is the difference between load testing and stress testing?

A load test simulates the expected number of users under normal production conditions. The goal is to validate that the application meets its performance targets (response time, throughput) at nominal capacity.

A stress test goes further: it pushes the application to 150%, 200%, or even 300% of its target capacity to identify the exact breaking point and observe how the system degrades, then recovers once the load drops back down.

02 How many virtual users can you simulate?

With Ekara, you can simulate from a few hundred to tens of thousands of concurrent virtual users. The injection infrastructure is distributed and scalable — it adapts to your needs, whether you're testing an internal back-office or a high-traffic e-commerce site.

The number of virtual users required depends on your target traffic, scenario complexity, and the desired load level (nominal, stress, spike).

03 What metrics are measured during a load test?

The key metrics collected during a load test include:

Response time (P50, P90, P95, P99) Throughput (requests/second) Error rate (timeouts, 5xx) CPU & memory usage Disk & network I/O Database connection time

These data points are correlated in real time to pinpoint exactly which components are causing slowdowns.

04 Do I need to code to create a load test?

No. Ekara includes a built-in scenario recorder that captures your user journeys directly from the browser. You can then configure test data (datasets, variables) and set up load profiles without writing a single line of code.

For technical teams, it's also possible to import existing scripts or use APIs to integrate load tests into your CI/CD pipeline.

05 When should you run a load test?

The key moments to run a load test are:

Before a production release — to validate capacity under expected load
Before high-traffic events — sales, Black Friday, product launches
After infrastructure changes — cloud migration, new CDN, architecture refactor
Continuously in CI/CD — to catch performance regressions early
06 How long does a typical load test take?

Duration depends on the test type:

Load test 30 min – 2 hrs
Stress test 15 min – 1 hr
Endurance (soak) 4 – 24+ hrs
Spike test 5 – 15 min

The preparation phase (scenarios, data, environment setup) typically takes a few hours to a few days depending on project complexity.

07 Can you load test APIs as well as websites?

Absolutely. Ekara supports load testing on REST, GraphQL, SOAP, and WebSocket APIs. You can build scenarios that combine API calls and browser-based journeys in a single test, reflecting the real architecture of most modern applications.

API load tests also let you measure the performance of individual microservices, isolating critical components within your architecture.

08 How do you interpret load test results?

Results are best analyzed by cross-referencing three key axes:

1
Load curve vs response time — at which tier do response times start degrading?
2
Throughput vs error rate — does throughput plateau while errors spike? That's the saturation point.
3
Server resources — CPU at 100%? Memory saturated? DB connections exhausted? That's the root cause.

Ekara provides detailed reports with prioritized optimization recommendations to guide your remediation efforts.

Have more questions?

Our load testing experts are here to answer your questions and help you plan your project.

Talk to an expert

Load testing services

Test the performance of your applications under load conditions.

Ekara Load Test runs simple or complex load testing campaigns to assess the performance limits of your business software, websites, and mobile applications before they go live. Load tests reveal how your applications behave under stress, helping you ensure smooth digital experiences even under heavy pressure.

Whether you are a developer, system administrator, database administrator, or project manager, this load testing solution supports your performance goals at every stage.

Digital Experience Monitoring · Performance

Ekara by ip-label — EU-Ready Load Testing for Traffic Spikes

Simulate realistic peaks (web, mobile, API), detect bottlenecks, and secure your sales and SLAs — cloud, hybrid, or on‑prem with EU data governance.

Calculate my ROI Explore Features

Use Cases — Ekara Load Testing

Choose your context to access specific recommendations and best practices.

  • E‑commerce

    Promo Spikes & Black Friday

    Marketing campaigns, drops, and flash sales: validate capacity (LCP/INP), cart/payment stability, and elasticity limits.

    • Realistic scenarios (cart→checkout)
    • RUM ↔ Synthetic correlation
    • Alerting before promo launches
    View Guide
  • Banking/Insurance

    Critical Journeys & SLAs

    Validate SCA authentication, transfers, and signatures. Strict governance and traceability.

    • Regulatory compliance testing
    • On‑prem / Private EU Cloud
    • Auditable SLA reports
    View Guide
  • SaaS/B2B

    Multi‑tenant Scalability

    Validate horizontal scaling, DB limits, API quotas, and infrastructure costs.

    • CPU/Memory profiling
    • Regional scaling limits
    • Capacity planning
    View Guide
  • APIs

    Burst & Throttling

    Throughput, P95/P99 latency, 429/5xx errors, intelligent backoff, and SLO contracts.

    • Contract‑based scenarios
    • Turnkey script generation
    • OTel observability
    View Guide
  • Mobile

    App & Network Journeys

    Network variations (3G/4G/5G), cold/warm starts, and backend readiness under load.

    • Realistic network profiles
    • Crash/ANR under load
    • Mobile CWV dashboards
    View Guide
  • EU Sovereignty

    Cloud, Hybrid, or On‑prem

    EU-based load injectors, pseudonymized logs, controlled retention, and auditing.

    • Regional injector selection
    • PII data masking
    • GDPR by design
    View Guide

Last updated: Oct 22, 2025 • Criteria: Load realism, RUM/OTel correlation, EU data governance, deployment flexibility.

Key Features

  • Realistic Scenario Engine (web, API, mobile) with anti‑flakiness logic and token management.
  • Load Profiles: Ramp‑up, stress, soak, spike, controlled chaos, and rate limiting.
  • DEM Correlation: RUM ↔ Synthetics ↔ Logs/APM via OpenTelemetry (SLO P95/P99).
  • Sovereignty: EU region choice + retention control + sensitive field masking.
  • Executive Reports: Performance budgets (LCP/INP), errors, and layer-by-layer bottlenecks.

Comparison — Ekara Load Testing vs Alternatives

Criteria Ekara US Cloud Tools Pure Open‑Source
Scenario RealismUnified Web+API+MobileMostly Web/APICustom setup required
DEM CorrelationNative RUM ↔ SyntheticsThird-party integrationsManual implementation
EU SovereigntyEU Cloud / On‑premVariableOK if self-hosted
Total CostPredictable (Usage-based)Egress surprisesHigher DevOps overhead
Time‑to‑valueFast (Templates)MediumSlow (Integration heavy)

ROI Calculator — Prevent Incidents & Optimize Infrastructure

Enter your metrics. We estimate the avoided costs (incidents & conversion loss) and the payback period.

Avoided Incident Loss
—
Conversion Gains (Perf ↑)
—
Engineering Savings
—
Net Quarterly ROI
—

—

Hypotheses and Formulas
  • Avoided incident losses ≈ incidents × MTTR(min) × cost/min × 0.6 (60% reduction via proactive testing).
  • Conversion gains ≈ sessions × (CR × (1+impr%)) × AOV − sessions × (CR × AOV).
  • Engineering savings ≈ saved hours × hourly rate.
  • Net ROI = sum of gains − quarterly costs.

FAQ

Difference between Stress and Soak tests?

Stress testing pushes beyond nominal capacity to find the breaking point. Soak testing maintains sustained load to detect memory leaks and performance drift.

Relationship with RUM?

RUM reveals real-world experience. By reproducing realistic loads observed in RUM, you validate SLOs against actual user patterns.

Can we host everything in the EU?

Yes: choice of EU regions, on-prem deployment, and controlled logs/retention. Sensitive data can be pseudonymized.

Updated: Oct 22, 2025 • Keywords: load testing, performance testing, RUM, Core Web Vitals, EU sovereignty.

When should you perform load testing?

There are several strategic moments to test how an application behaves under load:

In the lifecycle of a website

Before sales or promotional periods
Before a major marketing campaign
Before launching a new website or new features

In the life cycle of an application

Before the launch of a new service or product
Before each major release

In IT best practices (ITIL)

Change Management
Capacity Planning

During infrastructure changes

Virtualization
Architecture refactoring / Rebilling of architecture
Regression prevention
Migration to the cloud (or vice versa)

The benefits of load testing​

Recognized in the Gartner® 2024 Magic Quadrant, our solution offers key advantages:

Testing tools deployable worldwide

Custom dashboards to visualize performance metrics

End-to-end front-end testing to observe the real user experience

No-code script creation for quick setup​

Over 400 clients in 25 countries trust us

White paper

Load test : full guide

Learn the basics to check if your website or application can handle a traffic spike. A clear and accessible white paper, 100% free.

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