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Testing · head to head

Cucumber vs Huly

Cucumber logo

Cucumber

Testing

Behaviour-driven development testing framework that returned to community ownership after nine years under SmartBear

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Huly logo

Huly

Project Management

Open-source all-in-one project management and collaboration platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cucumber gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.; Huly cloud pricing charges separately for storage and video/audio bandwidth, which can be unpredictable.
  • They diverge on capability: Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Huly covers Team Planner.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cucumber and Huly actually diverge.

Attributes where Cucumber and Huly differ
AttributeCucumberHuly
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windowsweb, windows, mac, linux
CategoryTestingProject Management

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cucumber

  • Gherkin syntax
  • Step definition binding
  • Multi-language support
  • Living documentation
  • Tagging and scenario outlines
  • Reporting plugins

Only in Huly

  • Team Planner
  • Project management
  • Virtual Office
  • Real-time chat
  • Document collaboration
  • GitHub sync

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cucumber

  • A team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineersnot Huly
  • An organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification documentnot Huly
  • A QA team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary BDD tool to an open source, community-governed alternativenot Huly
  • A Java, JavaScript or Ruby project needing a mature BDD framework rather than building Gherkin-style parsing from scratchnot Huly

Huly

  • Replacing multiple SaaS tools with one self-hostable platformnot Cucumber
  • Remote team collaboration with persistent virtual officesnot Cucumber
  • Issue tracking synced with GitHubnot Cucumber
  • Combined docs and project management for small teamsnot Cucumber

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cucumber

  • Gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.
  • Ownership has moved twice in under a decade, from independent to SmartBear-owned to independent community ownership again, which should temper confidence in any specific long-range roadmap claim.
  • Non-technical stakeholders who are meant to read and write Gherkin scenarios often do not engage with them in practice, leaving the readability benefit unrealised while the maintenance cost remains.
  • Step definition reuse across a large feature file set can become tangled, with ambiguous step matching causing hard-to-debug failures as a suite grows.
  • As a community-owned project without a corporate backer's support infrastructure, enterprise buyers wanting a formal support contract have no vendor to buy one from, unlike some competing BDD tools still sold commercially.

Huly

  • Cloud pricing charges separately for storage and video/audio bandwidth, which can be unpredictable.
  • AI features are listed as 'TBD' rather than fully available.
  • Being a broad all-in-one tool, individual modules are less deep than dedicated best-of-breed products.
  • Self-hosting requires operational effort compared to fully managed competitors.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cucumber

Free
  • CucumberFree
    • Full functionality across Cucumber-JVM, Cucumber-JS, Cucumber-Ruby and other implementations
    • Community support via GitHub
    • Returned to independent community ownership in December 2024 after nine years connected to SmartBear

Huly

Free
  • CommonFree
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited Huly objects
    • 10GB storage
  • Rare$19.99/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 100GB storage
    • 100GB video/audio traffic
  • Epic$99.99/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 1TB storage
    • 500GB video/audio traffic
  • Legendary$399.99/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 10TB storage
    • 2TB video/audio traffic

Which should you pick?

Choose Cucumber if

  • You need gherkin syntax.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want step definition binding.
Cucumber review

Choose Huly if

  • You need team planner.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, windows, mac, linux.
  • You also want project management.
Huly review

Questions people ask

Is Cucumber or Huly better?
Neither clearly leads. Cucumber starts at Free and Huly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cucumber or Huly?
Cucumber starts at Free and Huly at Free.
Does Cucumber or Huly run on more platforms?
Cucumber runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Huly runs on web, windows, mac, linux.
Can I use Cucumber for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cucumber best used for?
Cucumber is most often used for a team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineers, an organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification document, a qa team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary bdd tool to an open source, community-governed alternative, a java, javascript or ruby project needing a mature bdd framework rather than building gherkin-style parsing from scratch. Of those, a team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineers and an organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification document are not what Huly is typically brought in for.
What can Cucumber do that Huly cannot?
Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Step definition binding, Multi-language support, Living documentation. Huly covers Team Planner, Project management, Virtual Office, Real-time chat.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cucumber: Is Cucumber owned by SmartBear?

No, not currently. SmartBear acquired Cucumber Ltd in 2019 but the open source project returned to independent community ownership in December 2024.

Huly: What does Huly cost?

Huly's cloud offering has a free Common plan plus paid Rare ($19.99/mo), Epic ($99.99/mo) and Legendary ($399.99/mo) tiers based on storage and video/audio traffic, plus a custom plan.

Source
Cucumber: Is Cucumber free?

Yes, entirely open source with no licence fee across all its language implementations.

Huly: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

The free Common plan includes unlimited users and Huly objects but caps storage at 10GB and video/audio traffic at 10GB.

Source
Cucumber: Does Cucumber replace Selenium or Appium?

No, Cucumber provides the Gherkin specification layer and step definition binding; the actual browser or mobile automation still needs a driver such as Selenium or Appium underneath.

Huly: How is usage metered?

Huly charges cloud users based on consumed storage (for attachments and documents) and network usage for audio/video calls, while Huly objects themselves stay unlimited on every plan.

Source
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