What is the difference between performance and load testing?

Question

Accepted Answer

**Performance** — speed under normal load. **Load** — behavior under heavy load.

**Performance Testing:**
- Measure speed and efficiency.
- Normal expected load.
- Response time, throughput.
- Baseline metrics.

```
Performance:
Normal load (100 users)
Measure: response time < 200ms
Throughput: 500 req/sec
(Normal conditions)
```

**Load Testing:**
- Behavior under heavy load.
- Extreme expected load.
- Breaking point.
- Scalability.

```
Load:
Heavy load (10,000 users)
Measure: when does it break?
Error rate under load
(Extreme conditions)
```

**Key differences:**
- **Performance** — normal load.
- **Load** — heavy load.
- **Performance** — speed.
- **Load** — capacity.

Systems Analyst: What is the difference between performance and load testing?