NCrunch
Software testing tools
- Features
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- Ease of management
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$159 per license
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What is NCrunch
NCrunch is a continuous testing tool for .NET that runs unit tests automatically in the background as developers edit code in Visual Studio. It targets teams building C#/.NET applications that rely on unit test frameworks and want rapid feedback on test results and code coverage during development. The product focuses on in-IDE feedback, parallel/distributed test execution, and surfacing performance and coverage signals close to the code being changed.
Continuous in-IDE test feedback
NCrunch executes tests continuously and surfaces results directly inside Visual Studio, reducing the need for manual test runs. It highlights failing tests and impacted code paths as code changes, which supports fast iteration during development. This workflow is distinct from services that primarily run tests externally or focus on user research and feedback collection.
Parallel and distributed execution
The tool is designed to run tests in parallel and can distribute work across multiple processes/machines to reduce feedback time for larger test suites. This can help teams keep continuous testing practical even as the number of tests grows. It is most relevant for unit/integration test workloads that can be executed repeatedly during active coding.
Coverage and performance visibility
NCrunch provides code coverage information and can help identify slow tests by making execution cost visible during development. This supports maintenance tasks such as improving test suite speed and identifying untested code areas. Having these signals in the IDE can reduce reliance on separate reporting steps in a pipeline for day-to-day development decisions.
Primarily Visual Studio and .NET
NCrunch is centered on the Visual Studio/.NET ecosystem, which limits applicability for polyglot teams or non-.NET codebases. Organizations standardizing on other IDEs or languages will not get equivalent value from the product. This makes it less suitable as a single, company-wide testing platform across diverse stacks.
Local resource and noise overhead
Continuous background execution can consume CPU, memory, and I/O, especially for large solutions or heavy integration tests. Teams may need to tune settings, exclude projects, or adjust schedules to avoid developer workstation slowdowns. Without tuning, frequent test runs can also create alert fatigue when failures are intermittent.
Not a full test management suite
NCrunch focuses on executing automated tests and presenting results in the IDE rather than providing end-to-end test management (test case authoring, manual test workflows, or user testing programs). Teams still typically need separate tooling for exploratory testing, usability studies, and broader QA operations. It also does not replace CI/CD pipeline orchestration for gated builds and release controls.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Named User | $159* | Includes 1 year of updates. $79/year for updates after that. Licensed to an individual named user; can be installed on multiple machines but not shared concurrently. |
| Company Seat | $289* | Includes 1 year of updates. $144/year for updates after that. Issued to a company, one license required per developer; keys are company-owned and transferable within the company. |
- Prices are in USD and exclusive of local taxes (VAT/GST). The license continues to function after the included update year but only for versions released during the maintenance period; renewals provide another year of updates.
